Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report – August 29th, 2025!

Rockfish are still the main characters in the Upper Bay right now, as the cooler weather stuck around this week. The hot areas are pretty consistent with last week, with the Patapsco and Chester Rivers, Bay Bridge, Love Point, and Pooles Island continuing to produce fish. Live-lining has been extremely effective, and anglers throwing artificials like white and chartreuse paddle tails and straight tails as well as topwater plugs during low light hours are finding success. Lots of slot fish are being reported as well, which is great news to those who are fishing for dinner. White perch fishing is inconsistent, as has been the story all summer. Covering water and casting at dock after dock until finding fish is how most anglers are approaching perch in the rivers right now. Casting small spinners, spoons, or micro jigs have been reported as effective once fish are found. Grass shrimp and soft crab bits have been reported as the best live baits this week. Bottom fishing around Seven Foot Knoll, the Bay Bridge pilings, artificial reefs, and shoals is still excellent for croaker and spot using sabiki rigs tipped with bloodworms, Fishbites, or soft crab bits. If you’re lucky, you may even score a perch while bottom fishing.

Consistent with the Upper Bay, cooler temperatures have had the rockfish feeding. Anglers are finding success around Poplar Island, Taylor’s Island, and the Choptank River. The early morning bite has been reported as best, with fish hitting on topwater plugs, diving plugs, and three inch to five inch paddle tails, as well as live spot. More anglers are finding under slot fish in the Middle Bay zone than in the Upper, but there are still plenty of slot fish mixed in. Multiple reports came in this week of pan-sized bluefish breaking in the evening at the mouth of the Choptank, with anglers catching them on small spoons and metal jigs. Regarding white perch fishing, we had very few reports of success this week from anglers targeting them around shallow water structure. However, more success seemed to come from bottom fishing in deeper water over the shoals in Eastern Bay. Most of the bites were from spot and croaker, however a few white perch were indeed reported. Sabiki rigs tipped with bloodworms and Fishbites got the job done. A few speckled trout were caught in the Little Choptank this week, however we received way fewer reports of catches in the Middle Bay zone this week than in recent weeks. Target these fish by downsizing your typical rockfish presentations, and be ready to filter through some stripers before (hopefully) hooking into a speck.

Fishing for rockfish in the Lower Bay is good in both the Patuxent and Potomac Rivers on the West side, as well as in the Crisfield area on the East side. Most reports have come from anglers intent on multispecies outings, casting topwater plugs, diving plugs, and small paddletails at shallow water structure. A mixed bag of speckled trout, rockfish, a few puppy drum, and even a surprise black drum has been the story. Bottom fishing in the rivers has been excellent as well, with anglers dropping sabikis tipped with bloodworms or fishbites and getting a mixed bag of spot, croaker, perch, lizardfish, pufferfish, small black sea bass, and baby bluefish. Out by the Target Ships, bigger bluefish are still around, though not busting at the surface as frequently. Wire or heavy monofilament bite leaders with metal jigs or spoons is the necessary tackle for battling with big blues. Plenty of cobia and bull reds have still been reported, so keep an eye on your sonars or at the surface of the water on calm and sunny days. Both of these species are likely to be hanging around pods of bunker, so don’t be afraid to drop a jig under a bait ball, even if it seems like no predators are actively feeding; you just might get lucky.

Freshwater fishing has been excellent with the recent cooler temperatures, especially for smallmouth bass. Great reports have come from anglers fishing the Upper Potomac and Monocacy River, with tube jigs, plopper-style topwaters, and spinnerbaits all catching fish. Wading, kayaking, or float trips in a canoe are all great ways to get in on the action. Largemouth bass are feeding hard as well, with reports coming in from the reservoirs in the Greater Baltimore region. Wacky rigged stick worms, topwater frogs, and spinnerbaits are working great for the largies. Snakehead have slowed down a bit with the cooler temperatures, but there are still opportunities to catch them before we get deep into fall. Areas like Blackwater, the Little Magothy River, and the lily pad fields in the Upper Bay have been productive for anglers using chatterbaits, topwater frogs, buzzbaits, and live minnows.

The residual effects of Hurricane Erin were still being felt this week both in the surf and out in the deep blue. Despite rough seas, however, many boats made it out to the canyons and reported a solid bite from white marlin and mahi. A few wahoo and yellowfin were reported from anglers trolling as well. In the surf, extremely high tides and rough waves made things extremely difficult, with anglers needing sinkers up to 16 ounces to hold bottom. Very few reports came in of anything but rays in the surf this week. The back bays of Ocean City are still productive for rockfish and bluefish around the Route 50 bridge, as well as sheepshead in the inlet. Flounder and seabass fishing around the wrecks and reefs remains productive, although the reports of sea bass filling the cooler are more numerous than for flounder.

This is one of the best times of year for crabbing, and folks are having success on trot lines and pull traps from boats and hand lines and pull traps from the shore. Chicken necks are doing well on trot lines and hand lines, and razor clams and dead perch are noted as productive in pull traps. Hot areas include the Chester River, Magothy River, Severn River, and South River.