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Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Cool Temps, Strong Bites for Stripers, Drums, and More
Published 5 months, 3 weeks ago
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Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay fishing report for Sunday, November 9, 2025, covering the Baltimore and Washington D.C. waters—let’s get right into it.
The weather’s brought some drama for us this weekend, with the morning Bay Bridge Run cancelled due to forecasted inclement weather, so expect gray skies, scattered light rain, and cooler November air, with highs only reaching about 59°F and winds shifting northerly at 5–10 knots. For tides on the bay, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge region saw low tide at 4:20 AM, high tide at 10:58 AM (up to 3.42 ft), another low at 5:26 PM, and a late high at 11:25 tonight. Sunrise came at 6:37 AM and sunset’s coming early at 4:59 PM—classic fall pattern, so plan your trips for that midday tide swing.
Now for the action: fish activity is strong on the main bay points and up the rivers, despite some weather. Reports from the last few days mention solid late fall fishing—King mackerel, bluefish, sheepshead, and black drum have all been in the mix for the inshore crews. Sheepshead have been thick around bridge pilings and rocky structure; folks are pulling limits on fiddler crabs or fresh clam strips. Red drum and black drum popped up as well, especially in the southern bay and the mouths of the larger rivers, with cut crab and peeler crab bringing best results.
On the artificial side, with water temps cooling down, jigs and soft plastics in chartreuse or white are working for schoolie stripers in the creeks and along the channel edges. Fall is prime time for trolling umbrella rigs rigged with sassy shads—great for chasing those trophy rockfish run. Don’t neglect a classic 6” BKD or paddletail bounced tight to the bottom for a shot at keeper-sized fish.
For those targeting tautog, the cape rocks and structure are producing on green crab and sand fleas. Reports all week kept mentioning sea bass caught further south, so those of you running boats down the bay, try squid strips or Gulp! baits tight to wrecks.
Bait choice today: live spot or menhaden are a top pick for bridge or deeper structure action, while bloodworms are still pulling white perch and smaller panfish in the feeder creeks. If you’re out for blues, metal jigs like Stingsilvers and Got-Cha plugs have been reliable, especially on the windier days.
As for what’s come over the rails lately, local shops from Annapolis and Kent Island reported keeper stripers ranging 18–28 inches, healthy bluefish on the eastern shore flats, and good numbers of late-season speckled trout mixed in when the water has been clearer.
Top hot spots:
- The Chesapeake Bay Bridge pilings—prime for stripers, sheepshead, and the odd tautog.
- Thomas Point Shoal—especially productive around the tide switches for schoolie rock and specks.
- Poplar Island and Bloody Point—working well for trolling and casting when the birds are working bait.
If you’re shore-bound, the piers at Sandy Point State Park and Matapeake are a great bet for blues, perch, and sometimes stripers on cut bait or soft plastics.
That’s your run-down for Sunday—thanks for tuning in to the Chesapeake Bay report with Artificial Lure. Make sure to subscribe for more up-to-date tips and bay news as we roll into prime fall fishing. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please 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.
The weather’s brought some drama for us this weekend, with the morning Bay Bridge Run cancelled due to forecasted inclement weather, so expect gray skies, scattered light rain, and cooler November air, with highs only reaching about 59°F and winds shifting northerly at 5–10 knots. For tides on the bay, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge region saw low tide at 4:20 AM, high tide at 10:58 AM (up to 3.42 ft), another low at 5:26 PM, and a late high at 11:25 tonight. Sunrise came at 6:37 AM and sunset’s coming early at 4:59 PM—classic fall pattern, so plan your trips for that midday tide swing.
Now for the action: fish activity is strong on the main bay points and up the rivers, despite some weather. Reports from the last few days mention solid late fall fishing—King mackerel, bluefish, sheepshead, and black drum have all been in the mix for the inshore crews. Sheepshead have been thick around bridge pilings and rocky structure; folks are pulling limits on fiddler crabs or fresh clam strips. Red drum and black drum popped up as well, especially in the southern bay and the mouths of the larger rivers, with cut crab and peeler crab bringing best results.
On the artificial side, with water temps cooling down, jigs and soft plastics in chartreuse or white are working for schoolie stripers in the creeks and along the channel edges. Fall is prime time for trolling umbrella rigs rigged with sassy shads—great for chasing those trophy rockfish run. Don’t neglect a classic 6” BKD or paddletail bounced tight to the bottom for a shot at keeper-sized fish.
For those targeting tautog, the cape rocks and structure are producing on green crab and sand fleas. Reports all week kept mentioning sea bass caught further south, so those of you running boats down the bay, try squid strips or Gulp! baits tight to wrecks.
Bait choice today: live spot or menhaden are a top pick for bridge or deeper structure action, while bloodworms are still pulling white perch and smaller panfish in the feeder creeks. If you’re out for blues, metal jigs like Stingsilvers and Got-Cha plugs have been reliable, especially on the windier days.
As for what’s come over the rails lately, local shops from Annapolis and Kent Island reported keeper stripers ranging 18–28 inches, healthy bluefish on the eastern shore flats, and good numbers of late-season speckled trout mixed in when the water has been clearer.
Top hot spots:
- The Chesapeake Bay Bridge pilings—prime for stripers, sheepshead, and the odd tautog.
- Thomas Point Shoal—especially productive around the tide switches for schoolie rock and specks.
- Poplar Island and Bloody Point—working well for trolling and casting when the birds are working bait.
If you’re shore-bound, the piers at Sandy Point State Park and Matapeake are a great bet for blues, perch, and sometimes stripers on cut bait or soft plastics.
That’s your run-down for Sunday—thanks for tuning in to the Chesapeake Bay report with Artificial Lure. Make sure to subscribe for more up-to-date tips and bay news as we roll into prime fall fishing. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please 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.