The lower Chesapeake is rounding into its summer form this week. Cobia have arrived at the mouth of the bay and are being sight-cast and chummed up around the shoals, buoys, and bait pods. Bucktails and live eels pitched to sighted fish on the calm days have been producing as the cobia season gets underway.
Big red drum are showing on the shoals and around the inlets, providing heavy-tackle catch-and-release action for anglers fishing cut bait and big jigs on the bottom. Slot-size puppy drum are working the marshes and structure in the rivers and creeks.
Speckled trout are biting around the marsh points, grass, and structure on soft plastics and topwater early, and croaker and spot have filled in around the bottom for anglers and kids looking for steady action. Spanish mackerel are beginning to show at the mouth of the bay.
Striped bass are post-spawn and settling into their summer pattern around the structure, channel edges, and the bridge-tunnel — anglers should review current striped bass regulations before keeping any fish. Flounder are around the inlets and channel edges for the bottom-bouncing crowd.
The cobia and red drum action are the headliners and should build through June. Fish the calm-water windows for sight-casting and work the marsh points early for trout and puppy drum.