Chesapeake Bay Fishing Update: Stripers, Blues, and More as Fall Patterns Settle In

Artificial Lure here with your Saturday, September 6th Chesapeake Bay fishing report. Fishing’s picking up as early fall patterns slide in, and the Bay’s treating us to cool mornings and light winds. Sunrise hit the water at 6:28 AM, and you’ve got daylight till sunset at 7:45 PM, so there’s plenty of time to get your line wet. Looking at the tide, we had a low around 2:58 AM, high at 9:07 AM, then back down for a low at 3:05 PM, wrapping up with high tide just before dark at 9:25 PM. With a tidal coefficient starting at 35 and topping out at 47, you’ll see gentle currents and just enough water movement to keep everybody honest out there according to Tides4Fishing.

Weather’s cooperating – we’ve got mild temps in the low 70s this morning, and the humidity’s not too rough. Winds are light out of the northeast and shouldn’t pick up much, so it’s prime for both inshore and main stem action.

The fishing? Stripers – or rockfish, for the locals – are starting to chase again. The Potomac from the 301 bridge down toward St. George’s Island’s been steady, especially at dawn and dusk. Shallow-diving jerkbaits are working, along with paddletails and spinners; I had over 30 stripes last trip, with a solid handful in the slot. There are some big blues mixed in too, schooling up near Smith Point and the Target Ship, and Spanish mackerel are still around – fast retrieves with metals and spoons will get bit. Down around the mouth of the Rappahannock, folks are finding puppy drum tight to the marsh edges; try soft plastics or shrimp on a jighead for them. Flounder are showing up around oyster bottoms and channel edges, and a few keepers have been caught from the mouth of the Bay up to around Point Lookout.

Up north, blue catfish are thick throughout the Susquehanna and tribs – big cut bait, chunkier the better, is key, and as water temps drop, they’re spreading out but still holding close to deep channels and ledges. If you’re targeting them, fresh cut shad or menhaden will do the trick, and the stinkier, the better. Remember, the Maryland CCA is still running their Invasive Count if you want to log those blues.

The speckled trout bite’s slow this week, but if we get a cooler snap, look to the grass beds in the shallows near Lynnhaven and the Eastern Shore’s inside waters. Small white or chartreuse paddletails rigged weedless are your friends here. Sheepshead and spadefish are still on the structure around the CBBT – fiddler crabs or small pieces of clam are hard to beat here.

Best bait today: for stripers, try a shallow-diving jerkbait or a 4-inch paddle tail paired with an underspin. Bluefish and Spanish will hit flashy spoons or Got-cha plugs worked fast along rips. Puppy drum want a gold spoon or a live minnow. Catfish – can’t go wrong with fresh cut bait. If you’re set on flounder, drift a live minnow or Gulp! swimming mullet across sandy drop-offs.

Hot spots to try: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel pilings for sheepshead and flounder, the Target Ship for blues and Spanish, and the marsh edges at the mouth of the Rappahannock for puppy drum. Up north, give the Susquehanna Flats a shot for blues and slot stripers.

That’s the scoop for today – thanks for tuning in to your Chesapeake Bay fishing report. Don’t forget to subscribe and stay up to date for more local fishing tips and updates.

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