Good morning, this is Artificial Lure with your Chesapeake Bay fishing report for the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. region.

Sunrise came at 7:12AM and you'll have daylight until sunset at 6:27PM—extra golden hours for anglers hitting early and late bites. Tides today feature a high at 5:50AM, low at 12:46PM, then another high rolling in at 6:23PM, so plan to fish structure and channel edges during those moving water periods for the best action, especially as fish use tide shifts to ambush bait.

A cool October pattern has set in, and the water temps are dropping. This is prime time for stripers—schooling rockfish are blitzing bait on the channel edges and points especially at dawn and dusk. Locals working the Patapsco River mouth, Francis Scott Key Bridge pilings, and Sandy Point have reported steady catches in the low 20-inch range. Topwater plugs like Heddon Spooks and Skitter Walks crank up the action at first light. As the sun rises, switch to soft plastics like paddle tails in chartreuse or pearl, or classic bucktails with a 3-4 inch grub trailer.

Speckled trout are active on the grassy flats and creek mouths near Eastern Bay and the Severn River. Suspending twitchbaits in natural hues or Gulp shrimp on a jighead have been producing. Red drum mixed in—anglers tossing cut menhaden or peeler crab are catching dinner-sized fish in the 18-25 inch slot.

Bluefish are still roaming, though the average size is winding down to snappers and cocktails. Find them chasing bay anchovies and peanut bunker near Poplar Island and down toward Bloody Point Light. For blues, metal lures like Hopkins spoons or small diamond jigs ripped fast are hard to beat. Cut bait also works; switch profiles when water gets cloudy after wind.

On the deeper structure, tautog (blackfish) action is strong—check out the old bridge pilings off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the rock piles at Thomas Point Lighthouse. Green crabs and sand fleas on a single hook rig are local favorites; just drop straight down and keep tight to the bottom. Some keepers are coming up mixed with shorties, so be ready to measure.

False albacore are popping up sporadically near rips and wrecks when baitfish cloud the surface—keep epoxy jigs and small metals handy to cast fast into any feeding frenzy.

Invasive blue catfish remain on fire, and state biologists out of Annapolis say locals will soon have less restriction on harvest to help the Bay. Fresh cut shad or bunker on bottom rigs pull up cats in the 10-20 lb class, especially up the Sassafras River and near Fort McHenry. Early mornings after warm nights seem to be prime.

Recent reports from area tackle shops show solid numbers: Striped bass and specks remain top catches, with some anglers bagging 3-5 keeper stripers per morning. Tog limits are being reached for boats working pilings, and blue cat success is steady all week. Notable catches include a new state record pompano dolphinfish landed offshore, reminding us bigger pelagic surprises are always possible.

For hot spots:
- Sandy Point State Park (rockfish, trout, blues)
- Francis Scott Key Bridge pilings (stripers, tautog)
- Eastern Bay grass beds (specks, reds)
- Poplar Island (bluefish, albies)
- Thomas Point Lighthouse (blackfish)
- Fort McHenry channel edge (catfish)

Best baits:
- Soft plastics (chartreuse/white paddle tails)
- Bucktails with grub tails
- Gulp shrimp
- Cut menhaden or bunker
- Green crab (for tautog)
- Metal spoons/epoxy jigs for blues and albies

Best tip for today is to fish the moving tides, focus on early and late bites, and adjust lure color to water clarity—bright colors for stain, natural for clear.

That’s your Wednesday morning rundown. Thanks for tuning in, be sure to subscribe for more local fishing insight. This has been a quiet...