Artificial Lure here with your Wednesday, October 29, 2025, Chesapeake Bay fishing report for Baltimore and the Washington D.C. scene.

Sunrise came at 7:25 AM, and expect sunset around 6:09 PM, so plan your bites around those low-light windows when stripers feed hardest. We’ve got a classic late October weather pattern setting up: mostly cloudy skies, brisk NE winds at 15-20 knots, and a Small Craft Advisory stretching through 6 PM per the National Weather Service and WBOC Marine Forecast. Bay waves are holding at 2-3 feet, so inshore, sheltered spots and the lee side of bridge pilings or river mouths are favorite choices today.

As for tides, Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel had high at 1:47 AM, low at 7:55 AM, next high rolling in at 2:18 PM, and another low at 8:51 PM. The Fishing Point tide looks similar, with a pre-dawn high followed by midmorning low and a second push this afternoon around 2 PM. Prime fishing will fall just before and after these tide changes, especially when the current gets moving.

Now, the bite—let’s talk rockfish, or striped bass if you’re new in town. Southern Maryland Chronicle reports rockfish action is off the charts right now, with abundant fish from 23-35 inches in the Bay and tidal rivers. Keepers in the 20-31 inch slot are coming to hand but many are overslot tanks, so check those regulations—only one fish per angler, circle hooks mandatory on bait as per Maryland DNR. The rips and ledges off Cedar Point, Sharps Island, Broome Island, and the rocks at Solomons are loaded. Patuxent River’s hotspots include Sheridan Point, Captain’s Point, St. Leonard’s Lump and Sotterley. On the Potomac, focus near St. George Island and Ragged Point where breaking fish are piling up at dawn and dusk.

Menhaden—the local’s call ‘em bunker—are the bait of choice right now. Fall is peak migration, and stripers are gorging on live, cut, or chunked menhaden. Outdoor Life’s Quick Strike Podcast confirms bunker is the king for fall striper—whether snagged with a treble hook past a school, or nosed-rigged for a lively presentation in current. If bunker’s tough to get, soft plastic jerkbaits and paddletails in pearl white or chartreuse will get hammered, especially when fished near surface boils, birds, or bait schools. Trolling umbrella rigs with shad bodies is connecting on the deeper drifts, and jigging with 1- to 2-ounce bucktails or heavy metal slabs lets you work midday fish holding tight to structure.

White perch are running hot in the Patuxent and creeks like Hawk’s Nest. Bloodworms, minnows, or Fishbites on a bottom rig will keep rods bent with bonus panfish.

Reports from Woods & Waters Magazine and The Average Angler blog say sand eels are mixing in with the bait schools, so tossing small profile lures—a slim jig, epoxy minnow, or feathered spoon—could match the hatch and deliver strikes. Always keep an eye out for birds—they’ll show you where the bait and feeding stripers are working.

Hot spots for today:
- Cedar Point rocks and rips
- Broome Island and St. Leonard’s Lump
- Solomons bridge, especially at tide change
- Sheridan & Captain’s Point, Patuxent River
- Ragged Point, St. George Island cut in the Potomac

Check your gear, steer clear of open water if winds pick up, and stick to those structure-heavy, bait-rich areas to score. The strong fall run is supporting excellent numbers, with improved recruitment noted this year, but overall stocks do remain guarded—so fish smart, snap some pics, and let the big breeders go!

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