Fishing Conditions Forecast

Weekly Fishing Conditions Forecast Summary

March 18-24, 2026

As the days continue to grow longer and increasingly warmer, Maryland Bay waters will continue to slowly heat up for gamefish moving up the Bay to spawn. As reported from the buoys, main Bay surface and river mouth water temperatures are holding in the upper 40's (°F). Smaller rivers and stream temperatures are holding around the 50's. However, smaller streams and downwind areas on a sunny day will warm faster and will often hold water temperatures in the middle 50’s (opens in new tab). Such areas in low salinity areas will be prime areas to look for white perch as they move up from their wintering areas in the downstream portion of rivers and prepare to spawn in the next couple of weeks in Maryland waters. In addition, striped bass, using light and water temperatures as cues, are moving from overwintering areas or from the Bay mouth to spawning areas in low salinity (0 to 2ppt) portions of the Bay and tidal rivers. Focus on channel edges as fish move towards spawning areas in low salinity portions of the Bay and tidal rivers.

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 (opens in new tab).

Fishing Condition Details:

  • Pattern Stability - Warming temperatures this week (50-60’s day/30-40’s night). Chance of rain this week on Friday and Monday. Expect 10-20kt winds this week with higher gusts on Saturday. Sunrise next week around 7:10 am and sunset at about 7:20 pm.
  • Salinity - Flows to Maryland waters are running below normal so salinity is slightly above normal for this time of year (opens in new tab).
  • Oxygen - Recent oxygen conditions are as follows:
    • Stateline up to Point Lookout: Adequate oxygen to bottom
    • Point No Point up to the Gooses: Adequate oxygen to bottom
    • Little Choptank up to Choptank River: Adequate oxygen to bottom
    • Bloody Point: Adequate oxygen to bottom
    • Bay Bridge: Adequate oxygen to bottom
    • Swan Point: Adequate oxygen to bottom
    • Still Pond up to the Susquehanna Flats: Adequate oxygen to bottom
    • Potomac River: Adequate oxygen to bottom

    For oxygen forecasts, see VIMS Depth to 3 mg/l (opens in new tab).
    To identify your local conditions, see "Don't fish below this depth" (opens in new tab).
    For information on Maryland's main bay oxygen conditions, see Maryland's latest hypoxia report (opens in new tab).
  • Temperature (°F) - Main Bay and river mouth surface temperatures are holding in the upper 40's (°F). Upper river temperatures are holding around 50's (°F). 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): 49°F
      • Tolchester: 48°F
      • Baltimore/Patapsco River: 49°F
      • Thomas Point: 39.2°F
      • Annapolis NOAA Buoy: NR
    • For the mid/lower-Bay:
      • NOAA/DNR Gooses Reef buoy: NR
      • Bishops Head: NR
      • Choptank, Cambridge: 52°F
    • For the Potomac River:
      • Point Lookout NOAA buoy (surface): NR
      • Lewisetta: 53°F
      • Mallows Bay: 52.1°F
      • Washington DC at Little Falls (USGS): 54.7°F

    To see water temperature by depth, check out our interactive “Water Temperature by Depth map” (opens in new tab).
    For water temperatures in some of Maryland’s smaller rivers and streams, check “NOAA’s Mid-Atlantic Water Temperatures” (opens in new tab).
  • Clarity - 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" (opens in new tab).
  • Habitat - To see locations of key Bay bottom habitat, see the "Bay Bottom Habitat Mapper" (opens in new tab).
  • Moving water - Expect average flows for most of Maryland rivers and streams (opens in new tab). There will be above average tidal current (opens in new tab) conditions Sunday through Tuesday as a result of the full moon on Thursday, April 2nd.
  • 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 (opens in new tab). Have a safe and enjoyable fishing trip, and as always, drop us a line (opens in new tab) with comments or suggestions.