Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report July 4th, 2025!

The extreme heat recently has made fishing in the Upper Bay particularly tough. Rockfish are easy to pattern (if you can find them) this time of year, with very early morning and dusk being the bite windows. Think, 5:00am to 8:00am and 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Casting topwater lures at shoreline structure or jigging paddletails and BKDs over submerged structure are effective methods. Live lining spot should work well, too. Areas to target include the Patapsco River, old Key Bridge, Baltimore Harbor, Chester River, and the Bay Bridge. Other species to target in these areas include catfish, perch, spot, and croaker. Catfishing has been solid, with plenty of channels and a few blues being reported. Look to target holes or drop offs in the creeks and rivers, and channel edges in the main Bay. Cut alewife or mud shad are great selections for bait. Perch are still few and far between in the Upper Bay zone, but can be caught using grass shrimp or bloodworms on sabikis. Perch Hounders are starting to get hit as well. The hottest bite in the Upper Bay will be for spot and croaker. Razor clams, bloodworms, and lugworms hooked on sabiki rigs is the way to go.

Similar to the Upper Bay, the pattern for rockfish in the Middle Bay zone is going to be the daybreak and dusk hours. Reports of catches on poppers, spooks, and paddletails are trickling in from the Eastern Shore tributaries, Poplar Island, Chesapeake Beach, and the Patuxent River. White perch fishing has picked up significantly in the Middle Bay, with lots of anglers catching a good number of eater-sized fish on Perch Hounders, jigs tipped with grass shrimp, and even on paddletails up to 4 inches. Spot and croaker are readily available as well, and can be caught in large numbers using bloodworms or razor clams. The speckled trout bite in the shallows has seemed to drop off since the first spawn of the summer, so look to target this species a bit deeper. Diving plugs and paddletails will work well. Anglers trolling hoses and spoons are still getting into bluefish, though the reports in the Middle Bay zone slowed down this week a bit.

Fishing for rockfish in the Lower Bay will likely require the same strategies and tactics as mentioned above in the Middle and Upper Bay zones. As the heat of summer rages on, some of the warmer water species are making a greater showing. Speckled trout are more numerous in the Lower Bay than they have been in recent weeks, with many anglers catching more trout than rockfish on light tackle trips. They will readily hit the same lures one would throw at rockfish, but, if you’re specifically trying to target the specks, try adding some scent like Procure Gel, or throwing scented lures like Gulp. Reports of puppy drum have picked up as well, and can be found mixed in with trout and rockfish. Slot reds are still few and far between, however. Bull reds and cobia have made their way into Maryland waters and can be targeted by trolling hoses, casting 7 inch to 9 inch paddletails, or chunking alewife and floating live eels. Other news from the Target Ships area includes hot bluefish action, with some reports of gator blues up to 30 inches. Trolling spoons, hoses, and casting metals at breaking fish are the best ways to score a bite. Perch, croaker, and spot are also plentiful, and can be targeted the same ways as mentioned above in the Middle and Upper Bay zones.

Consistent with the salty side of things, hot air temperatures have led to warming water temperatures, making the bite for most freshwater species relatively tough. Bass are willing to hit topwater lures, spinnerbaits, and other moving lures during the morning and evening hours, but the mid day bite is extremely tough. Crappie will be holding deep and can be targeted with small feather or tube jigs, but expect them to be finicky, even if you find a pile of them. Sunfish are readily available all day and can provide consistent action using nightcrawlers, waxworms, articifial flies, or micro jigs. Snakehead are in peak spawn, meaning sight casting opportunities are plentiful. Look for fry balls and harass them with topwater frogs. Not every parent will be willing to strike, but be prepared, because if these fish do decide to act and protect their fry, the bite will be vicious. Areas like the Potomac River and Blackwater are good places to target.

Offshore fishing is pretty epic right now, with lots of yellowfin being brought back to the docks. The best water seems to be in the Washington and Poormans canyons at the moment. Tile fishing in these same canyons is great as well, with some big goldens being pulled up in 600 feet to 1000 feet of water. The wrecks and reefs are still producing a fair amount of seabass and flounder, but the more they get pressured, the tougher the fishing will become. Inshore, rockfish and bluefish are plentiful around bridges. Targeting them with deep diving plugs or heavy jigs should get it done. From the surf, shark fishing remains hot at night time, and during the day anglers can occupy themselves with whiting, spot, croaker, and the occasional flounder or bluefish.