Late Summer Chesapeake Fishing Highlights: Stripers, Blues, and More on the Bay

Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay and Virginia fishing report for August 6th, 2025. Today brought classic late-summer Bay weather—warm, humid air, and a light east wind at 5 to 10 knots. Wave heights held steady around 1 foot according to the National Weather Service, making for smooth running whether you were casting near the pilings or chasing the edge of a channel. Sunrise was at 6:15 AM, with another gorgeous sunset at 8:03 PM.

Tides played right into the hands of early risers and evening anglers. We had a low at 3:33 AM, first high at 8:25, an afternoon low at 3:12 PM, and then a solid evening high tide coming in just after sunset. With a strong tidal coefficient peaking near 71 today, current was moving, and that's always a recipe for fish on the chew.

The fishery’s as lively as ever—plenty of variety with summer patterns setting the tone. Striped bass are sticking to classic ambush territory: look for action around the Bay Bridge, especially at the 30-foot edges on the eastern side. Early mornings and evenings are prime. Live-lining spot or soft crab baits drifted down-current to the bridge piers has kept rods bent, and tossing soft plastic jigs or bucktails at the pilings when the shadows are long is still putting linesiders in the net, according to the latest Maryland DNR reports.

Bluefish are chasing bait along steeper channel edges. Drone spoons and bucktails trolled or cast are doing the heavy lifting. The Brick House Bar, Gum Thickets, and Breezy Point are firing, especially on the moving tide. There are reports of solid mixed bags near Sharps Island Light and up the Choptank River around Cambridge, with both blues and stripers hitting live spot.

In the lower Bay, we're seeing kingfish, croaker, spot, and blowfish in the mix, particularly at the mouth of the Potomac, Tangier Sound, and Pocomoke Sound. Dropper rigs with small soft plastics or shad darts are money for perch and panfish across the shoals and lumps—these bite best during dawn and dusk.

Up in the creeks and grassy tidal rivers, Chesapeake Channa (northern snakehead) are feeding more aggressively now, with adults done herding fry balls and getting back on the hunt. Spin jigs thrown tight to cover are a great bet.

Crabbing remains hot—expect a good bushel in the lower to mid Bay if you work deeper waters for larger males. The oyster reefs, especially now restoration is wrapping up in places like the Lynnhaven and Manokin Rivers, are loaded with life and always worth a drift or two for mixed species action.

Best bait and tackle this week? You can't beat live spot or a lively soft crab for stripers. For bluefish, break out the Drone spoons or red and green surgical tube rigs, and when in doubt, a bucktail dressed with a white or chartreuse trailer gets attention. For panfish and perch, jigging with small soft plastics is still king.

A couple of hot spots to try: the Bay Bridge piers at dawn for stripers, and the channel edges between Gum Thickets and Breezy Point for bluefish. If you're looking to fill a cooler with spot or croaker, the mouth of the Potomac and Tangier Sound are holding strong.

That’s your report from the Bay for today. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe for the latest, and tight lines to all! This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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