Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
- Striped bass blitz on peanut bunker and more in the rivers, and night fishing improves around bridges.
- Red drum are caught in shallow corners of Tangier Sound
- Bluefish linger south of the Potomac
- Flounder begin to exit the bays; kingfish, flounder and more are caught in the surf.
- Largemouth bass and snakeheads entertain in sweet water environs.
Reel Chesapeake Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Reel Chesapeake Fishing Report is written and compiled by writer and media professional, James Houck. Find the full report here, at reelchesapeake.com.
“Up and down” is how the past several days of angling have played out in the middle Chesapeake Bay region. The weather has been mostly fair, winds stable, temperatures averaging about 70F (both water surface and air), and a full moon that got life moving in the water. Though a brief warm up over the past weekend brought water temps from the 60s up to low-70s, the area is about to go through a significant autumn cooldown with expected overnights dipping into the 40s. This should lower water temp back to its monthly averages and, hopefully, ignite “Rocktober” fishing.
Overall, the fishing was decent in the Bay and its tributaries with many anglers reporting success catching blitzing and schooling stripers on topwater, subsurface, and by jigging at a variety of locations: Thomas Point and the mouth of the West River were active; the Bay Bridge rock piles produced; the Patapsco bridges held fish (night bite was fire); and there were plenty of catches along shorelines in the middle and lower sections of multiple rivers. The sizes leave a bit to be desired, with most fish ranging from mid-teens to only mid-20s. However, most striped bass have been thick (nice girth) and healthy making for good pullage.
There is a lot of life moving throughout the tribs, with large swaths of peanut bunker and minnows beginning to exit the creeks, flushing into the main stems. In the Severn River, I fished five mornings in the past six days and the amount of baitfish is exciting! In the Round Bay vicinity, you’ll see the fields of surface ripples and “popcorning” (bait popping). There are hungry fish all around, but the bite was a bit challenging. I attribute this to the full moon and fish feeding heavily throughout the night. The usual patterns—topwater plugs at dawn along sandbars, jigging on a drift around structure, and dock fishing— were not quite dialed in (for me, at least). Three mornings, I resorted to trolling Xraps and paddletails along a dropoff and that did produce many fish—but just shorts under 20-inches.
When blitzes were encountered, the action was fast and fleeting (up and down!). I had some success casting 1/2-ounce lipless cranks into the foray and picking off a few fish that had gone below surface as the blitz subsided. And they were a slightly better grade of fish.
Over the past couple days, reports have cited a better evening bite than morning for stripers, especially for topwater action in shallower water around tried-and-true Eastern spots, like Poplar Island, Love Point, Bloody Point, the Little Choptank, and so forth. Live-lining spot has also produced, so long as you can start your outing by finding the baitfish, catching them, and moving into a productive area holding bass.
White perch remain a great option and are still very active in the rivers. I saw (and caught a few of) them still holding in their summer spots in the creeks around deep structure. Expect them to continue moving and clustering in deeper water over oyster reefs and hard bottom in the lower sections of rivers. Might be worth trying a tandem rig of small fluttering lures that can reach bottom and be lightly jigged—perhaps a tiny 1/8-ounce bucktail paired with a Nungesser-style spoon. Or a simple bottom rig with live bait—your choice of worms or tiny cut strips of spot—will do the trick.
Bluefish and Spanish mackerel are all but completely gone from the middle Chesapeake. A few bluefish continue to be picked off, but most of this action is occurring in southern waters from the Potomac’s mouth onward. Similarly, the speckled trout are mostly south, though a few surprise catches (one in the Severn this week!) continue to pop up. And cutlass fish seemed to have moved on, as well. No reports to speak of.
More interestingly, last weekend saw the Tangier Classic fishing tournament play out (rescheduled from the weekend of Tropical Storm Ophelia). And slot red drum were the big draw! Anglers vying for the multi-species title put in plenty of time targeting reds on Day 1 of the two-day tourney and the catches reported were plentiful. Throughout the Tangier region, along shallow shorelines, reds between 18 and 27 inches were hitting a variety of soft plastics (paddletails!). So if tight lines and muscular pillage are what you’re seeking, head to the Tangier waters and fish stealthily (by kayak or jon boat). The fishing is still quite good there.
On the fresher side of fishing, largemouth bass and northern snakehead are putting on the feed bag before autumn slides into winter. Topwater can be iffy and is best pursued after a slight warm up, which we don’t expect this coming week. Try weedless rigging plastic flukes, shads, and grubs, and fishing them through dying vegetation. Large worms or lizards worked slowly across the bottom can also draw bass.
Lastly, we’re excited at the prospect of trout fishing. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources resumed it’s fall stocking program this week, releasing a mix of rainbows and goldens in western county waters. We expect a shift to central waters in the week ahead. Check DNR’s Trout Stocking page here. There have also been a couple reports of excellent native browns being caught on dry-dropper rigs (most fish hitting the nymph) in the Gunpowder (Perry Hall to Loch Raven) just this week. Good luck!
View the full Reel Chesapeake Fishing Report, written and compiled by writer and media professional James Houck, at reelchesapeake.com.
Angler’s Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Angler’s Sport Center fishing report is compiled and written by Anglers Team Member, A.J. Lewis.
Upper and Middle Bay
Striped bass are being caught all around the Key Bridge in Baltimore. Anglers are either live-lining spot and eels or jigging around the bridge pilings. Fort Carroll is also providing tons of opportunities to get on large sized spot, white perch and even a croaker here and there!
Anglers are also finding success fishing at the Conowingo Dam in the early morning hours for striped bass, with smaller paddletails as well as topwater lures proving most successful. Further down the Susquehanna, fishing along the banks will also net you a good amount of slot-sized striped bass.
Spot are still en masse around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Podickory Point. Anglers are catching live-line-worthy spot using either bottom rigs or Chesapeake Sabiki Rigs tipped with live or artificial bait.
The white perch fishing is going strong inside all tidal rivers of the upper Bay area. Casting small spinners, like the Perch Hounder, past docks or shallow structure will net you TONS of perch. For targeting the bigger ones, bottom fishing with Chesapeake Sabiki Rigs or bottom rigs tipped with bait in deeper waters will get you good sized perch!
South Bay
The Potomac River is offering ample opportunities to catch red drum, speckled trout and striped bass. Anglers are casting small paddletails and topwater lures in the early morning hours for the best chances at getting slot-sized fish! Blue catfish can be found all along the banks of the Potomac River as well.
The Patuxent River is still host to lots of spot fishing, however, anglers are beginning to notice the numbers drop as they move south towards warmer water. A bottom rig or Chesapeake Sabiki Rig is perfect for targeting Spot in deeper pockets where they’re beginning to group.
Bluefish are still being caught all throughout the lower bay area. Anglers are catching them by trolling small spoons under a #1 or #2 planer in areas around the mouth of the Potomac, Smith Point and along the shipping channel edges.
The Angler’s Sport Center fishing report is compiled and written by Anglers Team Member, A.J. Lewis.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
The Atlantic Ocean surf is finally calming down and anglers report catching a mix of spot, kingfish, flounder, and small bluefish. At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, sheepshead are providing some exciting fishing near the jetty rocks and bridge piers, anglers are using sand fleas and peeler crab for bait. Striped bass are being caught on paddletails and soft plastic jigs in and around the inlet this week.
The coastal bay waters are beginning to clear up from last week’s stormy winds and flounder fishing is good this week. The channels leading towards the inlet will be a good place to target flounder right now. Flounder will be leaving the back bay waters in the next month and pouring through the inlet as they head for offshore waters.
Black sea bass season is closed and will reopen on October 10, with a 15 fish limit per day for each angler and a minimum length of 13 inches. Tautog season is open with a two fish per day limit at 16 inches until October 31. It will reopen from November 2 through December 31, with a 4 fish per day limit at 16 inches. The few reports from the offshore waters near the canyons report there are still some small dolphin around and there were also reports of white marlin being caught and released.
Maryland Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.