Artificial Lure here with your Chesapeake Bay fishing report for Thursday, October 23, 2025, focused on the Baltimore/Washington D.C. waters.

Sunrise hit at 7:21 AM, with sunset coming around 6:14 PM. Today’s weather is cool and bright—classic fall Chesapeake—thanks to high pressure settling in. The bay is seeing stable, sunny conditions, light chop, and minimal chance for rain, but those relentless autumn winds keep finding us. Main bay surface temperatures are mid-60s, with upper tidal rivers slightly cooler, flirting with the high 50s. Salinity’s riding a bit above normal, and the clarity’s just fine, so no worries sight-fishing the flats.

Tides for today out of the central bay are starting low around 6:48 AM, rolling to a high at 12:18 PM, then back to low near 7:43 PM. It’s a great moon for fishing—those strong currents have bait on the move, and the predators know it (Tide-Forecast.com confirms the numbers).

Fishing action is in full autumn swing, and the signs on the water prove it. Striped bass (“rockfish”) reports are steady, though anglers have to work a bit compared to years past. Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced a slight uptick in this year’s young-of-year survey, but spawning success remains well below the historical average. Still, there’s plenty of bigger fish for now, especially as they gorge before winter (Maryland DNR, October 22 report).

This week, nice keeper stripers were caught jigging around the Bay Bridge pilings, Pooles Island, Love Point, and the upper Patapsco near Baltimore Harbor. The Conowingo Dam pool is still holding fish, but dam flows are unpredictable—hit it early or after a strong generation run. Out in the main bay, trolling tandem bucktails and umbrella rigs deep along channel edges is producing. Shallow spots on a moving tide—particularly Eastern Bay and the mouth of the Magothy—are excellent for poppers, paddletails, and jerkbaits.

For bait, live-lining spot, small perch, or eels is top tier, but don’t overlook soft plastics in pearl, chartreuse, or a bone pattern. Creek Chub Striper Strike plugs fished around structure deliver results, too. White perch are gathering over oyster reefs and hard bottoms at river mouths, Matapeake being a classic spot, and bloodworm or grass shrimp on dropper rigs catch the jumbos.

Blue catfish are hungry along the mouths of the Susquehanna, Elk, and Northeast rivers—try fresh cut menhaden or chicken breast on a fish-finder rig. Channel edges are key. The snakehead bite is cooling but minnow under a popping cork still draws strikes.

Elsewhere, lower bay hotspots like the mouth of the Patuxent and Potomac feature mixed bags: stripers, a few red drum (catch-and-release), and crappie schooling up deep on marinas and bridge pilings—small minnows and marabou jigs below a slip float get the best of them.

My picks for today’s Chesapeake Bay hot spots:
- **Bay Bridge pilings and rock piles** – for stripers and white perch on light tackle
- **The mouth of the Susquehanna River** – for slab blue cats
- **Love Point rocks and Eastern Bay points** – for working topwater at dawn or dusk

Anglers on the local boards say it takes a bit of patience, but the rewards are there—this is prime time for fat, autumn-colored rockfish and mixed-bag action.

That wraps today’s report from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe, and good luck out there! This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI