Maryland: falling water temps set up the fall striper jig bite; walleye and smallmouth on the upper Potomac

The fall Chesapeake pattern is about to start. Maryland DNR's Oct. 21 fishing report says Bay water is around 65 degrees, the lower Choptank is near 61, and cold weather is forecast for the rest of the month. When the tidal rivers drop below about 60 degrees, juvenile menhaden and bay anchovies head out into the Bay, and striped bass stack up at river mouths and along steep channel edges to feed on them.

In the upper Bay, DNR suggests jigging the channel edges near the mouths of the Chester and Patapsco rivers, watching for slicks and diving gulls. Trollers are running tandem bucktails and umbrella rigs down to about 30 feet. The Conowingo Dam pool is giving up blue catfish and stripers during afternoon and evening generation. In the middle Bay, shore anglers are doing well on rocky shorelines, and Kent Narrows is a good spot for both stripers and white perch.

The lower Potomac from the Route 301 bridge to Point Lookout and the lower Patuxent below the Route 4 bridge are producing plenty of slot fish, along with some shorts under the 19-inch minimum. DNR also likes the mouth of the Nanticoke and the cuts through Hoopers Island. Spot, bluefish and red drum are heading south as the water cools.

In fresh water, fall put-and-take trout stocking continues, and the Patuxent catch-and-return fly area just got brown trout. The upper Potomac is running clear and cool with good smallmouth and walleye fishing. As the grass beds die back, crayfish move to deeper cover, which makes crayfish-pattern crankbaits and jigs a good choice.

Photo: Nathan Anders with a large red drum he caught and released at Assateague Island. Credit: James Anders, via Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources — Maryland Fishing Report – October 21 (Oct. 21, 2026).