Forecast Summary: September 18 – September 24

Moderate weather with limited rain predicted will make for comfortable fishing conditions this week in Maryland’s waters. Shorter daylight periods and cooler daytime air temperatures have cooled main Chesapeake Bay surface water temperatures to the lower 70s. Maryland’s part of the Bay continues to run fresher than average. 

Areas with suitable amounts of oxygen (>3mg/l) increased this week. So to find the best combination of well oxygenated, cooler water preferred by many Bay gamefish, continue to focus on fishing deeper during the daylight hours. However, as surface waters continue to cool, shallow water fishing conditions should improve.

Expect average water clarity for most of the Maryland portion of the Bay. To see the latest water clarity conditions on NOAA satellite maps, check Eyes on the Bay Satellite Maps. Expect average flows for the Susquehanna River and some other Maryland rivers and streams. There will be above average tidal currents Saturday through Tuesday as a result of the full moon on September 18.

As always, the best fishing areas could be further refined by intersecting them with underwater points, hard bottom, drop-offs, and large schools of baitfish.  For more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area of the bay, be sure to check out Eyes on the Bay’s Click Before You Cast.

Photo courtesy of Brayden Warfield

The flows from the Conowingo Dam are moderate this week and holding to a late day power generation schedule. Anglers are enjoying good fishing for striped bass in the dam pool close to the turbine wash. Most are using medium-action surf rods and thin braid to make extra-long casts that reach the turbine wash area, but striped bass can be caught throughout the dam pool area. Casting soft plastic jigs and topwater lures are popular as is cut bait at times. There are also some smallmouth bass and largemouth bass to be caught and of course there are always prowling flathead catfish, channel catfish, and blue catfish looking for a chunk of cut bait.

The mouth of the Patapsco River and the Fort McHenry area continue to be a popular location with striped bass anglers this week. Jigging with soft plastics along the channel edges has been popular and productive, as has live-lining spot. Love Point has been a good location to live line spot and to cast soft plastic jigs. The morning and evening hours have been the most productive for anglers casting poppers and Zara Spooks near shoreline structure in the form of rocks, old pilings and piers. There is good topwater action along the shorelines of the upper Bay and the tidal rivers as well. 

Fishing for blue catfish is good this week and a worthwhile endeavor for anglers looking for plenty of action, no daily limits on how many fish you can catch and plenty of good eating filets. Once cleaned properly, the mild white meat freezes well and will maintain good quality frozen through the winter months. Tips on fileting blue catfish and recipes are posted online at the DNR blue catfish website.  

All the tidal rivers in the region contain populations of blue catfish, but some have more than others. The mouth of the Susquehanna River is one of the best places to catch blue catfish in the upper Bay, along with the mouth of the Elk River and the Chester River. Cut bait, chicken parts and cheese baits are all proven to be good baits for blue catfish. 

Fishing for white perch in the upper Bay is only getting better as water temperatures dip to the mid-70s this week. Casting a mix of small spinnerbaits, spin jigs, or small soft plastic jigs near promising-looking shoreline structure is always a fun way to target white perch during the morning and evening hours. Fishing near docks and piers with grass shrimp, bloodworms, or small minnows on a bottom rig is also popular, and white perch can also be fished under a bobber near shallower waters near shorelines. 

Photo by Mattias Falcon

The shallow water fishery in the lower Bay, Tangier Sound, Pocomoke Sound, and the lower sections of its tidal rivers is being enjoyed by successful anglers this week. Cooler water temperatures have increased the duration of fish activity during the morning and evening hours for a mix of striped bass, puppy drum and speckled trout. Casting a mix of topwater poppers, Zara Spooks, and paddletails are very effective and popular lures to use. The lower Potomac and tributaries such as the St. Marys River, the shorelines of the bay, the Hoopers Island area, and Tangier and Pocomoke sounds are just a few of the excellent places to fish this week.

Out along the main channels in the bay and particularly near the Target Ship, anglers trolling spoons and surgical tube lures in red or green behind planers or inline weights are catching large bluefish. Jigging with metal jigs is another light tackle way to catch these bluefish when spotted on depth finders or observed chasing bait on the surface. There is another group of bluefish being found in the bay and sounds this week that only weigh about a half pound and they are living up to their nickname of “snappers.” They are mostly being caught by anglers trolling small Drone spoons behind planers looking for the last of the Spanish mackerel. 

Cobia season is now closed, and any cobia caught while trolling, casting, or chumming must be released, so this is now a catch-and-release fishery. Large red drum are still being found near the Target Ship area and after a fun struggle these fish must also be released. Slot size red drum are being caught throughout the lower Bay this week, but Tangier Sound is the best place to find them. Many anglers are drifting soft crab baits with good success for puppy drum and speckled trout, others are having good success casting paddletails.

White perch are always out there to entertain anglers and are being caught during the morning and evening hours by casting small spinnerbaits, spin jigs, and small jigs near promising shoreline structure. Fishing with grass shrimp, bloodworms or peeler crab near deeper structure is also a great way to fish for them. Fishing for spot is excellent this week in the mouth of the Patuxent River, Cornfield Harbor and Tangier Sound, a handful of kingfish and legal-sized croakers round out the mix. Bloodworms work best for the spot and kingfish; peeler crab works well for the croakers and white perch.

This week is a great time for recreational crabbers to get out on the water and reap the harvest of heavy crabs that await. Those that are going out report that the parking lots at the ramps are almost empty and the sunrise is later and coming up at a more reasonable hour. Crabbing is good in the upper Bay and very good to excellent in the middle and lower Bay. There are reports of good catches in waters less than 8 feet deep during incoming tides and in deeper waters on outgoing tides. Most crabbers in all regions can catch a full bushel per outing and many are culling out crabs less than 6 inches for the abundant larger crabs. Don’t miss this opportunity to put some crab meat and crab cakes away for the winter months.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Zurowski

The western regions lakes, rivers, and streams are showing signs of a cooling trend as we approach the beginning of fall. Many of the rivers and streams are running very low due to the lack of rain the past couple of months. The upper Potomac River is reported to be running at very low flow conditions making for some difficult fishing, as are many of the regions’ trout streams.

Largemouth bass are beginning to respond to cooling waters this week and are feeding more aggressively. Structure is the key since largemouth bass will be close to grass beds and sunken wood and will be found in waters less than 15 feet. They will be looking for baitfish or crayfish for any easy meal. The grass beds have not begun to break up yet so baitfish and crayfish will be holding tight to cover. Casting a mix of soft craw baits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and square lipped shallow running crankbaits can be good choices when working the edges of grass beds. Casting frogs, buzzbaits, and chatterbaits over the grass can work well at times, especially during the morning and evening hours. Dropping wacky rigged worms down through grass mats or near the shade of a dock or overhanging brush or fallen treetops is a good tactic during the daylight hours.

Photo by Monty Hawkins

Surf anglers continue to catch kingfish and spot off the beaches this week. There have been a few reports of large red drum being caught and released by those fishing at night using cut spot or menhaden for bait. 

At the Ocean City inlet, bluefish are the major focus for anglers casting soft plastic jigs and Got-Cha lures near the South Jetty, the Route 50 Bridge, and the inlet currents. Drifting cut bait has been an effective way to fish for bluefish at night. Striped bass are also being caught, but most don’t meet the 28-inch minimum.

Flounder fishing has been good in the inlet and the back bay channels this week. Traditional baits of minnows and squid are doing well, but the largest flounder are being caught by drifting live spot or similar sized live fish or by using Gulp baits in pink or white on a jig head. 

The anglers headed out to the offshore wreck and reef sites continue to catch black sea bass and flounder but report that the small dolphin are thinning out and catches are slim. Offshore trolling at the canyons has not been good but anglers are deep dropping and catching an impressive amount of blueline tilefish.