BY BILL HALL, Eastern Shore Post, Aug. 1, 2025 —
The cooler, clear waters of the Atlantic are still producing the best catching opportunities off our beloved peninsula, whether it be trolling the offshore blue water, dropping baits deep down for tilefish, or jigging one of the wrecks a little closer to shore. The upper Chesapeake Bay is still plagued by extra-warm water temperatures, but there is activity around the mouth of the bay, especially around the pilings and rock islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Most of the activity on the water around Chincoteague this week centered around the 100th anniversary of the Pony Swim.
Upper Shore
Captain Matt Abell, at the Sea Hawk Sports Center, reported that angling action on the seaside has been much more productive than on the Chesapeake. The offshore yellowfin tuna and dolphin (mahi mahi) bite remains consistent, particularly just inshore of the Norfolk Canyon. Several boats are trolling for these pelagics, then deep dropping for bluelined and golden tilefish to put some extra meat into the box before the long ride home.
Closer to shore, the flounder bite on the ocean wrecks has begun to slow, no doubt due to all of the fishing pressure that the more well-known wrecks and reefs have received. Easy limit catches of flounder are no longer an almost sure thing.
Atlantic spadefish and gray triggerfish are still hanging around in the water column above the bottom structures. Flounder action inside the inlet remains spotty, with undersized fish greatly outnumbering the keepers. Determined anglers are still managing to put a few fish in the cooler for their efforts.
Action on the Chesapeake Bay side has not been great. A few schools of bluefish and the occasional red drum have been encountered in the central portion of the bay, though finding these sporadic schools is far from a sure thing.
Wachapreague
Captain Lindsay Paul, aboard the Almost Persuaded, told me that while the flounder bite inside the inlet remains good, most of the fish are under the legal size limit. Pink and chartreuse Berkley Gulps with a live minnow or silverside have been the most productive flounder bait combinations. While most of the flounder fishermen are drifting baits, a few flounder are being caught while jigging. There are a few croakers mixed in with the catches, but they have been on the small side.
Anglers using squid strips have had success with sand mullet (whiting). Most of the action is occurring during the influx of cooler water during the flood tide.
Offshore ocean wrecks are producing limit catches of black sea bass, plus flounder. The blue water bite has slowed; however, the White Bite landed two yellowfin tuna, while the Teaser scored with a yellowfin. Mike Lewis recorded a good catch of tilefish over the weekend. Justin Paul did well with dolphin (mahi mahi) on Saturday.
Lower Shore
Jeb Brady, at Bailey’s Bait & Tackle, felt that the summer heat has continued to impact the local fisheries. The lower bay cobia fishery was described as “decent but could be better.”
Both bottom fishermen and sight casters reported low numbers of fish with just a few keepers over the last week. Flounder fishing has slowed inside the ditch but remains okay in the deeper waters along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and on the ocean wrecks.
Sheepshead fishing has been good along the bridge-tunnel pilings for anglers fishing cut crab during slack tide. Atlantic spadefish have been hitting small bits of clam around the fourth island off the bridge-tunnel.
Anglers trolling spoons for Spanish mackerel have had limited success off Cape Charles. Gray trout and sand mullet (whiting) have been caught near the concrete ships. The lower bay piers are reporting catches of small spot and croakers.
The writer was the first Eastern Shore resident to achieve Virginia Saltwater Master Angler status. He has been named Virginia Saltwater Angler of the Year and Virginia Saltwater Release Angler of the Year. He has won numerous Virginia Press Association awards for his columns.
