Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported good sea bass fishing on Tuesday’s trip, with surface temperatures hovering around 80 degrees and bottom temperatures still in the high 40s, which continues to bring mixed bottom fishing results. One angler had a limit by the late morning and a few others finished the day in the double digits, with some respectable sea bass coming over the rails in calm sea conditions. Wednesday’s outing began in glass-calm seas again, and after dropping a reef block unit at Gratitude Reef, they pressed east to find some cleaner, warmer water, where the hunt for mahi began. After boating a few, they paused the mahi search to drop for sea bass and hauled up some nice keepers, but the second spot a few miles away brought a slow bite, which the skipper assumed was again due to cold bottom temperatures. Some high winds over the next few days are likely to shake things up, but the captain is hopeful that once the wind subsides, they’ll be able to find more and bigger mahi in closer than where they found them on Wednesday. The Morning Star will be sailing for sea bass and mahi when conditions allow. Give them a shout at (443) 235-5577 between 8 AM and 8 PM to reserve your spot on the rail.
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC said the inshore flounder bite continues to produce quality fish while the bite in the coastal bays remains less than ideal. They’re not seeing the numbers of speckled trout and red drum that are usually stationed in coastal waters this time of year. However, striped bass and bluefish remain in the back bays and the closer to the inlet you are, the better the action tends to be. The inshore sheepshead bite, he said, has really picked up with limits of keeper-sized fish more common. Bakke’s friend Seth Price, who operates Slack Tide Kayak Fishing, has been able to put his charters on plenty of sheeps lately. Offshore, Bakke added, the marlin bite has been with both blue and white marlin in the mix, and plenty of mahi available. Tuna fishing, however, has been slow and inconsistent. A few boats will find one or two here and there, but the bulk of the fish seem to be stationed up north off New Jersey and Long Island.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
The striped bass season opens back up this Friday, August 1, and anglers are looking forward to some cooler temperatures in the upcoming week which will be perfect for targeting striped bass in the shallows and around deeper structures when the sun is high. The Patapsco, Patuxent and Choptank rivers should be areas with plenty of action.
The bluefish bite in the southern portion of the Bay continues to be good with most of the blitz action still around the Target Ship down to Virginia waters. However, some bluefish feeds can be found as far north as the mouth of the Patuxent River. Some bull reds can be found around the bluefish when they are feeding, but most of the bull reds seem to be holding south of the Target Ship into Virginia waters as well.
Bottom fishing in the area is consistent for spot and small croakers with some keepers mixed in, and if you’re in the upper Bay, there is a mix of channel catfish and some white perch.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Read the full DNR report here.
The 2025 striped bass season will reopen in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay this coming Friday, August 1. Once the season begins, anglers are urged to use the best catch-and-release practices since water temperatures in the Bay are in the upper 80s and very stressful for striped bass. Fish should be brought in as quickly as possible and released in the water if they are above or below the required slot size of 19-24 inches. The larger fish most often have a more difficult time with heat stress.
Middle Bay
Middle Bay striped bass anglers will be checking out their favorite areas starting August 1. Water temperatures are in the upper 80s so shallow-water fishing will most likely be over once the sun clears the horizon. Speckled trout can be a welcomed addition to the mix and paddletails tend to be the most popular lure being used.
Live-lining spot will be a popular way to fish during the daylight hours along channel edges. Bluefish can be found throughout the region so anglers will be trolling a mixed spread of red and green surgical tube lures for the bluefish and Drone spoons and bucktails for the striped bass.
Fishing for bluefish has been good near the mouth of the Choptank and the Sharps Island Light, and they will be found along the shipping channel edges. Anglers report spotting schools of bluefish chasing bay anchovies and small menhaden, and are enjoying casting into the action. Most of the bluefish are about 1.5 pounds to 2 pounds but some large ones show up now and then. A strong fluorocarbon leader or thin wire is needed to prevent being bitten off.
Fishing for a mix of spot and croakers is very good this week in several hard-bottom locations throughout the middle Bay. Eastern Bay, in front of Chesapeake Beach and behind Black Walnut Point on Tilghman Island are just a few locations where they are being found. Most of the croakers are undersized but anglers are beginning to see some measure larger than the minimum 9-inch required to keep them. White perch can be found in the region’s tidal creeks and rivers and sometimes they will be mixed in with spot and croakers.
Lower Bay
With the reopening of striped bass August 1, casting a mix of paddletails and soft plastic jigs along the deeper edges of shorelines of the lower Potomac, Patuxent, the Bay, and Tangier Sound will be popular. Speckled trout and bluefish will be a welcomed part of the mix. Jigging along channel edges and live-lining spot will be a very popular way to fish.
Bluefish are spread throughout the lower Bay and some of the better places to find them include the HS Buoy to the Target Ship, Cedar Point, the mouth of the Potomac, and the artificial reef sites. Trolling is a popular way to fish for them, but casting to breaking fish is a whole lot of fun. Anglers should watch their depth finders for heavy marks on the bottom under the breaking bluefish – they could be large red drum.
The Target Ship area is one of the best places to fish for cobia recently and large red drum can also be found close by. A few large sheepshead and speckled trout are being caught on peeler crab close to the Target Ship.
Fishing for a mix of spot, croakers, kingfish, small black sea bass, and a few flounder has been good near Point Lookout and Tangier Sound. White perch continue to be found in the tidal rivers and creeks.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf anglers fishing with small baits of bloodworms and artificial bloodworms, peeler crab, squid, and sand fleas are catching a mix of spot, croakers, kingfish, flounder, and pompano. Those fishing larger baits of cut mullet or menhaden are catching bluefish, large red drum, stingrays, and inshore sharks.
At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, bluefish are being caught by casting metal and bucktails or drifting cut bait at night. Striped bass are being caught on soft plastic jigs and paddletails. Sheepshead are becoming more common at the South Jetty and are being caught on sand fleas. Flounder are always in play in the inlet and working Gulp baits along the bottom is the way to catch them.
The back bay channels are offering good fishing for flounder this week; Gulp baits and live spot or mullet are catching the largest flounder. Small black sea bass and croakers are being caught by anglers using squid for bait. In the evenings casting paddletails near the bridge piers of the Route 90 Bridge and the Verrazzano Bridge offer fun catch-and-release action with sublegal striped bass.
Outside the inlet out to the 30-fathom line, anglers trolling a variety of lures are catching false albacore, small dolphin, and Spanish mackerel. Fishing at the inshore wrecks is providing good catches of large flounder. The wreck and reefs sites farther offshore offer good fishing for black sea bass, small dolphin and triggerfish. There have been two state record false albacore caught recently near the 20-fathom line, both extraordinary fish.
A mix of yellowfin tuna, dolphin, and white marlin are being caught at the canyons and even a few wahoo and blue marlin have been caught. Deep drop anglers are catching a mix of blueline tilefish and golden tilefish.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Read the full DNR report here.