Submit your own Adventure of the Week or your latest Fresh Catch here and keep an eye out for your adventure to be featured in one of our next Weekly Outdoor Adventure Guides!
Weather (Click Here)
Before you hit the trails or set up camp, make sure to take a second glance at the weather for this weekend!
Today's Moon Phase according to NASA (Click Here)
Waning Crescent: "The Moon appears to be partly but less than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing."
Fall Foliage Report September 30th (Click Here)
Cooler evenings and crisp mornings bring a change in the air, and the leaves are responding. Thanks to submissions from our readers, it looks like fall colors have finally spread across Maryland. Keep checking back each Thursday for the latest information.
Join us as we follow the transition each week with reports from our experts at our state forests and parks. This year for the first time, we welcome all of Maryland’s outdoor enthusiasts to send in photos capturing the beauty of the fall season. Please use the submission form to submit your entries directly to us. Your photo might be selected to appear in a future edition of the Fall Foliage Report!
October is a busy month for celestial events, kicking off with both an asteroid and a meteor shower! On October 1, the asteroid 40 Harmonia, which is about the size of Delaware, will be in the constellation Cetus and visible most of the evening. At midnight, it will be at the highest point in the sky and you will need a telescope or binoculars to see it.
The Camelopardalid Meteor Shower (just say Ca·mel·o·par·da·lid) peaks October 5. It won’t be raining meteors – the average is about five an hour – but with a new moon and a clear sky the viewing conditions will be perfect.
Maryland Fishing Report - October 1st, Composed by Lyndsie Pratt (Click Here)
Rockfish: The rivers are definitely the place to be right now! The Patapsco, Magothy and Severn, as well as the Chester are all holding nice fish! Top water is popular in the mornings and evenings, while sub surface lures such as paddletails and jerk baits will work well in the mid-day! The main bay hasn’t been quite as productive as the rivers, but there are definitely still fish to be caught. Troll the mouths of the rivers north and south of the bridge bridge or jig larger profile baits (7-8 inches for this time of year). Live lining spot and fishing with soft crab around structure is still a good bet as well! Soft crab has been working well from shore too, at locations such as Sandy Point. Further south in the bay, there are not as many rockfish in the mid to upper twenties as there are in the Annapolis area and north, but there are smaller rockfish, with keeper sized mixed in, schooled up with bluefish from Thomas Point south! Look for breakers and jig straight tail plastics on 1/2 or 5/8 oz jig heads, or metal jigs! Bigger sized rockfish will most likely be on the edges and at the bottom of these schools.
Bluefish/Mackerel: From Thomas Point south, be on the lookout for schools of breaking fish and birds! Schools of fish will most likely be a mix of Rockfish and Bluefish, but there are still some Spanish Mackerel in the area! To catch the bluefish and mackerel, cast metal jigs and reel as fast as you can! Trolling spoons on planers in also still a good option.
Redfish: While there are still bull reds to be caught in the lower bay, much of the attention has shifted to the bull reds that are migrating down the coast. Surf fishing at Assateague with cut bait such as mullet or spot has been very popular! Remember that you will want to search the shoreline for deeper holes that you can cast in to.
Perch: This time of year, it’s a lot of fun to head out into the mouths of the rivers and the main bay and fish for perch over hard bottom or underwater structure! Sabiki rigs work well as always, but metal jigs work particularly well for catching larger sized fish!
Trout: The speckled trout bite in the southern bay is still be pretty good, especially in the Tangier Sound! There are also smaller sized trout around the mouths of Patuxent and Potomac rivers. Use a paddletail on a 3/16 – 1/2 oz jig head, or try a popping cork!
Snakehead: The snakehead bite at Blackwater and in its tributaries has been quite good, especially in the late afternoon when water temperatures have warmed up. Fish will most likely be in shallow, sunny areas. Top water and sub-surface lures such as chatterbaits and shallow diving crank baits are all producing, along with minnows. There are a few fish being caught in the creeks off of the Severn, Magothy and Patuxent too!
Pickerel: As the water cools down, Pickerel fishing heats up! It’s starting to become productive in the Magothy, Severn and Patapsco as well as all of the ponds on the Eastern Shore! Fish paddletails or live minnows!
Large Mouth Bass: Large Mouth Bass are also especially active this time of year. It is a lot of fun to fish ponds on the Eastern Shore with reaction baits such as jerk baits and crank baits.
Crabbing: Crabbing in many of the rivers is also still very productive! We are hearing especially good reports from the Eastern Shore, such as in the Wye and Chester Rivers, but western shore rivers are still producing too. Set your traps in slightly deeper water than you would in the middle of the summer, and use either chicken necks or razor clams. We are still hearing good reports from people crabbing from piers too!
This Weekend's Tide Predictions (Click Here)
Keep an eye on this weekend’s tide schedule. These are the predicted tides for the Western Shore of the Chesapeake from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Wednesday 10/6:
Low tide starting at 11:43 a.m.
High tide starting at 5:26 a.m. and again at 6 p.m.
Sunrise: 7:07 a.m.
Sunset: 6:41 p.m.
Thursday 10/7:
Low tide starting at 12:23 a.m. and again at 12:16 p.m.
High tide starting at 6:08 a.m. and again at 6:47 p.m.
Sunrise: 7:08 a.m.
Sunset: 6:39 p.m.
Friday 10/8:
Low tide starting at 1:22 a.m. and again at 12:51 p.m.
High tide starting at 6:52 a.m. and again at 7:37 p.m.
Sunrise: 7:09 a.m.
Sunset: 6:37 p.m.
Saturday 10/9:
Low tide starting at 2:24 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m.
High tide starting at 7:38 a.m. and again at 8:28 p.m.
Sunrise: 7:10 a.m.
Sunset: 6:36 p.m.
Sunday 10/10:
Low tide at 3:30 a.m. and again at 2:13 p.m.
High tide starting at 8:28 a.m. and again at 9:22 p.m.
Sunrise: 7:11 a.m.
Sunset: 6:34 p.m.
Animal Cams (Click Here)
This week tune in to watch the Jelly Fish Cam at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Beach Cam
In the winter months we all long for the beach. Take a look at whats going on at your favorite East Coast beaches right now.