ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND — Fall cooling is showing up in the numbers Mid-Shore anglers use before they leave the ramp: Bay surface water near 70 degrees, enough oxygen on most bottoms, and salt still running high amid continued dry conditions.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Sept. 30, 2026, fishing report says main Bay surface and river-mouth water temperatures have dropped to 70 degrees, with smaller rivers and streams in the mid-60s and likely still falling. DNR reports adequate oxygen in most Bay bottom waters and higher-than-normal salinities throughout Maryland waters under continued dry conditions, with average flows expected in most Maryland rivers and streams, and average water clarity in most of the Bay and its rivers, during the Sept. 30–Oct. 6 forecast window.

In the Middle Bay section, the report puts lower Choptank temperatures about 65 degrees as of Wednesday and says blue catfish fishing is good from the Dover Bridge area to Denton as cooler water keeps fish moving and feeding. The same Mid-Bay section says Bay water there dropped more than 10 degrees in a week and is holding around 68 degrees. DNR’s Blue Crabs section puts the Wye River at 55 degrees among tidal-river readings. Upper-Bay notes include a return to normal Conowingo power-generation releases after last week’s storm pulse. DNR points anglers to Eyes on the Bay satellite maps and Click Before You Cast for finer local reads.