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Fishing Conditions Forecast

Weekly Fishing Conditions Forecast Summary

September 8-14, 2021

forecast iconBay conditions will continue to be dominated this week by the recent impacts of Ida, and the higher-than-normal freshwater flows. In the upper Bay, expect muddy, cool waters, and floating debris. Expect rain on Wednesday and Thursday, and higher-than-normal winds on Wednesday and Friday. After Friday, sunny and warm conditions will prevail. As reported from the NOAA buoys, main Bay surface water has cooled, and is holding in the upper 70s (⁰F). In addition, cooler freshwater flows have reached the Bay resulting in decreasing surface water temperatures that will provide anglers opportunities to catch fish in shallower waters.  

As always, the best fishing areas could be further refined by intersecting them with underwater points, hard bottom, drop-offs, and large schools of baitfish.

For more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area of the bay, be sure to check out Eyes on the Bay’s Click Before You Cast.

Fishing Condition Details:

  • Pattern Stability -  Rains late Wednesday and Thursday. After Thursday, sunny all week (day: high 70s- low 80’s / night: 60s-70s). Windy (15-20+ kt) with gusts much higher on Wednesday and Friday. After, expect low wind conditions at 5-10kt all week. Sunrise next week around 6:44am and sunset at about 7:20pm.

  • Salinity –  Maryland upper Bay waters down to Tilghman Island are running fresher than normal.

  • Oxygen –  Recent oxygen conditions for early September are as follows:
    • Western Shore of the Bay from Magothy to Potomac River, poor oxygen conditions below 10ft
    • Stateline up to Point no Point: Adequate oxygen to ~35ft
    • Point No Point up to the Gooses: Adequate oxygen ~35ft
    • Little Choptank up to Choptank River: Adequate oxygen to ~20-35ft
    • Bloody Point: Adequate oxygen to ~30-35ft
    • Bay Bridge: Adequate oxygen to ~30-40ft
    • Swan Point: Adequate oxygen to bottom
    • Still Pond up to the Susquehanna Flats: Adequate oxygen to bottom
    • Point Lookout up to Colonial Beach: Adequate oxygen to ~20-40'

    For information on Maryland’s main Bay oxygen conditions, see Maryland’s latest hypoxia report.
    For oxygen forecasts, see VIMS Depth to 3 mg/l.

  • Temperature (⁰F) – Main-Bay surface temperatures have dropped to the upper-70s. As recorded at the real-time NOAA and DNR buoys, daytime Bay water temperatures are as follows:

    • For the upper/mid-Bay:
      • Susquehanna River at Darlington (USGS): 73⁰F
      • Tolchester: 76⁰F
      • Baltimore/Patapsco River: 78⁰F
      • Annapolis NOAA Buoy: 78⁰F

    • For the mid/lower-Bay:
      • NOAA Gooses Reef buoy (surface): 78⁰F
      • Bishops Head: 78⁰F
      • Choptank, Cambridge: 80⁰F

    • For the Potomac River:
      • Point Lookout NOAA buoy (surface): NR
      • Lewisetta: 80⁰F
      • Mallows Bay: 79⁰F
      • Near Washington DC at Little Falls (USGS): 76⁰F

    To see water temperature by depth, check out our interactive “Water Temperature by Depth map.” For water temperatures in some of Maryland’s smaller rivers and streams, check “NOAA’s Mid-Atlantic Water Temperatures.”

  • Clarity – Expect poor clarity for many of the Maryland portions of the Bay and rivers, however, expect very poor water clarity on the mainstem of the Bay down to the mouth of the Chester River due to the remnants of Ida. Conowingo is still spilling water on Tuesday as a result of the high flows hitting the area at last. This will result in floating debris, causing boating hazards in the upper Bay as well as localized areas. Potomac River is also still running above normal. Throughout Maryland, in the larger rivers, expect muddy water conditions for several days while smaller streams will clear more quickly. To see the latest water clarity conditions on NOAA satellite maps, check “Eyes on the Bay Satellite Maps.”

  • Habitat – To see locations of key Bay bottom habitat, see the ”Bay Bottom Habitat Mapper.”

  • Moving water – While flows are decreasing from the remnants of Ida, still expect higher than normal flows for most Maryland rivers and streams. There will be above average tidal currentconditions through Monday as a result of the new moon yesterday, Tuesday, September 7th.

  • Putting it all together – The best fishing areas could be further refined by intersecting these prime areas with underwater points, hard bottom, drop-offs, and large schools of baitfish.

For a step-by-step way to find the best fishing areas based on water conditions, be sure to check out Eyes on the Bay’s Click Before You Cast. Have a safe and enjoyable fishing trip, and as always, drop us a line with comments or suggestions.