Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC reported that finding weather windows has been increasingly challenging between the cold temperatures and harsh wind, but there are fish to be caught out front when conditions allow. The bluefin, Bakke said, are beginning to show up in numbers not far off the Maryland coast, and schools of striped bass are mixed in as they, too, head south. Last Friday, while the December commercial bluefin season was still open, a few members of Always Bent headed out in search of a keeper and they hooked one that unfortunately spit the hook very early in the fight. Only hardy catch-and-release anglers will be chasing those bluefin from here on out. As far as bottom fishing, the tog bite is the main attraction these days, but there are still quite a few flounder lurking at the wrecks within 10 to 15 miles from shore, where the sea bass bite remains steady. Bakke added that George Guthridge—a local angler and friend of the Always Bent crew—and his group had a surprise bluefish and some weakfish come up alongside the sea bass and fluke on Monday. There’s plenty of good fishing to be had, it’s just a matter of getting out between bouts of unsettled sea and weather conditions.
Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters said that he was able to get out for some striped bass fishing in the snow earlier this week; however, he noted that fishable days are few and far between due to incessant wind and freezing temperatures. When he’s been able to get out, the bass bite is very good; there are acres of bait and feeding fish, some of which are in the low-30-pound class, but they are yet to see any cows exceeding 40 pounds. Big soft plastics on jigs (without skirts) are the ticket, and the skipper mentioned that while metals are also working, those fish are generally on the smaller side. Finding the bigger birds, he said, has been the key to locating larger baits which, in turn, are attracting bigger bass.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Striped bass fishing has been great when it’s not too windy to get out there. The hot area has been from Chesapeake Beach to just south of the power plant. The western side seems to be holding a good amount of striped bass this week with most fish being caught anywhere from 35 to 50 feet of water around the channel edges. Most of the bait has been small, around 3 to 5 inches long. There have been a few reports of some bigger fish caught, but not enough to say the big migratory fish are here. Most of the fish are anywhere from 24 to 30 inches long. We hope that in the next two weeks, we see some bigger fish show up.
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.
After December 10, the 2025 striped bass season will be closed in Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. The tidal Potomac River and Virginia waters will be open to striped bass fishing through December 31. In Maryland’s portion of the Atlantic Ocean, coastal bays, and their tributaries, anglers may catch and keep one striped bass 28-31 inches in length per day. Catch-and-release fishing for striped bass is allowed in all Maryland waters during this time.
Middle Bay
Water temperatures in the middle Bay are now below 40 degrees in most of the region’s tidal rivers and low 40s out in the bay. Striped bass anglers finished the season by jigging in some of the deeper channel areas off Chesapeake Beach, the Bay Bridge rock piles, the mouth of Eastern Bay, and the mouth of the Choptank. Diving gulls and slicks often marked the way as did watching depth finders.
If catch-and-release fishing is on your agenda after the season ends, these same areas will offer opportunities for a few more weeks. The possibility of an influx of large fall migrant striped bass arriving from coastal waters is always an incentive for anglers to get out on the Bay and explore such opportunities.
Blue catfish have moved into the deeper channel areas of the Choptank River and the region from the town of Choptank upriver to the Denton area will offer some of the better fishing opportunities. Most of the blue catfish in the Choptank are below 30 pounds so they will offer good eating. Fresh cut baits of gizzard shad or menhaden are best but white perch, chicken liver, and scented baits will work well.
White perch are holding the deeper waters near the mouth of the Choptank River, near Bloody Point, and off Matapeake. Once the fish are located on depth finders, using bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm will be the most popular way to fish for them. Yellow perch are becoming more available in the upper reaches of the tidal rivers this month and offer good fishing opportunities.
Lower Bay
Striped bass anglers in the lower Bay are finishing the season with excellent catches of striped bass in the lower Patuxent River below the Route 4 Bridge and out to the mouth of the river. The deep channel areas off Cedar Point, Cove Point, and the deeper channel edges on the eastern side of the Bay all provided good fishing. Anglers interested in catch-and-release fishing will be watching for any indication of coastal fall migrant striped bass arriving this month. The warm water discharge at the Calvert Cliffs Power Plant is always a popular location to explore.
The lower Potomac River from below the Route 301 Bridge to Point Lookout has been a very good place to fish for striped bass. The Potomac River and Virginia waters will be open to striped bass fishing through December 31. The 19-24 inch slot will be in effect and the Maryland tidal rivers feeding into the lower Potomac River will be closed. Jigging has been a very popular way to fish but trolling with heavy inline weight to get umbrella rigs and tandem rigged bucktails down to where striped bass are suspended is also effective.
Blue catfish can fill in angling gaps for tidal anglers through the winter months. The tidal Potomac, Patuxent, and Nanticoke rivers hold the greatest populations currently. The Potomac River from the Wilson Bridge south to the Route 301 Bridge are good places to fish. The blue catfish will congregate in the deeper channel waters. Anglers looking for trophy blue catfish will find their best opportunities in the deepest channel waters in the Fort Washington area. This area traditionally holds the largest blue catfish during the winter months. Anglers fishing for blue catfish can find a lot of good information on the DNR blue catfish webpage.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Reports of large coastal migrant striped bass moving south along the beaches of Ocean City and Assateague have been sparse but that could change anytime soon. In the meantime, surf anglers are being entertained by clearnose skates and spiny dogfish that are chewing on their baits of cut mullet and menhaden.
Fishing for tautog at the inlet jetties, bulkheads and bridge piers continues to be good with a good percentage of the fish meeting the 16-inch minimum length. Pieces of crab and sand fleas have been the most popular baits. Striped bass are being caught inside the inlet by anglers casting soft plastic jigs.
In the back bay waters, the bridge piers of the Route 90 and Verrazzano bridges are holding striped bass, as are the waters along the marsh sedge banks. Soft plastic jigs and paddletails are the favored lures to use. Most of the striped bass fail to meet the 28-inch minimum but offer plenty of fun catch-and-release action.
Anglers headed out to the offshore wreck and reef sites are enjoying good fishing for a mix of black sea bass and large flounder. The 2025 black sea bass season closes on December 31 and will not open until spring, on a date to be determined. Fishing for tautog has been excellent at the offshore wreck and reef sites and this is the time of the year when tautog weighing in the double digits are caught. The 2025 tautog season closes at the end of the day on December 31 but opens again the morning of January 1, 2026.
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.