Chesapeake Bay (Maryland)

The largest estuary in the United States, Chesapeake Bay is a 200-mile-long nursery for striped bass (rockfish), blue crabs, and over 350 species of fish. The fall striper run produces fish over 40 pounds that chase bunker schools to the surface in dramatic blitzes. Light-tackle jigging for stripers on the Bay is one of the most accessible trophy fisheries in America — you can catch a 30-inch fish within sight of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.