Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report – November 7th, 2025!

The Middle Bay remained the hottest zone for rockfish this past week, with reports of good numbers of fish coming from the mouth of the Choptank, Severn, South, and West Rivers, as well as Eastern Bay, Thomas Point, and Poplar Island. Trolling along channel edges has been effective, as well as jigging metals and soft plastics. Live-lining spot or eels over structure in these areas was working well, too. Bird shows continue to pop up during sunrise and sunset hours. Some decent reports of white perch fishing came from Kent Island and Matapeake, where anglers were having success on sabiki rigs tipped with grass shrimp or bloodworms, as well as metal jigs.

The rockfish bite remains hot in the Lower Bay zone in areas like the mouth of the Patuxent and Potomac Rivers, as well as the Tangier Sound. The shallow water bite is best in the Lower Bay right now, with anglers catching fish on diving plugs, surface plugs, and soft plastic paddletails. Rockfish can also be found along channel edges in these same areas in 20 feet to 50 feet of water. Jigging soft plastics, metals, or trolling umbrella rigs can be effective. Live spot and live eels will also work well. The occasional puppy drum, speckled trout, and flounder have been caught around the same shallow water structure where rockfish are feeding. White perch are being caught on micro jigs tipped with grass shrimp or sabiki rigs tipped with bloodworms.

Trout stocking has ended, but many of these fish will still be available to catch for the remainder of the fall and into the winter. Check the DNR website for areas where fish were stocked, and catch them using small inline spinners, small jerkbaits, and Powerbait rigs. Smallmouth fishing in the Upper Potomac, Monocacy, and Susquehanna Rivers has been great, however waders should take caution as flows rose this past week and the water has muddied up a bit. Largemouth bass can be caught in any of our ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and upper reaches of tidal rivers. They are hanging around structure that relates to deeper water, and can be caught on spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, soft plastic swimbaits, and glidebaits. Crappie in the same bodies of water have been schooled up tight around structure in deeper water and can be caught on live minnows, small jigs, or small spinners. Snakehead are active on warmer afternoons in areas like Blackwater and tributaries of the Potomac River. They are biting on subsurface baits like paddletails paired with underspins and chatterbaits. Pickerel continue to feed hard in the Eastern Shore millponds, and can be caught on minnows, soft plastic swimbaits, jerkbaits, or glidebaits.

The wind this week made fishing in Ocean City pretty difficult, but some anglers were able to get out there. Sheepshead and tautog continue to be caught at the Ocean City inlet and in the back bay, with anglers catching them on bottom sweeper jigs tipped with sand fleas, fiddler crab, or green crab. Rockfish are being caught at the RT 50 bridge on live eels and heavy jigs. Bottom fishing at the wrecks and reefs have produced good species variety including triggerfish, black sea bass, flounder, and tautog. Out in the canyons, some swordfish are being caught as well as mahi.

The crabbing season is pretty much over, however water temperatures may still allow for some crabs to be caught on trot lines in the 10 feet to 20 feet range. In the next week or two, however, crabbing action will shut down completely as the burrow into the mud for the winter.