Maryland Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The Forecast Summary is written by Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment Director Tom Parham.
A reminder to all Maryland anglers, please participate in DNR’s Volunteer Angler Surveys. This allows citizen scientists to contribute valuable data to the monitoring and management of several important fish species.
Cooper Goff puts his back into it as he battles a large blue catfish in the Conowingo Dam Pool while his father offers encouragement. Photo by Jason Zhensheng Li
Maryland 2025 - Colder weather is upon us but there are wonderful fishing opportunities for anglers who dress warmly.
Forecast Summary: November 26 – December 2:
Expect cool and sunny fishing weather and relatively stable conditions for Chesapeake Bay waters all week. Limited chance of rain except Sunday and Tuesday. As reported by the NOAA buoys, main Bay surface water temperatures are currently in the low 50s. River temperatures are slightly cooler and holding around the mid 40s.
Maryland’s salinities continue to be slightly above normal for most Maryland waters this time of year. Oxygen conditions throughout the main Bay and Maryland’s tributaries are suitable to the bottom. To see the latest water clarity conditions on NOAA satellite maps, check Eyes on the Bay Satellite Maps. There will be above average tidal currents all week as a result of the upcoming December 5 full moon.
Upper Chesapeake Bay
Anglers continue to enjoy fishing for large blue catfish and a sprinkling of striped bass in the Conowingo Dam pool this week. The action continues down to the mouth of the Susquehanna River. Smallmouth bass and walleye can be part of the mix when fishing with soft plastic jigs and paddletails. Blue catfish are moving freely in the channel areas and along the channel shelves.
There is some striped bass action at the mouths of the Patapsco and Chester rivers for anglers jigging with soft plastics. As water temperatures fall below 50 degrees, the striped bass are moving to deeper waters, often as deep as 50 feet. Shallower water action is not over and often diving gulls will lead the way to striped bass pushing baitfish to the surface.
Trolling tandem-rigged bucktails dressed with twistertails or sassy shads and umbrella rigs with trailers of bucktails are becoming more popular as striped bass begin to move to deeper waters. Most anglers are seeing striped bass holding close to the bottom in the deeper channel areas.
White perch are also moving to deeper waters at the mouths of the region’s tidal rivers, and some select knolls out in the Bay. Bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm have been the most popular way to target them.
Middle Bay
The Bay Bridge piers and rock piles are still holding some striped bass this week, and the deep water of the rock piles tends to be a good place to try jigging. Anglers are also finding large white perch holding at the rock piles, but it takes a small but heavy jig to get to the deep zone where they are holding. Water temperatures in the middle Bay are about 50 degrees this week and slightly cooler in the tidal rivers, while salinity values in the Bay are relatively high.
There are still some striped bass to be found in the shallower waters of Eastern Bay, Poplar Island, the Choptank River, and other tidal rivers. Most striped bass are steadily moving to deeper and warmer waters, and anglers are reporting finding them as deep as 55 feet. Trolling with umbrella rigs or tandem rigged bucktails often behind inline weights as heavy as 24 ounces.
White perch are being found in some of the deeper waters near the mouth of the Choptank River, off Matapeake, and similar deep areas at the mouths of the region’s other tidal rivers. A good depth finder is essential in finding these densely packed schools of white perch. Bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm are a good way to target them.
Lower Bay
The lower Potomac River in the general area from Cobb Island downriver past Piney Point has been the place to be this week if you’re looking for striped bass. Steep edges in the form of the Line Bar, Sheepshead Bar, Piney Point, and St. Georges Island are excellent locations to jig large soft plastics along the deep edges. There is also good fishing for striped bass below the Route 4 bridge in the deeper channel waters. In all cases the striped bass tend to be suspended close to the bottom.
Out in the Bay, the 30-foot to 45-foot channel edges off Cove Point and on the eastern side from Buoy 76 south past Buoy 72 are good locations to fish. When striped bass can be spotted on depth finders suspended close to the bottom, jigging with large soft plastics measuring 6-10 inches in length are popular. Thin braid and a fast action fishing rod are very helpful when jigging in water depths of 40 feet or more.
Trolling is certainly becoming popular as the striped bass hold in deep waters. It can take a lot of lead to get umbrella rigs and tandem rigs down to where the fish are holding close to the bottom. It is a very effective way to catch striped bass but takes some cranking to get everything topside. On the plus, side a warm cabin where one can get out of the wind can make trolling more comfortable.
White perch are being found in several deep-water locations this week; the 50-foot hole below the Route 4 bridge is a good place to look for them. In Tangier Sound the deep waters between the navigation buoys R6 and R8 are a good place to look for white perch. A good depth finder is essential when probing the depths for schools of white perch holding close to the bottom.
Freshwater Fishing
Water temperatures continue to drop but largemouth bass and crappie are still feeding. The largemouth bass have yet to move to greater depths for the winter months. They are still patrolling the transition areas keeping watch for baitfish and crayfish moving from the shallower waters to deep cover. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, paddletails, and small crankbaits can work well in these transition areas. If your depth finder spots some marks next to deep structure, wacky-rigged plastics can be a good choice.
Crappie have schooled up near deep structure and fishing slowly near the cover with small minnows or marabou jigs under a slip bobber can entice them to bite. Bridge piers, marina docks, and fallen treetops all fit the bill for good crappie structure.
Fishing for smallmouth bass and walleye in the upper Potomac has been good this week; water levels are strong but certainly fishable. Anglers are reminded that personal flotation devices (PFDs) must always be worn when out on the Potomac River or its tributaries from November 15 to May 15, 2026. Swimbaits, small crankbaits, and tubes are all good choices for baits.
Chain pickerel have moved out of the grassy areas where they spent the warmer months. They now seek ambush points near sunken wood along the shorelines or deep structure in the form of old tree stumps or assorted items. Paddletails are an ideal lure to choose from since they have a single hook. If you use spinners or spoons, removing the treble hooks and replacing them with a single inline hook is advisable.
Blue catfish will provide plenty of good fishing this time of year; they can be found along channel edges and are eager to take a variety of baits. The tidal Susquehanna, Patuxent, Potomac and Nanticoke rivers hold the greatest populations of blue catfish, but all of Maryland’s tidal rivers have populations and they are rapidly expanding.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surfside anglers continue to watch baits this week and many will be out along the beaches for the holiday weekend. A few trophy-sized striped bass are being caught, but the main body of fish still seems to be camped at the mouth of Raritan Bay. Spiny dogfish and clearnose skates are keeping anglers busy.
There is excellent fishing for striped bass this week in the Ocean City Inlet waters and the back bay areas. Most of the striped bass are a little short of the required 28 inches to keep them, but there is a lot of catch-and-release action to be had. The jetties, bulkheads, bridge piers, and docks in the inlet area are excellent places to cast soft plastic jigs. The bridge piers of the Route 90 and Verrazzano bridges and nearby marsh banks are good places to cast soft plastic jigs and paddletails. Tautog are being caught near the jetty rocks, bulkheads and dock piers on crab and sand flea baits.
Outside the inlet there is good fishing for black sea bass with a mix of porgies and occasional flounder on the wreck and reef sites. The inshore wreck and reef site are holding tautog and anglers are enjoying excellent fishing opportunities.
“Always it was to be called a fishing rod. If someone called it a pole, my father looked at him as a sergeant in the United States Marines would look at a recruit who just called a rifle a gun.” – Norman MacLean 1976
