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Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Jumbo Perch, Schooling Stripers, and Mackerel Mayhem
Published 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Artificial Lure here with your Saturday, September 13th Chesapeake Bay fishing report for the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area.
Sunrise hit us at 6:45 this morning and we’ll see sunset right around 7:14 tonight. Weather’s shaping up nicely—mild start in the 60s, warming to the mid-70s with light northeast winds, perfect for a Saturday on the water. Tides are favorable today: high at 2:35 a.m., low at 9:30 a.m., another high at 3:12 p.m., and then the tide drops again to a low at 10:44 tonight. That mid-morning falling tide and the afternoon incoming are prime for most species, especially around structure and creek mouths according to Tide-Forecast.com.
Fish activity is hot for mid-September. White perch are stacking up off docks and bridge pilings in spots like the Magothy, Sever, and South Rivers, as well as the Chester and Eastern Bay. Word from FishTalk’s recent video is that folks are hammering jumbo perch—many running 10 to 12 inches—using Z-Man Flashback Mini Chatterbaits. Small beetle spins and grass shrimp are also taking fish if perch are a little shy.
Rockfish—striped bass for you out-of-towners—are going strong. They’re shifting from scattered summer patterns to schooling tighter, often near the Bay Bridge pilings early, then moving shallow during lower light. Most anglers are scoring well jigging soft plastics like BKDs or Bass Assassin Sea Shads, and you’ll do well to toss bucktails tipped with Gulp, especially around the bridge, Poplar Island, and Love Point. Live-lining spot is classic if you can find them, but keep an eye on new regs; always check before you head out.
Further south between Little Choptank and Point Lookout, trolling for Spanish mackerel is putting up big numbers. Anglers are pulling #1 or #2 planers with small, bright spoons—chartreuse or pink is the hot ticket—and finding packs of mackerel chasing bait. Burning heavy jigs like Yoi Hydra Shots across the surface is also producing for both macks and bluefish.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass are active too, with local shop staff reporting good catches on paddle tails and topwater lures like the DeraBuzz buzzbait, particularly at first and last light in the upper tidal rivers. Don’t miss the snakeheads—still strong in the thick remaining pads and dying grasses. Toss a hollow-bodied frog such as the Kapperlin Frog over that vegetation to draw savage strikes.
Hot bay oddities: Stone crabs, usually a Florida specialty, are now showing up in blue crab traps as far north as the Mid-Bay—likely no big numbers, but something to keep an eye on if you’re crabbing, as reported by The Bradenton Times. There’s also been a growing white shrimp presence, another sign of changing conditions in the bay.
For newcomers, a couple of area hot spots:
- **Hackett’s Bar and Thomas Point:** Perch and stripers biting, especially near sunrise.
- **Severn River bridge pilings and docks:** Larger perch and occasional stripers, best on small chatterbaits or live grass shrimp.
Best baits today: live spot or small white perch for rockfish if you can find them, grass shrimp for perch, and weedless frogs or chatterbaits for snakehead and bass. For artificials, stick to bright spoons for mackerel, heavy jigs for blues, and Gulp or scented soft plastics when jigging structure.
That wraps your September 13th bite update for the Chesapeake Bay and D.C./Baltimore waters. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure—if you want more reports and local tackle tips, don’t forget to subscribe! This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out quietplease dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
Sunrise hit us at 6:45 this morning and we’ll see sunset right around 7:14 tonight. Weather’s shaping up nicely—mild start in the 60s, warming to the mid-70s with light northeast winds, perfect for a Saturday on the water. Tides are favorable today: high at 2:35 a.m., low at 9:30 a.m., another high at 3:12 p.m., and then the tide drops again to a low at 10:44 tonight. That mid-morning falling tide and the afternoon incoming are prime for most species, especially around structure and creek mouths according to Tide-Forecast.com.
Fish activity is hot for mid-September. White perch are stacking up off docks and bridge pilings in spots like the Magothy, Sever, and South Rivers, as well as the Chester and Eastern Bay. Word from FishTalk’s recent video is that folks are hammering jumbo perch—many running 10 to 12 inches—using Z-Man Flashback Mini Chatterbaits. Small beetle spins and grass shrimp are also taking fish if perch are a little shy.
Rockfish—striped bass for you out-of-towners—are going strong. They’re shifting from scattered summer patterns to schooling tighter, often near the Bay Bridge pilings early, then moving shallow during lower light. Most anglers are scoring well jigging soft plastics like BKDs or Bass Assassin Sea Shads, and you’ll do well to toss bucktails tipped with Gulp, especially around the bridge, Poplar Island, and Love Point. Live-lining spot is classic if you can find them, but keep an eye on new regs; always check before you head out.
Further south between Little Choptank and Point Lookout, trolling for Spanish mackerel is putting up big numbers. Anglers are pulling #1 or #2 planers with small, bright spoons—chartreuse or pink is the hot ticket—and finding packs of mackerel chasing bait. Burning heavy jigs like Yoi Hydra Shots across the surface is also producing for both macks and bluefish.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass are active too, with local shop staff reporting good catches on paddle tails and topwater lures like the DeraBuzz buzzbait, particularly at first and last light in the upper tidal rivers. Don’t miss the snakeheads—still strong in the thick remaining pads and dying grasses. Toss a hollow-bodied frog such as the Kapperlin Frog over that vegetation to draw savage strikes.
Hot bay oddities: Stone crabs, usually a Florida specialty, are now showing up in blue crab traps as far north as the Mid-Bay—likely no big numbers, but something to keep an eye on if you’re crabbing, as reported by The Bradenton Times. There’s also been a growing white shrimp presence, another sign of changing conditions in the bay.
For newcomers, a couple of area hot spots:
- **Hackett’s Bar and Thomas Point:** Perch and stripers biting, especially near sunrise.
- **Severn River bridge pilings and docks:** Larger perch and occasional stripers, best on small chatterbaits or live grass shrimp.
Best baits today: live spot or small white perch for rockfish if you can find them, grass shrimp for perch, and weedless frogs or chatterbaits for snakehead and bass. For artificials, stick to bright spoons for mackerel, heavy jigs for blues, and Gulp or scented soft plastics when jigging structure.
That wraps your September 13th bite update for the Chesapeake Bay and D.C./Baltimore waters. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure—if you want more reports and local tackle tips, don’t forget to subscribe! This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out quietplease dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.