Cold, clear, and fishy this morning around the lower Chesapeake, with a light winter pattern setting in and fish glued to structure and deeper holes. Specks, puppy drum, and tog are doing the heavy lifting right now, with a few schoolie rockfish still chewing if you hit the tides right.

## Weather and water

Expect that classic early‑December feel: chilly starts, cool afternoons, and mostly manageable winds, with the occasional small‑craft advisory day as northwest blows push through. Skies are tending toward clear to partly cloudy, and the bay water is cold but not locked down yet, keeping inshore fish active if you slow your presentation.

## Sun, tide, and movement

Sunrise is right around breakfast, sunset late afternoon, so the best window has been first light through mid‑morning and then again toward dusk. A strong morning high followed by a solid falling tide around the inlets and bridge pilings has been concentrating bait and making those current breaks and eddies the spots to key on.

## What’s biting

Speckled trout are still solid in the Elizabeth River and Lynnhaven drains, with a mix of 16–22 inch fish and the occasional bigger one for folks working deeper ledges patiently. Puppy drum are cruising the same areas and back in the creeks, especially where there’s a little mud or shell bottom to soak up heat. Tog are stacked on hard structure around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge‑Tunnel and nearby wrecks, and there are still some schoolie stripers around light lines, channel edges, and warm‑water outflows.

## Lures, bait, and tactics

For trout, think slow and subtle: 3–4 inch paddle tails or MirrOlure‑style hard baits in natural or glow tones, worked low and slow just off bottom. Live shrimp or mud minnows under a cork will still get it done when they’re finicky. For puppy drum, small paddletails, gold spoons, and scented soft plastics dragged along the bottom are producing, with cut mullet or shrimp working well on simple bottom rigs. Tog anglers should bring green crab or fiddlers on stout bottom rigs or heavy jigs, keeping baits tight to structure and barely off the rocks.

## Local hot spots

Two spots worth your fuel money today:
- The CBBT spans and nearby rubble for tog and schoolie stripers, especially around slack to gentle current.
- The Elizabeth River deep holes and channel edges for quality specks, with a side shot at puppy drum and a bonus rockfish if you stick it out.

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