{"id":47969,"date":"2026-07-15T17:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=47969"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:15:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:15:30","slug":"maryland-fishing-report-july-15-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2026\/07\/15\/maryland-fishing-report-july-15-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Fishing Report – July 15"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Angler Rodney Hamm caught a 32.5-inch Chesapeake Channa in the Sassafras River in June. Photo courtesy of Rodney Hamm.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

The summer heat is on, but there is plenty of great fishing to be had throughout Maryland. Make sure your fishing license is up to date<\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n

As a reminder, under new regulations the Chesapeake Bay recreational striped bass fishery is open to harvest through July 31 and then <\/span>closed the entire month of August<\/span><\/a>, reopening Sept. 1. During the remaining striped bass season, anglers should <\/span>check the forecast conditions<\/span><\/a> and fish with caution to protect our iconic species from the stress of being targeted during times of high temperatures and low oxygen levels. <\/span>Once anglers catch their daily limit <\/span>(one fish per person per day, at least 19 inches and cannot exceed 24 inches)<\/span>, they should cease targeting striped bass and focus on other species, to limit the amount that are caught and released. If a striped bass isn\u2019t a keeper, it should be released in the water without ever being removed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tips for safe catch and release<\/span><\/a> are on the Maryland Department of Natural Resources website.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a great time to pursue the multiple other species in Maryland waters – particularly blue catfish found in almost every tidal river, and the challenging Chesapeake Channa, or northern snakehead, which is very active in warm temperatures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regional reports for the Chesapeake Bay, freshwater fishing areas, and the Atlantic and coastal bays will return later this month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Striped<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Forecast Summary: July 15 \u2013 July 21<\/b><\/p>\n

Main Bay surface and river mouth water temperatures have risen to the low 80s and will likely continue to rise all week. <\/span>Smaller rivers and streams temperatures<\/span><\/a> are holding around the low 80s. With warming waters, bottom oxygen levels are decreasing. Currently <\/span>there is adequate oxygen in most Bay bottom waters<\/span><\/a> except in the Potomac River, from near Indian Head to the Wicomico River and the Bay, from the Sassafras River down to the Bay Bridge area. <\/span>Additionally, expect low oxygen in the bottom waters along the lower western shore from the Severn River down to Chesapeake Beach. <\/span>The <\/span>warm water and low oxygen<\/span><\/a> in those areas continue to impact the amount of suitable habitat conditions for striped bass.<\/span><\/p>\n

Expect below average flows<\/span><\/a> for most Maryland rivers and streams. Expect average clarity for most Maryland portions of the Bay and rivers. To see the latest water clarity conditions on NOAA satellite maps, check <\/span>Eyes on the Bay Satellite Maps<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 There will be above average <\/span>tidal currents<\/span><\/a> through Sunday as a result of the July 14 new moon.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 For more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area of the bay, be sure to check out Eyes on the Bay\u2019s <\/span>Click Before You Cast<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Maryland Fishing Report<\/a> is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

The Forecast Summary is written by Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment Director Tom Parham.<\/em><\/p>\n

A reminder to all Maryland anglers, please participate in DNR’s Volunteer Angler Surveys<\/a>. This allows citizen scientists to contribute valuable data to the monitoring and management of several important fish species.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The summer heat is on, but there is plenty of great fishing to be had throughout Maryland. Make sure your fishing license is up to date! As a reminder, under new regulations the Chesapeake Bay recreational striped bass fishery is open to harvest through July 31 and then closed the entire month of August, reopening  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,11],"tags":[3609,3694,5462,3247,3236,3166,3625,3629,3440,3286,3031,3068],"class_list":["post-47969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-fisheries","tag-blue-catfish","tag-bluefish","tag-chesapeake-channa","tag-keith-lockwood","tag-largemouth-bass","tag-weekly-fishing-report","tag-red-drum","tag-sea-bass","tag-smallmouth-bass","tag-snakeheads","tag-striped-bass","tag-white-perch"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47969"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47978,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47969\/revisions\/47978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}