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Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Stripers, Sheepshead, and More on the Bite
Published 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
This is Artificial Lure with your Chesapeake Bay fishing report for Sunday, September 14th, 2025, serving up the latest from Baltimore to Washington D.C.
Weather today is stable—expect mild temps in the upper 60s to mid-70s, light variable winds, and partly cloudy skies. Water temps remain prime for late summer, sitting around the upper 60s to low 70s. According to Tide-Forecast.com, sunrise in the Bay is right at 6:46AM, with sunset tonight at 7:13PM. The high tide’s rolling in at 3:38AM and 4:18PM, while lows dip at 10:32AM and just before midnight. That means you’re looking at solid moving water through the morning, which should get the bite going especially around the flats and channel edges.
Fishing action’s been hot for Chesapeake standards. For the light-tackle crowd, rockfish (striped bass) remain the main draw. Fisherman's Landing's latest counts show rockfish taking center stage, and local charters are consistently reporting limits using soft plastics and topwater around dawn and dusk. A couple of folks working structure with 5-inch green pumpkin Yum Dingers—yes, even in brackish pockets—have landed upward of 25 fish in a session. These stickbaits work wonders when bass are finicky, and don’t sleep on jerkbaits early when the water’s calm. Soft plastic paddle tails in white or chartreuse and bucktail jigs tipped with twister tails have also boated consistent stripers right at the drop-offs.
Sheepshead are getting love around the pilings of the Bay Bridge and Key Bridge—crabs and sand fleas are the golden ticket for bait, with a few bigger fish reported on fiddler crabs. Flounder are lurking near channel edges and drop-offs south of the bridge—hit ’em on incoming tide with Gulp! swimming mullet or live minnows bounced close to bottom.
White perch are grouping up in the creeks and around oyster beds. A double-drop rig with bloodworms or grass shrimp will fill a bucket quick, but plenty of locals are catching on small spinnerbaits and shad darts fished on light gear.
If you’re after variety, the Patapsco River near Fort McHenry has been producing mixed bags of perch, spot, and a couple of bonus red drum. The Severn River is another sleeper pick—folks are reporting a solid evening bite on topwater for schoolie stripers and even a few chunky largemouths.
Your hot spots today:
- **Bay Bridge Piers** – classic for sheepshead and stripers, especially on moving water with crabs, soft plastics, or bucktails.
- **Eastern Bay Rips** – work the current seams for stripers on soft plastics, swimming plugs, or jig heads tipped with Z-Man paddletails.
- **Severn River Mouth** – strong reports of perch and schoolie stripers on ultralight jigs and spinners.
Best baits right now: live spot, bloodworms, grass shrimp, soft plastics, and green pumpkin or white stickbaits. For artificial fans, nothing’s beating a Rapala crankbait or a 3-inch grub fished just off the bottom early and late in the day.
Don’t forget—moving water is your friend this time of year. Fish structure, edges, and breaks where bait is pushed by tide. Early risers are getting rewarded and the evening bite just before sunset is dynamite.
Thanks for tuning in to your local Chesapeake Bay fishing report. Remember to subscribe so you never miss out on the latest scoop and the hottest hot spots.
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.
Weather today is stable—expect mild temps in the upper 60s to mid-70s, light variable winds, and partly cloudy skies. Water temps remain prime for late summer, sitting around the upper 60s to low 70s. According to Tide-Forecast.com, sunrise in the Bay is right at 6:46AM, with sunset tonight at 7:13PM. The high tide’s rolling in at 3:38AM and 4:18PM, while lows dip at 10:32AM and just before midnight. That means you’re looking at solid moving water through the morning, which should get the bite going especially around the flats and channel edges.
Fishing action’s been hot for Chesapeake standards. For the light-tackle crowd, rockfish (striped bass) remain the main draw. Fisherman's Landing's latest counts show rockfish taking center stage, and local charters are consistently reporting limits using soft plastics and topwater around dawn and dusk. A couple of folks working structure with 5-inch green pumpkin Yum Dingers—yes, even in brackish pockets—have landed upward of 25 fish in a session. These stickbaits work wonders when bass are finicky, and don’t sleep on jerkbaits early when the water’s calm. Soft plastic paddle tails in white or chartreuse and bucktail jigs tipped with twister tails have also boated consistent stripers right at the drop-offs.
Sheepshead are getting love around the pilings of the Bay Bridge and Key Bridge—crabs and sand fleas are the golden ticket for bait, with a few bigger fish reported on fiddler crabs. Flounder are lurking near channel edges and drop-offs south of the bridge—hit ’em on incoming tide with Gulp! swimming mullet or live minnows bounced close to bottom.
White perch are grouping up in the creeks and around oyster beds. A double-drop rig with bloodworms or grass shrimp will fill a bucket quick, but plenty of locals are catching on small spinnerbaits and shad darts fished on light gear.
If you’re after variety, the Patapsco River near Fort McHenry has been producing mixed bags of perch, spot, and a couple of bonus red drum. The Severn River is another sleeper pick—folks are reporting a solid evening bite on topwater for schoolie stripers and even a few chunky largemouths.
Your hot spots today:
- **Bay Bridge Piers** – classic for sheepshead and stripers, especially on moving water with crabs, soft plastics, or bucktails.
- **Eastern Bay Rips** – work the current seams for stripers on soft plastics, swimming plugs, or jig heads tipped with Z-Man paddletails.
- **Severn River Mouth** – strong reports of perch and schoolie stripers on ultralight jigs and spinners.
Best baits right now: live spot, bloodworms, grass shrimp, soft plastics, and green pumpkin or white stickbaits. For artificial fans, nothing’s beating a Rapala crankbait or a 3-inch grub fished just off the bottom early and late in the day.
Don’t forget—moving water is your friend this time of year. Fish structure, edges, and breaks where bait is pushed by tide. Early risers are getting rewarded and the evening bite just before sunset is dynamite.
Thanks for tuning in to your local Chesapeake Bay fishing report. Remember to subscribe so you never miss out on the latest scoop and the hottest hot spots.
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.