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Fishing Reports

Weekly fishing reports for the Chesapeake Bay and Mid-Atlantic and surrounding region. If you would like to be notified via e-mail when our weekly fishing reports are updated, click here to sign up.

FishTalk fishing reports are presented by Costa Tequila, Anchor Boats, Brown Dog Marine, CCA MD,  Riverside Marine, Suzuki Marine, and Tri-State-Marine

Coastal
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, March 27 Update: Flounder season is back as the first few of the year have been caught in the coastal bays along the Eastern Shore of Virginia. This early in the year, your best bet is to try the areas between Wachapreague and Chincoteague as they typically see better numbers of fish compared to areas farther north. A few flounder have likely ventured into the Ocean City inlet and the verdict is still out on who will be the first to catch one from that area… Read more from Coastal...
Freshwater
Freshwater Fishing Report, March 27 Update: The dogwoods and cherry blossoms are blooming, so that means the rivers are coming alive with migratory fish. Contributor Eric Packard tried some shad fishing at Mason Springs early this week and found that the fish were in, with several dozen hitting his dart/spoon tandem in just two and a half hours. Gold spoons and red/yellow darts did the trick. He also spent some time at St. Mary’s Lake this week, where some bass and solid numbers of crappie… Read more from Freshwater...
Way North
Way North Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 27 Update: The Susquehanna Flats was still dealing with muddy water conditions and debris this week. Anglers reported poor conditions on the Susquehanna side of the flats while the North East River side was much cleaner with less debris. Catch and release fishing for striped bass has been very spotty because of these poor conditions, and there are only a few days left to target these fish on the Susquehanna Flats and lower Susquehanna River. The… Read more from Way North...
Upper Bay
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 27 Update: Striped bass are moving up the Chesapeake Bay as they get ready for their spring spawn. The migration offers great catch and release opportunities on the Bay if you can find the fish. We have some reports of big striped bass being caught just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and near the mouth of the Magothy River. Schools of big fish have been spotted in the shallows in other areas of the Bay, so there is a chance to find them close to… Read more from Upper Bay...
Middle Bay
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 27 Update: Striped bass are flooding into the Chesapeake Bay for their spring spawning run. A reader reported excellent action on catch-and-release rockfish from the mid-20s all the way up to 40” while kayak fishing in the shallows of the Middle Bay, trolling and jigging in seven to 10’ of water. The temperature was 50 degrees and plenty of marks were visible on side-scan. He said the fish hit a mix of plugs and jigs, although many were swiping and… Read more from Middle Bay...
Lower Bay
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 27 Update: Spring fishing opportunities are getting more numerous by the week as we close out the month of March. The big news this week was that the shad arrived in full force to the Lower Bay tidal rivers. Hickory shad have moved in big time. Water conditions on the rivers are a little murky, so the bite has been a bit tricky. Contributor Eric Packard tried some shad fishing at Mason Springs early this week and found that the fish were in, with… Read more from Lower Bay...
Tangier and Lower Shore
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, March 27 Update:  Striped bass are migrating up the Chesapeake Bay on the way to their spawning grounds. We have received several reports from different areas of the Bay where anglers are encountering schools of fish in very shallow water. Now that water temperatures have moved into the 50s and even low 60s in several areas of the lower Eastern Shore, it is likely that there are striped bass cruising around the shallows. Spawning is on their… Read more from Tangier and Lower Shore...
Way South
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 27 Update: Water temperatures in the Way South region are warming rapidly as we close out the month of March. We are right on the edge of several fishing opportunities expanding as 60 degrees is usually the magic number for several migratory species to start showing up. We have seen smaller tributaries in tidal rivers and inlets already reach 60-degree water temperatures on warm days, but the main stem of the Bay is still in the 50s. That is still… Read more from Way South...