Red Chapman is happy with the first striped bass he has ever caught while on a recent outing on the Chesapeake Bay. Photo by Travis Long

Anglers are now picking the days they fish based on weather, and there will be those sunny days with little wind that will invite anglers to wet a line.

After December 10, the 2025 striped bass season will be closed in Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. The tidal Potomac River and Virginia waters will be open to striped bass fishing through December 31. In Maryland’s portion of the Atlantic Ocean, coastal bays, and their tributaries, anglers may catch and keep one striped bass 28-31 inches in length per day. Catch-and-release fishing for striped bass is allowed in all Maryland waters during this time.

This is our final weekly Maryland Fishing Report for 2025 – we will resume in early 2026. As 2025 ends, we look back on an exciting year for Maryland fishing. Four new state records set in the Atlantic Division, two in the Chesapeake Division, and one in the Invasive Division. The state record program strives to showcase the quality of fishing opportunities in Maryland. We also saw eleven anglers reach the milestone award of Master Angler by catching ten different qualifying fish species for the FishMaryland program, and there were also numerous Expert Angler and other achievement levels. Check our website for all the ways to get involved in this rewarding program. 

If you have a fishing friend on your holiday shopping list, you can buy them a Maryland fishing license or hard-card license on the MD Outdoors licensing site. And remember it’s always a good time to introduce new people to the excitement of fishing.

Forecast Summary: December 10 – December 16:

Expect cool and sunny fishing weather and relatively stable but windy conditions for Chesapeake Bay waters all week. There is a limited chance of snow on Sunday. As reported by the NOAA buoys, main Bay surface water temperatures are currently in the low to mid 40s. Maryland’s salinities are slightly above normal for most Maryland waters this time of year.

Bay fish are now in winter holding areas. With plenty of cool waters and oxygen from surface to bottom, look for concentrations of fish in some of the remaining warm water areas. In the main Bay, warmer bottom waters (more than 50 feet deep) are located from the Bay Bridge south to near the Maryland/Virginia state line, in areas with good structure and protection from strong current such as underwater points, channel edges, and bridge pilings with nearby oyster bottom and reefs. The other warm water areas to consider are near the water discharges of your local power plants.

Expect average water clarity for Maryland’s streams, rivers and main Bay waters. To see the latest water clarity conditions on NOAA satellite maps, check Eyes on the Bay Satellite Maps. There will be above average tidal currents Monday and Tuesday as a result of the December 20 new moon.

Anglers at the Conowingo Dam pool and the deeper waters of the Susquehanna River are focusing on fishing for large blue catfish. Smallmouth bass and walleye are present for anglers working paddletails and small crankbaits close to the bottom. Near the mouth of the river, the deep hole just below the Railroad Bridge will be holding blue catfish during the winter. Yellow perch will move into those same deep waters in the upcoming months. 

The 2025 striped bass season closes after midnight December 10, so if one wishes to fish for striped bass, they will have to practice catch and release only. Water temperatures are now dropping below 40 degrees and striped bass are going as deep as they can, to depths of 60 feet or more. Anglers looking for some striped bass catch-and-release action will most likely try jigging. 

Yellow perch will become available to anglers fishing in some of the deeper waters of the tidal rivers and deep-water holes near the North East River and the lower Susquehanna River. Dropper rigs baited with small minnows or small soft plastic jigs and shad darts set up with just enough weight to hold close to the bottom will be popular choices. White perch can be found holding deep out in the bay or at the mouths of the tidal rivers. Once located on depth finders, bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm will be a popular way to catch them.

Water temperatures in the middle Bay are now below 40 degrees in most of the region’s tidal rivers and low 40s out in the bay. Striped bass anglers finished the season by jigging in some of the deeper channel areas off Chesapeake Beach, the Bay Bridge rock piles, the mouth of Eastern Bay, and the mouth of the Choptank. Diving gulls and slicks often marked the way as did watching depth finders.

Cayla Beam was fishing in the quiet waters of the Tuckahoe when she caught this fine-looking yellow perch. Photo by Justin Wilson

If catch-and-release fishing is on your agenda after the season ends, these same areas will offer opportunities for a few more weeks. The possibility of an influx of large fall migrant striped bass arriving from coastal waters is always an incentive for anglers to get out on the Bay and explore such opportunities. 

Blue catfish have moved into the deeper channel areas of the Choptank River and the region from the town of Choptank upriver to the Denton area will offer some of the better fishing opportunities. Most of the blue catfish in the Choptank are below 30 pounds so they will offer good eating. Fresh cut baits of gizzard shad or menhaden are best but white perch, chicken liver, and scented baits will work well.

White perch are holding the deeper waters near the mouth of the Choptank River, near Bloody Point, and off Matapeake. Once the fish are located on depth finders, using bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm will be the most popular way to fish for them. Yellow perch are becoming more available in the upper reaches of the tidal rivers this month and offer good fishing opportunities.

Striped bass, photo by Travis Long

Striped bass anglers in the lower Bay are finishing the season with excellent catches of striped bass in the lower Patuxent River below the Route 4 Bridge and out to the mouth of the river. The deep channel areas off Cedar Point, Cove Point, and the deeper channel edges on the eastern side of the Bay all provided good fishing. Anglers interested in catch-and-release fishing will be watching for any indication of coastal fall migrant striped bass arriving this month. The warm water discharge at the Calvert Cliffs Power Plant is always a popular location to explore.

The lower Potomac River from below the Route 301 Bridge to Point Lookout has been a very good place to fish for striped bass. The Potomac River and Virginia waters will be open to striped bass fishing through December 31. The 19-24 inch slot will be in effect and the Maryland tidal rivers feeding into the lower Potomac River will be closed. Jigging has been a very popular way to fish but trolling with heavy inline weight to get umbrella rigs and tandem rigged bucktails down to where striped bass are suspended is also effective. 

Blue catfish can fill in angling gaps for tidal anglers through the winter months. The tidal Potomac, Patuxent, and Nanticoke rivers hold the greatest populations currently. The Potomac River from the Wilson Bridge south to the Route 301 Bridge are good places to fish. The blue catfish will congregate in the deeper channel waters. Anglers looking for trophy blue catfish will find their best opportunities in the deepest channel waters in the Fort Washington area. This area traditionally holds the largest blue catfish during the winter months. Anglers fishing for blue catfish can find a lot of good information on the DNR blue catfish webpage. 

Anglers in the vicinity of the Patuxent River are finding exciting fishing for white perch in the deeper waters just below the Route 4 Bridge. Dropper rigs with shad darts or small soft plastic jigs tipped with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm are a popular way to catch a mess of large white perch that are holding in the deep waters there.

Ryan Michieli caught this chain pickerel over the weekend. Photo courtesy of Ryan Michieli

Anglers will find good fishing for a mix of smallmouth bass and walleye in the upper Potomac River this month and through the winter. Working swimbaits, tubes, and small crankbaits in the deeper pools near current breaks and underwater ledges will be a good tactic. At Deep Creek Lake, northern pike and walleye will be at the top of the list for anglers. If this cold weather continues, anglers may be treated to some ice fishing at Deep Creek Lake, Piney Run Reservoir, Cunningham Fall Reservoir, and Rocky Gap State Park. 

The pre-season stocking of trout usually begins in January, and anglers will need to check the trout stocking website to see which areas have been stocked. The pre- season trout stockings are often based on ice conditions and water levels. 

Anglers will be fishing for a variety of freshwater species in waters across the state. Largemouth bass will be deep and near structure, but still accessible for those fishing with blade lures, wacky rigged soft plastics, small crankbaits and spinnerbaits that are worked slowly across the bottom. DNR’s freshwater fishing webpage offers a wealth of information for anglers to explore. 

Fishing for chain pickerel will be at the top of the list for many anglers in tidal and nontidal waters this winter. The chain pickerel are very comfortable in colder waters and now that the thick grass beds of summer are gone, they can be found holding near sunken wood. The medium-sized chain pickerel will be found along shorelines and the trophy-sized fish out in more open waters near structure.

Reports of large coastal migrant striped bass moving south along the beaches of Ocean City and Assateague have been sparse but that could change anytime soon. In the meantime, surf anglers are being entertained by clearnose skates and spiny dogfish that are chewing on their baits of cut mullet and menhaden.

Fishing for tautog at the inlet jetties, bulkheads and bridge piers continues to be good with a good percentage of the fish meeting the 16-inch minimum length. Pieces of crab and sand fleas have been the most popular baits. Striped bass are being caught inside the inlet by anglers casting soft plastic jigs.

In the back bay waters, the bridge piers of the Route 90 and Verrazzano bridges are holding striped bass, as are the waters along the marsh sedge banks. Soft plastic jigs and paddletails are the favored lures to use. Most of the striped bass fail to meet the 28-inch minimum but offer plenty of fun catch-and-release action.

Anglers headed out to the offshore wreck and reef sites are enjoying good fishing for a mix of black sea bass and large flounder. The 2025 black sea bass season closes on December 31 and will not open until spring, on a date to be determined. Fishing for tautog has been excellent at the offshore wreck and reef sites and this is the time of the year when tautog weighing in the double digits are caught. The 2025 tautog season closes at the end of the day on December 31 but opens again the morning of January 1, 2026.