Eastern Bay

Eastern Bay is the broad arm of the Chesapeake between Kent Island and the Talbot County shore, fed by the Miles and Wye rivers and joined to Prospect Bay and Kent Narrows at its north end. It's a mainstay of DNR's weekly report: one of the middle Bay's best places for shallow-water striped bass fishing from late spring into fall, a summer spot and croaker ground, and in late fall, when young menhaden pour out of the rivers, one of the middle Bay's most consistent places to find schooled stripers, at its mouth.

When to fish

• Late May and June: stripers along the shorelines and on channel edges; the tributary harvest season opens June 1 (the main Bay opens in May). Bluefish arrive in late May.
• Summer: topwater and paddletails along the shorelines at dawn and dusk; spot, croaker and white perch on hard bottom. Some summers bring big red drum as far north as Eastern Bay. August is closed to striped bass fishing.
• September and October: the shallow-water fishery peaks around points and structure on a moving tide.
• November and early December: stripers gather at the mouth of Eastern Bay, suspended on the channel edges to intercept bait leaving the bay; look for birds. The season is catch and release only from December 6.

Where to fish

• The shorelines, points and grass beds: light-tackle striper water from late spring to fall.
• Tilghman Point: steep channel edges on the Talbot side, good for live-lining and jigging in summer and again in December.
• The mouth of Eastern Bay: the late-fall jigging and trolling grounds.
• The channel edges leading out of the Miles River.
• Hard-bottom areas in about 15 feet: spot and croaker in summer.
• Around Parsons Island, Hog Island and Crab Alley Neck (Prospect Bay): sod banks, and birds working bait in late summer and fall.

How to fish it

• Shallows: cast poppers, paddletails, jerkbaits or small spinnerbaits at first and last light.
• Channel edges: find suspended fish on the depth finder, then jig soft plastics or live-line spot. In Eastern Bay's shallower channels DNR suggests trolling tandem-rigged bucktails with twistertails or shad-style soft plastics; in late fall, umbrella rigs deep behind heavy inline weights.
• Late fall: jig under birds, or look for gulls sitting on the water, slicks and marks on the depth finder.
• Bottom fishing: bloodworm for spot, peeler crab for croaker and white perch, grass shrimp for white perch.
• Hooks: non-offset circle hooks are required when live-lining or bait fishing for stripers.

Getting there

On the Talbot County side, Claiborne Landing has a ramp and soft launch, and Tilghman Creek Landing and Bay Shore Road have soft launches for small boats and kayaks; a Talbot County permit is required for vehicles with trailers, and county landings close from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. On Kent Island, Queen Anne's County's Romancoke Pier and the Kent Narrows landings reach Eastern Bay (county permits required). You need a Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License.