Updated: Thursday, October 22, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, October 29, 2026
This Chesapeake Bay fishing report covers late October, when fall delivers the best striper action of the year on the Chesapeake and cooler water pulls fish to shorelines and bridge pilings. Striped bass are the lead target around the Bay Bridge, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and the shorelines, bluefish blitz bait, and speckled trout show in the lower Bay. The condition to plan around is moving water at the bridges and points, with tides strengthening as the moon heads toward full.
What’s Hitting
Striped bass are around the Bay Bridge, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and the shorelines, and bluefish blitz bait. Speckled trout show in the lower Bay, red drum are around the Eastern Shore, and tautog are moving onto the structure.
Expect the striper action to keep improving as water temperatures drop.
Where to Find Them
Fish the Bay Bridge pilings and rocky points on the outgoing tide for stripers. Pilings and points break the current and create eddies where bait gets pushed around, and stripers hold on the down-current side to ambush it.
Work the shorelines of the lower Bay for trout, and look for birds over bait. Diving birds usually mean predators are pushing baitfish up from below. Approach a working flock from upwind and shut down at its edge so the fish stay up.
Tides & Conditions
With the moon heading toward full, tides are strengthening, and moving water at the bridges and points is best. Stronger currents move more bait past structure, which gives stripers more reasons to feed on each tide.
Check a current tide chart and the marine forecast for the day you plan to fish.
Tackle & Tactics
- Lures: bucktails with soft plastic trailers, swim shads and topwater plugs. A bucktail with a trailer covers different depths simply by changing the weight and the speed of the retrieve.
- Bait: live eels and bunker.
Match the presentation to the light. On bright days stripers hold deeper, so jig the bottom. In low light, work topwaters. It is one of the most reliable adjustments in fall striper fishing.
Local Intel This Week
Sandy Point State Park sits at the western end of the Bay Bridge and puts you close to the pilings and rocky points. Matapeake on the Eastern Shore side gives access to the same water, and Solomons Island is the base for the middle Bay. Kiptopeke State Park and Point Lookout State Park are other public access points for the lower Bay and its trout shorelines. Striper rules change by season and region on the Chesapeake. Check current state and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
Fish the tide changes at bridges and points where bait gets pushed. Arrive before the current starts to build so you are set up when the fish begin to feed. The first push of moving water after slack often triggers the most active feeding, and being in position early means you are casting rather than anchoring when it starts.
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