Chesapeake Bay
America's largest estuary and the heart of striped bass (rockfish) fishing on the East Coast.
Depth & Structure
Largest US estuary: average depth 21 ft, maximum 174 ft (Wikipedia); over 24% of the bay is less than 6 ft deep, with shallow warm flats (e.g. Susquehanna Flats) staging spring stripers, and deeper shipping channels and 30 ft channel ledges holding fish when they push deep.
Best Lures
Trolling umbrella rigs and tandem rigs, large bucktails and large spoons and plugs in spring channels (2-4 knots); soft plastics, jigs and topwater plugs casting around bridge pilings, reefs and drop-offs; jigging spoons vertically under bait schools in deeper water; large soft plastics (4-8 in) worked slowly along…
Best Baits
Live spot (live-lining is the documented summer striper method), live eels and bunker / menhaden, plus cut bait and chumming for trophy spring rockfish.
Gear to Bring
Medium-heavy trolling rods, conventional reels and 20-40 lb class line for umbrella / tandem rigs; medium spinning tackle, 3000-5000 reels, 15-20 lb braid class for casting and jigging school rockfish.
Local Tips
['Look for rockfish around bridge pilings, reefs and drop-offs — the Bay Bridge area and the mouth of the Potomac are named hotspots.', 'In late spring through early fall, birds signalling feeding action mark schoolie stripers, and live-lining spot catches…
Shop the Rig
Related Water
Fish photos: striped bass — Wikimedia Commons · bluefish — Wikimedia Commons · red drum — Wikimedia Commons
Fishing regulations, seasons and limits change — always check the current rules for this water before you fish. Spot pins are approximate area markers, not launch or access coordinates.