Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters said it’s been so cold lately the Bay is freezing over, which has kept him off the water for most of this week. The skipper shared that he was able to sneak in a trip last Saturday (1/24) and the striped bass fishing was amazing. His charter had big fish in shallow water, and while he’s uncertain how these frigid temps may impact the bite, he and Captain Mike will be putting in the time to find them once temperatures and conditions are safe enough to leave the dock. Head to their Facebook page to stay in the know or to contact the captain to get on the books this winter.
From the Upper Pocomoke River out of Snow Hill, Captain Walt of Light Tackle Charters said that he has officially been “frozen out”. Ice on the river is keeping him from getting a boat in the water, which has led him, like many area guides and captains, to reschedule trips. Temps on the Eastern Shore are forecasted to remain below freezing until early next week, but he hopes to be back on the water as soon as possible. Captain Walt also said he’s getting a lot of calls from fishermen interested in catching largemouth bass, which are a somewhat common bycatch during his ultralight winter pickerel and panfish trips. Head to his website for contact info and give him a call to schedule a trip once the river thaws.
Alex Perez, Fishing Manager at Anglers Sport Center in Annapolis, reported: “With the cold front moving in and the storm we just had, most of the boat ramps have frozen over. A majority of the creeks have either completely locked up or are more than 50% frozen. Most of the ice fishing opportunities are out in western Maryland where some of the lakes allow it to be done. Walleye, yellow perch, and other panfish are what most ice fishermen are catching in Deep Creek Lake lately.”
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC shared that he had just come in from kayaking with a friend—there was no wind and plenty of sun, and he noted that while air temperatures hovered around 28 degrees, the water was 34 degrees. The back creeks and most nearby ponds, he said, are frozen over. Before last weekend’s storm, Bakke added, there were a few boats still heading offshore that were catching tautog. But for now, most people are just trying to stay safe and warm indoors.
UPDATE: 1/22/2026
Windy conditions have kept a lot of folks off the Bay for the past couple of days, and the impending winter storm will likely keep most boats docked through the weekend. However, in more sheltered tidal waters, there are still excellent opportunities to wet a line. Captain Walt of Light Tackle Charters has been running ultralight trips for pickerel, crappie, and yellow perch on the Upper Pocomoke River Bald Cypress Swamps of Snow Hill this week with great success. The skipper said they are even seeing a few largemouth bass in the mix, although they are not as well-fed as the pickerel, some of which can be absolute beasts. “Most of my clients didn’t seem to be aware that this fishery experiences high and low tides since it’s a winter freshwater fishery,” said Captain Walt. “But it’s the condition of the tide that I use to bring us to fish. And between the movement of the tides as well as the river flow, we are blessed with productive waters that seldom freeze, providing this excellent winter fishery.”
Captain Walt also added that not only are his charters catching big pickerel, perch and crappie, they are catching between 50 and 60 fish per day! The action has been steady despite the cold, so head to his website for contact info and give him a call to book a trip.
Striper fishing may temporarily be on hold, but once conditions settle after this severe winter storm, the bite should pick up right where it left off. In the meantime, look to the tidal rivers and be safe this weekend.
UPDATE: 1/15/2026
Now that migratory striped bass have had some time to settle in the Bay, their patterns are changing. Fewer fish are being caught in open water, and according to Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters, it’s because they’re heading back into the rivers. Captain Jamie said it’s been very difficult to get out this week due to high winds, which is partially what led to the discovery of good numbers of bass in the more sheltered waters of the Bay’s tributaries. The skipper noted that they are finding fish either in shallow water under birds, or in deep water mixed in with bait balls. Vertical jigging has been the most productive technique for his recent charters, who have been putting some new soft plastics and jigheads from Invincible Jigs to the test. The 9-inch Invincible paddletails paired with their 1.5-ounce jigs are doing the heavy lifting, effectively matching the size of bunker and allowing them to fish deep in strong current. The January new moon is this weekend, so be on the lookout for major fish movements that could find more bass staging in and around the Chesapeake’s larger river systems.
While there’s good striper fishing to be had along the western side of the lower and middle Bay, anglers fishing the rivers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore are catching a mix of freshwater species. Captain Walt of Light Tackle Charters continues to run Pocomoke River Bald Cypress Swamp trips out of Snow Hill with good results. The skipper said panfishing for crappie and yellow perch remains strong, and when you throw in pickerel and largemouth bass as a bycatch on the ultralight 6-pound-class gear they are using, it makes for a great day of winter fishing.
Captain Walt has quite a few charters on the books but there is some availability through the end of February, so head to his website for contact info. and give him a call to get a date on the books.
Alex Perez, Fishing Manager at Anglers Sport Center in Annapolis, reported: “Anglers have enjoyed a good striped bass bite inside the Patuxent River with most fish being in the upper-20-inch class, along with some jumbos pushing 40 inches plus. Most of the fleet has been staying in side the Patuxent since it provides some cover from the gusty winds, at times. The power plant between the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Beach can also provide some action but lately, it’s been a hit-or-miss bite. Some anglers are searching open water for schools of fish feeding on bait balls; they’re covering a lot of miles but being rewarded with good results when they do locate stripers. The range has been anywhere south of Chesapeake Beach down to the Potomac River. In other news, the yellow perch fishing up north, at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, seems to be ok. Anglers are catching lots of smaller males and a few big females, but this bite should only get better as we head into February. Also, a friendly reminder to anglers fishing tidal waters for yellow perch— the daily limit has been changed from 10 fish per day to 5 fish per day, although the minimum size has not changed.”
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC reported that there are still a few bluefin tuna around, mostly hanging off the coast of Virginia. His friend caught a 103-inch commercial fish caught out of Chincoteague yesterday, so the fish are definitely working their way south toward OBX. On the bottom fishing front, Bakke added that the boats heading out of the inlet for tautog are doing well on deeper wrecks and there are a few flounder still in the mix. Locally, he said, the striper bite has been on the upswing with schoolie-size bass active in the back bays now that water temperatures have stabilized a bit.
UPDATE: 1/8/2026
As striped bass continue to arrive from the ocean, they’re slowly but surely pressing north in Chesapeake Bay and settling around the Maryland/Virginia line. In seasons past, the fish have pushed further north toward the middle Bay region as the winter progressed. But with a steady supply of bunker in the lower Bay, where these migratory bass are closely monitoring the movements of their prey, it remains the hotbed of the winter striper bite. According to Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters, the bass are following the bait to deeper water where he and his crews are catching them with 8- to 9-inch paddletails on lightweight jigheads. Working them slowly and methodically has been the key for their anglers this week, although with the recent increase in temperatures, the stripers have been far more aggressive. The skipper also noted that his partner, Captain Mike Gardner, guided a recent charter who tagged (and released) the first striped bass of the year for Grayfish Tag!
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Meanwhile, anglers along the coast are taking advantage of the recent mild weather and settled sea conditions to pursue bluefin tuna. The recreational fishery is currently open to anglers/vessels with an HMS Angling Permit, which permits the retention of 1 fish measuring 27 inches to less than 73 inches per vessel, per day (or trip). Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC reported that the tuna bite has been slow, but there are rec. size fish out there for the taking while the season is open. According to Bakke, Dave Gladden and his son, Daniel, jumped at the chance to get out late last week and caught their keeper bluefin—one of the first of the new year—in short order.
January is not all about big migratory stripers and bluefin tuna, though. With many areas now free of chunk or skim ice, light-tackle anglers are chomping at the bit to wet a line in the rivers. Captain Walt of Light Tackle Charters is running his Pocomoke River Bald Cypress Swamp trips out of Snow Hill, and he said the fishing has been good lately with crappie, yellow perch and chain pickerel in the mix.
Captain Walt’s charters are employing ultra light gear—6-pound-test line on sensitive spinning tackle—to catch panfish and pickerel. He’ll be running trips on the Pocomoke through February, so head to his website for contact info. and give him a shout to get a date on the books this winter.
UPDATE: 1/1/2026
Winter has arrived in the Chesapeake Bay region, but frigid temperatures aren’t keeping anglers from getting out to enjoy the striped bass bite in the Bay. Finding the fish, however, has not always been easy. There are still bass filtering in from the ocean and a few hardy anglers are chasing them out toward the 3-mile line. Meanwhile, inside the Bay, the fish can be found anywhere from shallow flats to deep shipping channels. It all depends on where the bunker are holding.
Utilizing electronics has been crucial to locating deep schools of bait and bass, but at times, diving birds and breaking fish lead the way to the action. Striped bass anglers should keep a mix of presentations at the ready and be prepared to pivot at a moments notice from throwing topwater plugs to heavy jigs and large soft plastics. Do your best to keep fight times to a minimum, and remove the fish from the water only briefly for a photo to release them in good condition.
For now, there are no signs of the striper bite slowing down. The fish continue to arrive in waves and they are more than willing to eat. The number one concern that captains are keeping an eye on is water temperature. Last winter, many marinas and boat launches froze over and made sailing unsafe, leaving winter fishermen to target perch, catfish, and pickerel in the tidal rivers. But until arctic temps take hold, Bay area anglers have some excellent striped bass fishing to enjoy heading into the New Year.
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC shared that not much has changed since the holidays; colder temperatures as of late have hampered angler participation. That said, there are still stripers being caught out front and, when conditions allow, a handful of local boats are looking for bluefin tuna in anticipation of the commercial season reopening on January 1. The fishermen that are playing catch and release with stripers inside 3 miles, he said, are seeing the best results while trolling Mojos or casting soft plastics and jigs into breaking fish or beneath diving birds. Finding stripers on the surface gets tougher as the winter progresses, but topwater is not out of the question yet. The local striper bite in the coastal bays, however, seems to have cooled off a bit (no pun intended)—whether it be due to the holidays, or a lack of fishermen willing to brave the cold.
From inside the Bay, Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters reported that large schools of big striped bass are closely relating to schools of bunker. The skipper said his charters have been finding fish that are chasing bait in depths as shallow as 5 feet, but at times, they are catching them deep as 100 feet. It can be very difficult to develop a pattern when the fish are on the heels of these bunker pods coupled with the incessant wind keeping them off the water for a day or two. When they have been able to get out though, Captain Jamie said the bite has been terrific. The photo he shared below speaks for itself!
Head to the Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters Facebook page for trip rates and contact info, and give Jamie a call to inquire about upcoming availability while the bite is hot and the ramps/marinas are still free of ice.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Most anglers are chasing the migratory striped bass that have shown up. Compared to last season, when bass were abundant in the Middle Bay, most of the fish seem to be holding in the southern portion of the Bay, from the Maryland/Virginia line into Virginia waters. Last week, some fished moved in just south of Chesapeake Beach, and most were caught anywhere from 50 feet of water to as shallow as 10 feet. It’s been hard to get out with the heavy winds these past few weeks, leaving anglers only a few days to pattern it all together, so most people are running many miles to find the fish.
One of the safety net spots has alway been the Power Plant just north of the Patuxent River, providing shots at time some big fish and almost always something to catch.
The pickerel fishing should be good, but just like everything else, the high winds and cold temperatures have kept most of us away from the water. At times, we’ve had skim ice on the creeks which, coupled with super low tides, is just making it hard to fish.