Maryland week of Sept. 30: Bay near 70°F, stripers on the shores, red drum at Assateague

Keith Lockwood’s Maryland DNR fishing report for Sept. 30 (forecast by Tom Parham for Sept. 30–Oct. 6) has the main Bay and river mouths down to about 70°F, with smaller rivers and streams in the mid-60s and still dropping. Cooler water is putting striped bass back on the shores and around the Bay Bridge, where boats are working the east-side piers and the 30-foot drop on a moving tide.

Lower Bay anglers are finding speckled trout, spot, and croaker in the mouth of the Patuxent, the lower Potomac, and Tangier Sound. Along the ocean, Assateague has the large red drum run on in the surf. At the Ocean City inlet and the Route 50 Bridge, sheepshead are taking sand fleas on the rocks and bulkheads, tautog are showing over the 16-inch minimum, and flounder are good in the East Channel and on inshore wrecks. Black sea bass outside the inlet are improving, including some larger fish.

Blue crabs are still producing large and extra-large crabs in 9 to 14 feet in most tidal rivers. Freshwater largemouth and smallmouth are feeding through more of the day, and crappie are holding on docks, piers, and brush. Fall put-and-take trout stocking starts the first week of October — check DNR’s stocking page for that day’s list.

Photo: Harry Swauger, courtesy photo via Maryland DNR — northern pike at Deep Creek Lake.

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

Source: Maryland DNR — Maryland Fishing Report — September 30 (Keith Lockwood, Sept. 30, 2026).