Artificial Lure here, bringing you the latest from the water on October 30th, 2025 for the Chesapeake Bay and the Baltimore/Washington D.C. corridor.

Let’s start with the tides and the clock. If you’re launching before the sun, sunrise today is at 7:26 AM, and sunset falls at 6:08 PM. For Baltimore’s inner harbor and the mid-bay shorelines, the tide will be high at around 2:04 AM, then low near 8:26 AM, high again at 2:30 PM, and the next low tide just after dark. If you’re fishing the lower Bay or Bridge Tunnel, you'll see high tide around 2:50 AM and again at 3:19 PM, with lows near 9:01 AM and 9:46 PM. Tide timing’s critical for bass and perch, so plan your casts around moving water.

Weather’s not making things easy. WBOC’s marine report has winds blowing hard east, 25-30 knots, waves at 3-5 feet, with a Small Craft Advisory posted until Friday morning. A Gale Watch kicks in Friday, so keep an eye on your gear and stay close to protected shorelines—these breezy conditions are kicking up serious chop and pushing bait schools tight to bulkheads, docks, and shoreline structure.

Now the fish—what’s biting and where? According to the Maryland DNR’s latest fishing report, striped bass are still hungry, especially in the Baltimore Inner Harbor, Patapsco River mouth, and near Fort McHenry. Anglers are doing well jigging along the channel edges and casting topwater lures or paddletails by rocky shores and piers. Pooles Island and Love Point rocks remain upper Bay favorites for steady action. For numbers, most boats report modest catches, with stripers running 18–22 inches average, some pushing up to 30 inches as the bigger schools arrive.

White perch haven’t moved out yet—mouth of Curtis Creek, Patapsco, and scattered shoals are holding solid schools. Best baits are dropper rigs with small soft plastics, shad darts, or classics like grass shrimp, small minnow, and bloodworm pieces. These rigs are pulling perch by the bucket, especially if you’re anchored over oyster lumps or creek mouths on the outgoing tide.

Middle Bay’s making the seasonal turn with water dipping toward the low-60s. Shallows along Thomas Point, Poplar Island, and Sharps Island Light are delivering good dawn and dusk topwater bites. Channel edges, especially near the Bay Bridge and river mouths like the Choptank, are hot for jigging—metal and soft plastic jigs are landing stripers and an uptick of keeper-sized fish. Trolling umbrella rigs with deep inline weights is still productive if you’re set up for it.

Best gear for today: Locals are swearing by chartreuse or white paddletails, 1/2 to 1 ounce jig heads, topwater plugs in bone or shad colors for low-light, and classic jerkbaits for ripping currents. Live bait—spot, eels, or white perch—remains king if you can find them. For perch, grass shrimp on a two-hook bottom rig or shad darts tipped with bloodworm are producing.

Expect lower visibility from stirred-up water, so go with bright or noisy lures. If the wind drives you into the creeks or harbors, match your retrieve speed to the current and use heavier jig heads.

Hot spots to hit:
- **Baltimore Inner Harbor and Fort McHenry piers** for dawn topwater striper.
- **Bay Bridge pilings and Love Point channel edges** for jigging and live bait.
- **Poplar Island and Eastern Bay shoals** for evening perch and striper action.

If you’re braving the lower Bay, Piney Point, Cedar Point rocks, and Tangier Sound shores are holding fish, especially if you’re casting into wind-driven bait balls or trolling deep umbrella rigs.

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