Maryland fishing reports
181 reports for Maryland — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Cooler water turns on crappie and smallmouth as fall settles in
Cooler water is turning the freshwater bite on. Capt. Pete Wagner of Hyper Striper Sportfishing says smallmouth remain a top catch on Lake Wallenpaupack and that the cooler temperatures have really switched the fish on. Steve at Smith Bait and Tackle in Leipsic reports crappie and panfish producing decent numbers in Garrisons Lake, Massey Mills, Silver Lake and Lums Pond, mostly in the dam spillways. We are reading these as regional signal, since those waters sit in New Jersey and Delaware rather than the Potomac or Patapsco.
Post-nor'easter window opens for Bay blues and sea bass
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 8570283 reads 66.7°F as the first week of October opens behind last weekend's nor'easter. Per The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake, Old Inlet Bait and Tackle had the only fish the reporter heard of all week: blues taken on metal lures during incoming water. Hook 'em and Cook 'em reported flounder and sea bass on the few days boats could clear Indian River Inlet, and kids there boxed 11 blues. The storm kept most boats in, so the first clean days back on the water are the ones to plan around.
Fall Transition Pushes Potomac Smallmouth, Walleye Onto Structure
Cooling water is reshaping where Potomac and Patapsco fish feed this week. Field & Stream's fall smallmouth bass guidance fits the moment: target current and wind-blown points where baitfish are bunching, cover water with crankbaits and jerkbaits until you locate a school, then slow down and work it thoroughly. Walleye anglers can lean on the same seasonal shift. Fishing the Midwest notes a simple bottom-bouncer rig with a plain snell and nightcrawler, originally a summer staple, becomes the go-to presentation once water cools into fall.
Blues and flounder keep biting as Chesapeake Bay shakes off nor'easter
Water temperatures at the Chesapeake Bay NOAA station sit at 67.6°F this week, warm enough to keep bluefish and flounder active after last week's nor'easter scattered action across the Mid-Atlantic. The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake reports that Old Inlet Bait and Tackle saw blues taking metal lures on the incoming tide despite 40-50 knot winds, while anglers aboard the Judy V and Gale Force boxed flounder and sea bass once they could clear Indian River Inlet, and a dozen bluefish came aboard elsewhere on the same trip. The same report has Smith's Bait Shop noting croaker and spot thick on the reef sites, with occasional trout and flounder mixed in, live minnows working best for flounder right now.
Blues and fluke rebound as Chesapeake-area surf settles after nor'easter
The NOAA tide station at Ocean City Inlet logged water at 66.9°F this morning, as the Delaware-Maryland-Chesapeake corridor digs out from a nor'easter that shut down fishing for most of last week. Eric Burnley, reporting for The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake, measured over three inches of rain and winds topping 50 knots at his house, conditions that kept almost every boat tied to the dock. Old Inlet Bait and Tackle still managed bluefish on metal lures worked through the incoming tide, and Hook 'em and Cook 'em reported Capt. Aaron Hurd's Gale Force boxing 11 blues near the inlet while the Yoder family took flounder to 7.4 pounds on the few days boats could get out.
Fall shift arrives in the Chesapeake as water begins to ease down
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 8570283 read 67.6°F as of late Tuesday night, still on the warm side for early fall but trending toward the range that pushes Chesapeake striper activity into gear. Farther north, Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) reports tautog already picking up and striped bass staying lackluster there too, with both expected to improve now that nights are turning colder — the same seasonal push that typically rolls into the Bay a few weeks behind the Northeast.
Fall Transition Stirs Potomac & Patapsco Freshwater Bite
The Potomac and Patapsco freshwater stretches are moving into the early-fall transition, the stretch when Mid-Atlantic waters begin shedding summer's warmth and shifting baitfish and gamefish alike toward staging areas along channel edges and current breaks. Under this waning gibbous moon, expect the strongest windows to fall around dawn and dusk as fish key on temperature swings rather than full-sun midday warmth.
Chesapeake blues bite the incoming tide as storm clears
Chesapeake Bay water sits at 66.2°F this afternoon per NOAA CO-OPS station 8570283, still solidly fall-transition territory. The nor'easter that pinned down Delaware and Chesapeake anglers all week is finally letting up: Eric Burnley (The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake) logged over three inches of rain and winds topping 50 knots that made fishing impossible for days. Where boats did get out, bluefish were the story. Old Inlet Bait and Tackle reported blues taken on metal lures during incoming water, and Captain Aaron Hurd's Gale Force had a group of kids box 11 blues between storm bands.
Blues and fluke hold on as Chesapeake water cools into fall
NOAA's CO-OPS station 8570283 logged Chesapeake-area water at 61.7°F this morning, a clear sign the fall cooldown is underway, with wind holding light-to-moderate near buoy 44009 (6 m/s) and air near 76°F. Along the Delaware Bay approaches to the Chesapeake, Smith's Bait Shop in Port Mahon reports bluefish still biting off structure on cut bait and metal lures. Eric Burnley notes fluke fishing held strong through mid-September, headlined by Frank Falcone's 13-pound flatfish taken aboard the Grizzly with Capt. Cary Evans out of Lewes, though wind canceled a string of open-water trips as this week's nor'easter moved through.
Full moon marks early fall shift for Potomac, Patapsco anglers
Late September has the Potomac and Patapsco settling into their early-fall pattern, the stretch when cooling water starts easing smallmouth bass, crappie, and walleye out of deep summer haunts and into steadier feeding windows. Tonight's full moon adds an extra pull toward dawn, dusk, and after-dark trips, a dependable trigger for predator activity in mid-Atlantic freshwater this time of year.
Flounder and blues hang tough despite wind on the Chesapeake
Chesapeake Bay water sits at 66.6°F this morning per NOAA CO-OPS station 8570283, with the tide flipping through a high near 8:06 a.m. and a low around 2:10 p.m. local time. Fluke are still delivering size on the Delaware and Maryland side: Eric Burnley's report for The Fisherman credits a 13-pound flounder to Frank Falcone aboard the Grizzly with Capt. Cary Evans out of Lewes, while Hook 'em and Cook 'em notes Capt. Bob and the Judy V mixing flounder with sea bass on the days boats could clear Indian River Inlet. Bluefish are filling in around structure too, with Smith's Bait Shop reporting blues holding at Port Mahon on cut bait and metal lures.
Late-season fluke and blues keep Chesapeake Bay busy before nor'easter
Bay water held at 68.2°F Friday afternoon per our NOAA tide-station reading, still warm enough to keep bluefish and fluke moving before the real fall cool-down arrives. Per The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake, Smith's Bait Shop reports bluefish taking cut bait and metal lures out of Port Mahon, with flounder mixing in on live minnows and bucktails tipped with Gulp! crawfish. Hook 'em and Cook 'em had a mixed flounder-and-sea-bass day at Indian River Inlet and boxed 11 bluefish for one party, though wind scrubbed several trips the week of September 20. That wind is the bigger story: The Fisherman (Northeast) reports a nor'easter working through the wider Mid-Atlantic this week, and it's the main factor deciding what's fishable through the weekend.