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This week’s episode of the Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report blends community, conservation, and a strong early-spring inshore outlook. Host Luke Barton first talks with Ava Bourne, organizer of the Tight Lines for Tiny Fighters Fishing Tournament, about how the event is raising money for families facing pediatric cancer while bringing boaters, kayakers, and bank anglers together for a great local cause. Then Capt. C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters checks in with a detailed spring transition report, covering an excellent yellow perch and crappie bite, catch-and-release striped bass action, the approaching black drum window, and why he believes the red drum fishing should fire off once water temperatures reach the 50-degree mark.
Conditions Recap
Spring is starting to show itself around the Lower Chesapeake, but the fishery is still in that late-winter to early-spring transition. Water temperatures have bumped up into the low 50s in some tributaries before falling back with recent cold snaps, which has helped stretch out the yellow perch and crappie bite. Catch-and-release striped bass action has also been strong, especially where fish are staging and moving north in shallow water. Looking ahead, the big trigger number is 50 degrees. Once that line is crossed consistently, Capt. C.L. Marshall expects black drum and red drum to become much bigger players in the inshore game.
Community Spotlight: Tight Lines for Tiny Fighters Fishing Tournament
Ava Bourne is bringing back the Tight Lines for Tiny Fighters Fishing Tournament on Saturday, April 25, after a successful first year that raised just over $4,000 for a local cancer support organization. The tournament started as Ava’s senior project, but it quickly became much more than that. Built around the goal of helping families dealing with pediatric cancer, the event channels money back into real day-to-day needs like rent, car payments, groceries, and other household costs that can become overwhelming during treatment.
One of the coolest things about this tournament is how open it is to the whole community. Anglers can fish from a boat, kayak, or from shore, which lowers the barrier to entry and makes it easier for more people to participate. Boat entries are $150 per vessel, kayak entries are $75, and land-based anglers can enter individually for $25. That format gives everybody from serious tournament crews to kids fishing off neighborhood docks a way to be part of it.
The captain’s meeting is set for Friday, April 24 at Long Bay Pointe Bait and Tackle, with tournament day following on Saturday, April 25. Ava is also hoping to add an after-party and awards gathering so participants can spend time together off the water and celebrate the cause as much as the competition.
Last year’s prize table was strong, with gear and gift certificates donated by local businesses and supporters. Ava said she hopes to expand prize payouts this year, potentially reaching as far as fifth place if participation grows into the 40-to-50 boat range. Side calcuttas are also expected to return. Mentioned prize items from last year included a rod-and-reel combo, a YETI cooler, apparel from Oceans East, and oyster gift certificates from Pleasure House Oysters.
For sponsors, the opportunity is straightforward. Ava is offering a single sponsorship tier this year, but she is also welcoming physical donations, gift certificates, apparel, and other prize contributions. She emphasized that support from local businesses is a huge part of what makes the event work, because donated prizes allow more of the entry money to go directly back to the families and organizations the tournament is meant to help.
The bigger message here is that this is not just a fishing tournament. It is a local event built around the fishing community doing what it does best when somebody needs help. If you want to fish it, sponsor it, or donate to it, Ava said the best way to connect is through the tournament’s Instagram and Facebook pages or through the registration and sponsorship forms linked there.
Upper Bay and Tributaries Report: Yellow Perch, Crappie, and White Perch
Capt. C.L. Marshall said the past couple of months have produced some of the best crappie and yellow perch fishing he can remember, especially in brackish tributaries like the Pocomoke. The fish are not necessarily giants, but the action has been consistent and the catch rates have been high enough to make it an excellent option for anglers who want steady light-tackle fun.
A big part of that success has come from using side-scan electronics to locate fish and then slow-trolling small presentations through them. C.L. credited Matt Abel at Seahawk with helping refine a system that uses small shad darts, a light sinker, and an adjustable bobber to control depth precisely. Once fish are marked on side scan, anglers can move the bobber up or down the line and pull those baits right through the strike zone. It is simple, a little unconventional, and very effective.
That same program has been producing some bycatch too, including pickerel and plenty of blue catfish when water temperatures warm. White perch are also starting to show in better numbers, and C.L. expects that bite to improve by the day as the seasonal transition continues.
For anglers with kids, beginners, or anybody looking for calmer water and easier fishing, this sounds like one of the best plays in the region right now. It is protected-water fishing, there is usually something happening, and the pace is much friendlier than waiting on a narrow offshore weather window.
Catch-and-Release Striped Bass Report
The striped bass bite has also been very good in catch-and-release waters. C.L. described the fish as moving north in typical pre-spawn fashion, with some very large fish showing in shallow water. He said recent trips produced plenty of action, including fish up to 42 inches, and the pattern has been especially good when anglers target troughs and contours near shallow sand structure.
One productive setup has been working suspending jerkbaits like a Rapala Shad Rap-style bait slowly along those contour edges. In cold water, the strikes can be extremely subtle. Often the bait just seems to stop, or the fish eats it while moving toward the boat, so line control and lure awareness matter a lot.
C.L. also said he removes treble hooks and replaces them with single hooks on these lures. That helps with handling fish at boatside, improves safety for the angler, and makes releases cleaner. On large pre-spawn stripers, that matters. He stressed having the camera ready, clearing the deck, minimizing air exposure, and supporting fish properly if they do need to come out of the water at all.
From a tackle standpoint, he mentioned a relatively light spinning setup for sensitivity and control, including a 2500-size spinning reel, a medium-light rod, and 15-pound braid. That is a good reminder that you do not always need broomstick tackle to have success, especially when the bite is light and presentation matters.
Spring Outlook: Black Drum and Red Drum
Looking ahead, C.L. said the magic number for the spring inshore fishery is 50 degrees. Once the water settles around that mark, he expects black drum to show up shallow in three to four feet of water, followed closely by the red drum bite improving in a big way. If the weather cooperates, he believes the first black drum of the season could show very soon.
Black drum are more than just another spring option in this part of the Chesapeake. C.L. described them as one of the signals that spring has fully arrived, right alongside blooming dogwoods, azaleas, and returning ospreys. He also said they can provide a valuable second target on charters, because their feeding windows often line up differently than red drum. That allows anglers to fish for black drum during one part of the tide and switch over to reds when conditions are better for them.
When it comes to baits, black drum are classic bottom feeders, and C.L. specifically mentioned clams as a favorite. Red drum, on the other hand, offer more flexibility. He expects to target them on cut bait, crab, live bait, and artificials once the water warms enough to get them moving and feeding aggressively.
C.L. also offered one of the more interesting food notes in the episode when he talked about preparing black drum. He is especially fond of the ribs, which he likes to cut out and grill with Kinder’s Carolina Gold sauce. It was a reminder that, while red drum get more of the spotlight in many spring conversations, black drum still hold a very important place in the regional fishery and local food culture.
Boating, Travel, and Gear Notes
Beyond the fishing itself, this episode had a lot of useful gear and travel conversation mixed in. Luke mentioned getting ahead of safety checks by replacing expired flares with an electronic visual distress signal setup. C.L. also talked through the platform he will be fishing from this spring: a new Parker 25 powered by a Suzuki outboard and equipped with updated Humminbird side-scan electronics and radar.
That electronics conversation was especially important in the perch and crappie discussion, where side scan was a major part of finding fish and dialing in trolling depth. It was also a nice reminder that a lot of spring success in transitional periods comes from locating fish first and then making small presentation adjustments rather than just blind-casting likely-looking water.
C.L. also mentioned a new six-day “bridge to bridge” charter concept that will cover a huge stretch of the Chesapeake from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel all the way up through multiple iconic stops in the bay system. It sounds like one of the more ambitious and interesting guided fishing experiences in the region this spring.
