Chesapeake Bay fishing report for the week of September 17, 2026. The first cool nights of the fall have flipped a switch on the Chesapeake. Stripers that spent August deep and lethargic are back on the shorelines and structure feeding on topwater at dawn, and the middle bay is still full of Spanish mackerel and bluefish chasing bait. I spent enough Septembers on this bay during my Mid-Atlantic editing years to know this is the week you clear the calendar.
What’s Hitting
This week on the water it is striped bass on top. Fish from schoolie size to the mid-20-inch range are working the rock piles, points, and bridge pilings in the morning, with bigger fish under the birds in the middle bay. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are breaking on bait from the Bay Bridge down to the Potomac mouth and along the eastern shore channel edges. Cobia are making a last showing around the lower bay buoys and the Bay Bridge-Tunnel before they head south, and red drum are still on the lower bay shoals. Spot and croaker are thick in the rivers and white perch are steady on the shoreline structure.
Where to Find Them
Stripers are on the rock piles and shoreline points at first light, including the Bay Bridge pilings, the Poplar Island and Eastern Bay points, and the mouths of the western shore rivers. Look for birds over breaking fish in the middle bay from the Bridge down to the Choptank and Little Choptank. Spanish and blues are under the birds along the channel edges. Cobia are around the buoys and the Bay Bridge-Tunnel islands in the lower bay. Spot and croaker are in the Patuxent, Choptank, and Rappahannock rivers.
Tides & Conditions
Moderate tides this week between the moons, with the morning moving water setting up the topwater feed. Bay water is in the mid to upper 70s and dropping, which has pushed the dissolved oxygen issues out of the picture and brought the stripers shallow. Winds have been light out of the north most mornings with a calm bay and clear water.
Tackle & Tactics
For topwater stripers, a walk-the-dog plug or a popper in the low light, then a soft-plastic paddle tail on a half-ounce jig head or a light jig once the sun gets up, on a 7-foot medium spinning rod with 20-pound braid and 20-pound fluorocarbon leader. Under the birds, a metal jig or a paddle tail cast to the edge of the school. For Spanish and blues, a small spoon trolled at speed or a Gotcha plug cast to breaking fish. Cobia want a live eel or a bucktail sight-cast to cruising fish.
Local Intel This Week
Sandy Point State Park is the main public ramp for the Bay Bridge area, with Matapeake and Kent Narrows serving the eastern shore, Solomons the Patuxent mouth, and the Lynnhaven ramp and Kiptopeke for the lower bay. Shore anglers are catching stripers and perch from the Sandy Point and Matapeake shorelines and the Bill Burton fishing pier. Fish are concentrating on the shoreline structure at first light and under the birds in the middle bay. Striped bass regulations differ between Maryland and Virginia waters and change seasonally; check current Maryland DNR and Virginia VMRC regulations before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
The topwater window on the fall Chesapeake is short. Be on your first spot with a plug in the water at first light, not at sunrise, and when the surface bite fades, switch to a jig on the same structure rather than running to look for more birds. The fish are still there; they have just dropped a few feet.
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