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Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report: Braving the Winter Chill for Stripers, Cats, and Perch
Published 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Chesapeake Bay Baltimore–D.C. fishing report.
We woke up to classic mid‑December Bay weather: cold, clear, and breezy. The National Weather Service marine forecast for the mid‑Bay is calling for northwest winds 10–15 knots with higher gusts, air in the 30s–40s, and water temps hovering in the low 40s. Skies stay mostly sunny once the morning clouds burn off. Around Baltimore, first light slides in just after 7 a.m., sunrise about 7:15, and you’ll lose it again around 4:45 this afternoon.
Tides in the central Bay are running a typical winter set, with a low around daybreak and a mid‑day flood pushing bait up on the channel edges. NOAA tide predictions for the western shore show that late‑morning to early‑afternoon incoming as your best window to fish, especially around structure like the Bay Bridge rock piles and channel ledges off Chesapeake Beach.
According to the Maryland DNR fishing report from December 11, the Maryland striped bass season in the Bay is now closed, but catch‑and‑release is still on the table, and the tidal Potomac and Virginia waters stay open through the end of the month. That same report notes that the last week of the season wrapped up with strong jigging bites in 35–50 feet from Chesapeake Beach down to just south of the Calvert Cliffs power plant, plus around the Bay Bridge and the mouths of Eastern Bay and the Choptank.
Fish activity has slid into full winter mode. Schoolie stripers in the 24–30 inch range are still grouped tight on deep bait, with the bigger fish hanging under the flurries of birds. On The Water’s December 11 Maryland and Chesapeake Bay report backs up what locals are seeing: acres of bait and actively feeding bass when the wind lets you get out, especially on the western side channel edges. In the rivers, blue catfish are stacked in the deeper holes of the Patapsco, Potomac, and upper Choptank, many under 30 pounds but thick enough to keep rods bent. White perch are glued to the bottom in 30–50 feet near river mouths and deep hard‑bottom humps off Matapeake and Bloody Point.
Best producers right now are **big soft plastics on jigs**. Captains interviewed by On The Water are leaning on unskirted jigheads with 5–7 inch soft baits in natural bunker and pearl patterns, dropping them vertically under birds or slowly dragging them along the edges. Metals will still catch, but they’re pulling smaller fish. If you’re soaking bait for cats, fresh cut gizzard shad or menhaden is king, with white perch strips and even chicken liver a solid backup, as Maryland DNR notes.
A few specific hot spots for you:
• **Bay Bridge / Eastern Bay side** – Work the rock piles and adjacent channel in 35–50 feet with 1–2 oz jigheads and big paddletails; fish are tight to the bottom and will chew late morning as the tide builds.
• **Chesapeake Beach to Calvert Cliffs power plant** – Classic winter stretch. Watch for birds and bait slicks on the western edge, then drop large soft plastics right into the marks. That warm‑water plume near the plant often holds active fish even on the coldest days.
• **Upper tidal Potomac near D.C.** – If you want meat, anchor on the deep bends and ledges and put out fresh cut bait for blue cats; steady action and a real shot at a 20‑plus pounder.
For perch, tie simple bottom rigs with small hooks and tip them with grass shrimp or bits of bloodworm; slowly lift and drop just off the bottom until you find the school. When the wind howls, slide into the sheltered creeks and marinas and fish small paddletails along pilings for bonus schoolies and the odd yellow perch.
That’s the bite around the Chesapeake for today. Bundle up, pick your weather window, and fish that late‑morning flood hard.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.
This has been a quiet please p
We woke up to classic mid‑December Bay weather: cold, clear, and breezy. The National Weather Service marine forecast for the mid‑Bay is calling for northwest winds 10–15 knots with higher gusts, air in the 30s–40s, and water temps hovering in the low 40s. Skies stay mostly sunny once the morning clouds burn off. Around Baltimore, first light slides in just after 7 a.m., sunrise about 7:15, and you’ll lose it again around 4:45 this afternoon.
Tides in the central Bay are running a typical winter set, with a low around daybreak and a mid‑day flood pushing bait up on the channel edges. NOAA tide predictions for the western shore show that late‑morning to early‑afternoon incoming as your best window to fish, especially around structure like the Bay Bridge rock piles and channel ledges off Chesapeake Beach.
According to the Maryland DNR fishing report from December 11, the Maryland striped bass season in the Bay is now closed, but catch‑and‑release is still on the table, and the tidal Potomac and Virginia waters stay open through the end of the month. That same report notes that the last week of the season wrapped up with strong jigging bites in 35–50 feet from Chesapeake Beach down to just south of the Calvert Cliffs power plant, plus around the Bay Bridge and the mouths of Eastern Bay and the Choptank.
Fish activity has slid into full winter mode. Schoolie stripers in the 24–30 inch range are still grouped tight on deep bait, with the bigger fish hanging under the flurries of birds. On The Water’s December 11 Maryland and Chesapeake Bay report backs up what locals are seeing: acres of bait and actively feeding bass when the wind lets you get out, especially on the western side channel edges. In the rivers, blue catfish are stacked in the deeper holes of the Patapsco, Potomac, and upper Choptank, many under 30 pounds but thick enough to keep rods bent. White perch are glued to the bottom in 30–50 feet near river mouths and deep hard‑bottom humps off Matapeake and Bloody Point.
Best producers right now are **big soft plastics on jigs**. Captains interviewed by On The Water are leaning on unskirted jigheads with 5–7 inch soft baits in natural bunker and pearl patterns, dropping them vertically under birds or slowly dragging them along the edges. Metals will still catch, but they’re pulling smaller fish. If you’re soaking bait for cats, fresh cut gizzard shad or menhaden is king, with white perch strips and even chicken liver a solid backup, as Maryland DNR notes.
A few specific hot spots for you:
• **Bay Bridge / Eastern Bay side** – Work the rock piles and adjacent channel in 35–50 feet with 1–2 oz jigheads and big paddletails; fish are tight to the bottom and will chew late morning as the tide builds.
• **Chesapeake Beach to Calvert Cliffs power plant** – Classic winter stretch. Watch for birds and bait slicks on the western edge, then drop large soft plastics right into the marks. That warm‑water plume near the plant often holds active fish even on the coldest days.
• **Upper tidal Potomac near D.C.** – If you want meat, anchor on the deep bends and ledges and put out fresh cut bait for blue cats; steady action and a real shot at a 20‑plus pounder.
For perch, tie simple bottom rigs with small hooks and tip them with grass shrimp or bits of bloodworm; slowly lift and drop just off the bottom until you find the school. When the wind howls, slide into the sheltered creeks and marinas and fish small paddletails along pilings for bonus schoolies and the odd yellow perch.
That’s the bite around the Chesapeake for today. Bundle up, pick your weather window, and fish that late‑morning flood hard.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.
This has been a quiet please p