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Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report September 20 2025: Stripers, Bluefish, Sheepshead Dominate Inshore Bite
Published 7 months, 1 week ago
Description
This is Artificial Lure with your Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore/Washington D.C. fishing report for Saturday, September 20th, 2025.
First light hit the water at 6:50AM with a pastel sunrise, and anglers got a little over 12 hours on the water before sunset at 7:03PM. Tides today favored early risers: low at 4:32AM, peaking high at 9:48AM, dropping again low at 4:49PM, then pushing back to high around 10:06PM. That morning high paired with the sunrise has been prime for active fish movements, especially with light southeast winds and stable conditions settling in after midweek storms, making for solid inshore and nearshore action according to local tide-forecast sources.
Fish activity in the Upper and Middle Bay is ramping up. On The Water reports bluefish schools blitzing bait all through the Bay and coastal tributaries, with packs of 2-4 pounders chasing peanut bunker and silversides, especially under birds. Shore and boat anglers are picking up bluefish on topwater spooks and spoons during the morning tide swing; switch to soft plastics and subsurface twitchbaits after the schools settle down.
Striped bass are dialed in on topwaters at dawn and dusk in the rivers and along main channel edges. Pop-Rs, Zara Spooks, and paddletails are all producing. Target grass lines and current rips around the Patapsco River mouth, Love Point, and Poplar Island for keeper-size fish, with many anglers reporting steady action on fish 20-26 inches—though a few larger ones have been caught up near the surface on the ebbing tide.
Bottom fishing has been rewarding too. Sheepshead are still chewing around bridge pilings from the Target Ship down to the Bay Bridge Tunnel, with fat fish hitting green crab and fiddler baits fished tight to structure. Spot and white perch are thick near dock pilings and creek mouths, biting pieces of bloodworm and shrimp. According to recent trip reports from On The Water, catches have been good—double-digit hauls of perch and spot are common when you find the right depth on the outgoing tide.
Albies and bonito have appeared in open bay waters between the mouth of the Chester River and Bloody Point. Fast-moving metals like Deadly Dicks and Epoxy Jigs are your best bet for these speedsters—keep an eye out for surface feeds kicked up by terns.
If you’re looking for a couple of reliable hot spots today:
- **Key Bridge area on the Patapsco:** Good topwater striper bite at first light, plus bluefish blitzes mid-morning.
- **Poplar Island edges:** Consistent for stripers, spot, and the occasional surprise flounder.
- **Bay Bridge pilings:** Sheepshead, white perch, and spot—work the deepest pilings as the outgoing tide gains speed.
The bite offshore is still strong if you get a weather window. Recent Northeast Offshore Reports mention canyon hauls of yellowfin and some bigeye tuna. Tuna anglers chunking butterfish and trolling ballyhoo saw excellent success. But if you’re sticking near the Bay Bridge or Thomas Point, mess with soft plastics for resident stripers or try cut menhaden for blue.
Best lures right now:
- **Topwaters (bone or silver) for striped bass and bluefish**
- **1/2 to 1 oz jigheads with paddletail swimbaits for schoolie stripers**
- **Metals (Deadly Dick, Kastmaster) for albies and bonito**
- **Fiddler crabs or green crab for sheepshead**
Best bait:
- **Live spot** for trophy stripers if regulations permit
- **Bloodworms and shrimp** for spot and perch
- **Cut menhaden** for bluefish on the drift
That’s your wrap for this breezy September morning on the Bay. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next local bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
First light hit the water at 6:50AM with a pastel sunrise, and anglers got a little over 12 hours on the water before sunset at 7:03PM. Tides today favored early risers: low at 4:32AM, peaking high at 9:48AM, dropping again low at 4:49PM, then pushing back to high around 10:06PM. That morning high paired with the sunrise has been prime for active fish movements, especially with light southeast winds and stable conditions settling in after midweek storms, making for solid inshore and nearshore action according to local tide-forecast sources.
Fish activity in the Upper and Middle Bay is ramping up. On The Water reports bluefish schools blitzing bait all through the Bay and coastal tributaries, with packs of 2-4 pounders chasing peanut bunker and silversides, especially under birds. Shore and boat anglers are picking up bluefish on topwater spooks and spoons during the morning tide swing; switch to soft plastics and subsurface twitchbaits after the schools settle down.
Striped bass are dialed in on topwaters at dawn and dusk in the rivers and along main channel edges. Pop-Rs, Zara Spooks, and paddletails are all producing. Target grass lines and current rips around the Patapsco River mouth, Love Point, and Poplar Island for keeper-size fish, with many anglers reporting steady action on fish 20-26 inches—though a few larger ones have been caught up near the surface on the ebbing tide.
Bottom fishing has been rewarding too. Sheepshead are still chewing around bridge pilings from the Target Ship down to the Bay Bridge Tunnel, with fat fish hitting green crab and fiddler baits fished tight to structure. Spot and white perch are thick near dock pilings and creek mouths, biting pieces of bloodworm and shrimp. According to recent trip reports from On The Water, catches have been good—double-digit hauls of perch and spot are common when you find the right depth on the outgoing tide.
Albies and bonito have appeared in open bay waters between the mouth of the Chester River and Bloody Point. Fast-moving metals like Deadly Dicks and Epoxy Jigs are your best bet for these speedsters—keep an eye out for surface feeds kicked up by terns.
If you’re looking for a couple of reliable hot spots today:
- **Key Bridge area on the Patapsco:** Good topwater striper bite at first light, plus bluefish blitzes mid-morning.
- **Poplar Island edges:** Consistent for stripers, spot, and the occasional surprise flounder.
- **Bay Bridge pilings:** Sheepshead, white perch, and spot—work the deepest pilings as the outgoing tide gains speed.
The bite offshore is still strong if you get a weather window. Recent Northeast Offshore Reports mention canyon hauls of yellowfin and some bigeye tuna. Tuna anglers chunking butterfish and trolling ballyhoo saw excellent success. But if you’re sticking near the Bay Bridge or Thomas Point, mess with soft plastics for resident stripers or try cut menhaden for blue.
Best lures right now:
- **Topwaters (bone or silver) for striped bass and bluefish**
- **1/2 to 1 oz jigheads with paddletail swimbaits for schoolie stripers**
- **Metals (Deadly Dick, Kastmaster) for albies and bonito**
- **Fiddler crabs or green crab for sheepshead**
Best bait:
- **Live spot** for trophy stripers if regulations permit
- **Bloodworms and shrimp** for spot and perch
- **Cut menhaden** for bluefish on the drift
That’s your wrap for this breezy September morning on the Bay. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next local bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn