Middle Bay Fishing Reports

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, September 4 Update:

Rockfish season is open again and anglers are reporting topwater action around Poplar Island and strong light tackle bites in some rivers. Bull red drum remain a major attraction, but finding them requires covering water and using side-scan to locate schools along shipping-channel edges from Sharps Island Light south toward the Maryland line. Spanish mackerel and bluefish continue to provide plenty of action, while croaker, spot, and other bottom species are holding over oyster reefs and hard bottom.

A great mix of species is currently in the Middle Bay in addition to the blues and Spanish mackerel most anglers have been chasing. Contributor Eric Packard reports that the cutlassfish are still in the Solomons area and spending an hour in Mill Creek last weekend produced a quick flurry of action. They bit on 3/8 jig heads with chartreuse twister tails in 16’ to 17’ of water and were stacked thick near the bottom. We had four different anglers check in with reports of keeper croaker over oyster bottom or reef sites and, in one case, jumbo spot plus small sea trout alongside them, all being caught on bloodworms and Fishbites bloodworm strips. The South River oyster bars, the west side of the Bay Bridge, and the Clint Waters reef in the Choptank were productive spots. Another cool bottom fishing catch came from a subscriber fishing near Holland Point, who reported a small black drum mixed in with spot.

A subscriber scanning through the area south of Hoopers Island Light reported locating some bull redfish on the meter and bringing two in the 40” range to the boat early in the week. He also said they saw the fish breaking water very briefly, but by the time they got there, other boats had arrived, and the brief frenzy had ended. The bull red drum fishing has been excellent over the past month, but don’t let all the pictures and videos of successful trips fool you, it still takes a lot of luck and some skill to have a successful day targeting these fish. Be prepared to cover a lot of water and deal with a lot of other boats searching for them too. The schools of reds can be found anywhere from Sharps Island Light down to the Maryland line, so there are a lot of areas to search. Running the edges of the shipping channel and scanning with side scan is the best tactic for locating them. When they show themselves on the meter or on the surface, be ready to throw large soft plastics at them and take advantage of the opportunities they present. As quickly as they appear, they can also disappear.

While we were hoping for cooler weather for the return of rockfish season, summer is trying to keep its grip on us with temperatures in the 90s. Luckily, the fishing is picking right back up where it left off in July. We had a few reports from anglers fishing several areas of the Middle Bay who found fish willing to bite. One reader checked in after fishing at Poplar Island. They said that the fish were willing to hit topwater along the east side of the island during an evening trip. Their crew caught 14 rockfish, all on topwater lures. Two were over slot, one was an under, and the rest were slot-sized fish. Another subscriber checked in after fishing the lower Patuxent for the second “opening day” of rockfish season for 2026. They said that the rockfish were thick around the piers and during the last half-hour of daylight, just about every cast produced slot-sized fish on half-ounce jigheads with five-inch Opening Night paddletails. Captain Kenny Spicer reports that the rockfish are active on the Eastern Shore. This week, he and a co-angler found them and white perch active and feeding in one of the Middle Bay rivers. The AIC says he hit Thomas Point, Poplar, and parts of Tilghman ISO rockfish yesterday, finding one dink at Thomas, halfway decent numbers but mostly small fish scattered at all parts of Poplar, and nothing in the shallows along Tilghman. White five-inch paddletails on half-ounce heads and Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow caught some fish, but a bone-color Spook attracted the most attention by far. Interestingly (and confoundingly!) a large number of larger slot-sized fish followed the Spook right up to the boat without ever committing. Some hit it gingerly (generally missing) and only a couple of decent-sized fish made a real attack.