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 Anchor Boats, Brown Dog Marine, Fishbites, Parish Creek Landing, Riverside Marine, Suzuki Marine, and Tri-State-Marine
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, December 1 Update:
November treated us to some great fishing in our coastal areas and December is looking to offer up some great opportunities too. It looks like phenomenal black sea bass action isn’t letting up at the inshore wrecks and reefs, and Captain Monty on the Morning Star has continued to enjoy excellent action including limit catches. Keeper flounder and tautog are also being caught at the bass grounds. Fish In OC checked in with an epic late… Read more from Coastal...
Freshwater Fishing Report, December 1 Update:
We had reader reports from the Eastern Shore millponds the past week of decent but not red-hot pickerel action on suspended jerk-baits. Contributor Eric Packard had a similar experience hunting pickerel at St. Mary’s Lake but reports that the crappie were stacked up and feeding. Another reader checked in after finding a slow crappie bite at a different southern Maryland lake. He said the fish were more inclined to hit live minnows under a bobber… Read more from Freshwater...
Way North Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 1 Update:
As we enter December, fishing is slowing down and consistent bites are becoming harder to find. The colder months require more patience and persistence, but the reward of applying both can be great. Blue catfish will be the main target for many upper Bay anglers during the colder months. These fish are plentiful throughout all the upper Bay tributaries. The Susquehanna River and Flats has been producing some very big catfish all… Read more from Way North...
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 1 Update:
Fishing for striped bass has slowed down significantly in the upper Bay, but there are still pockets of fish around. Anglers are just having to work harder to find them. Keeping an eye out for working birds is reliable right now, though it often requires covering lots of water to find the bird show. Recently there have also been some “false alarms” triggered by loons pushing bait to the surface. River mouths, Love Point, the Bay Bridge… Read more from Upper Bay...
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 1 Update:
The Angler in Chief says the birds disappeared, hopefully just temporarily, from some east side areas they were prevalent including south of Poplar Island, but were working hard from Franklin Manor down to Chesapeake Beach recently. As has been the case all fall the approach of a boat usually breaks them up quickly, and it’s necessary to putt around the area until spotting fish on the meter or side-scan. White skirts over avocado BKDs on… Read more from Middle Bay...
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 1 Update:
The late season mega-size blue cat bite is on and in full swing in the lower Bay tribs. This week we heard about a 43” 40-pounder reeled up in the Potomac, and for two weeks running readers have reported 30-plus-pound blues mixed in with coolers full of smaller fish caught in the James. We even saw a report from an angler who was light tackle jigging for speckled trout in the lower James River and hooked into a blue cat that was over 20… Read more from Lower Bay...
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, December 1 Update:
Water temperatures along the Eastern Shore are hovering between the upper 40s and low 50s which has pushed many fish to deeper water. There are still a few rockfish being caught in the pockets of warmer water in the shallows, but their numbers are thinning. Searching deeper water structure and along channel edges will be a safer bet moving forward when searching for stripers. Guide C.L. Marshall of Tangier Sound Charters has… Read more from Tangier and Lower Shore...
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 1 Update:
Speckled trout are the main target for many light tackle anglers in this region of the Bay right now, and fishing for them has been speck-tacular. They are being caught in most of the tidal inlets, creeks, and rivers. Virginia Beach Sport Fishing let us know that Captain Todd Beck with Knot Wish’n Charters reported a fantastic trout bite at Rudee Inlet last weekend, with almost every cast producing a fish for three hours. However,… Read more from Way South...