Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing Charters reported that he found promising signs of life around some new habitat with his group of anglers on Wednesday morning. The group managed a few good fish between their early spots, but the bite wasn’t as good as they hoped it would be. Of course, when it was time to pull the anchor for the final time in the afternoon, the fish were cooperating once again. At the end of the day, “Big Bill”, was the winner of the small pool with a big white chinner that any angler would be content with, especially after a slow pick.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Team Member & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Rain, wind and more wind is what we had to deal with the past few days! That didn’t stop anglers from getting out and fishing. White perch fishing continues to be the hot bite this week with almost everyone getting in on the action. The bite continued even after the rain on Saturday and wind on Sunday; guys keep catching a good amount of perch on flooded creeks since the perch use the high water to move even further upstream. Eastern shore rivers like the Choptank, Nanticoke River, Tuckahoe Creek and Marshyhope Creek have been the hot spots. Use grass shrimp on a shad dart beneath a bobber if you are fishing 5 feet of water or less, and bottom rigs with live minnows or bloodworms if you are fishing deep holes. One important regulation to remember is to use circle hooks if you are using live minnows!
We had the first hickory shad caught in the Fletchers Cove area this past week, as well as over on the Eastern Shore rivers. Shad fishing seems to be getting started a little early this year, and with temperatures staying in the 50s for the next week or two, it should only get better.
Striped bass fishing was pretty good for the guys jigging open water before the rain and the wind. Fishing from Sharps Island to Bloody Point seems to be the area to search for some of those big 40-inch-plus fish. Jigs from 1 to 2 ounces are still the ticket when fishing 20 to 60 feet of water. Some of the hot colors are pearl and sexy mullet Z-Man 7-inch DieZel Minnows. Trolling the channel edges is also producing some fish, and most anglers are using tandems from 25 to 40 foot depths.
Maryland DNR has stocked some of the creeks and ponds with rainbow and golden trout, but make sure to check some of the closures for each creek since some are currently closed to fishing.
The Angler’s Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Team Member & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Reel Chesapeake Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Reel Chesapeake Fishing Report is written and compiled by writer and media professional, James Houck. Find fishing reports and more at reelchesapeake.com.
It’s been a week. A very good week across the middle Chesapeake Bay region, as the weather cooperated with angling ambitions and fish were caught. Lots of fish. So, good news all around. Reports have come in from both sides of the Bay Bridge, from multiple locations for multiple species. It’s a special time for fishing and it should only continue to improve overall as we march toward spring.
That said, we do have a couple fronts developing over the region, one of which pushes over us Friday into Saturday and another early next week. A touch of rain and high winds will make fishing open water a bit challenging for small craft. But protected coves and creeks on many of the tributaries should be fishable and fun. Surface water temp was up to 53.9 where I fished this morning, so watersheds are becoming increasingly active.
White perch are running well in their known habitat/watersheds. They’re in salt ponds on the western shore (we got another solid report from the South River vicinity), and are pushing up tributaries. They were caught at Red Bridges at Greensboro this week off the Choptank; ditto for the Upper Marlboro stretch of the Patuxent. Any day could be a good day to try for them. I especially like using a trusty “spring setup”—that is, a 1/16-ounce shad dart with a trailing nungesser spoon of the same weight. Other go-to options are micropaddletails on light jigheads, or live bait under a bobber (grass shrimp or minnows). Small spinners, stump jumpers, and beetle spins can also be effective.
The yellow perch have finished their spawn in most tribs now. They’ll head downriver and hunker down for a bit before feeding with any regularity soon. But you might find them around deeper docks and cover in coves and creeks of popular tributaries such as the Susquehanna, Magothy, Severn, Choptank/Tuckahoe, Nanticoke/Marshyhope, and the upper Potomac.
And the shad? Though it’s a touch on the early side for them, but the first official report from Friends of Fletcher’s Cove came this past week. A few hickory shad were caught on darts of varying colors and weights. There was also a nice report from Mason Springs this week (@ericp132 on Instagram caught no less than 20!). By the time the dogwoods bloom in about one month, shad runs of hickory and American will be peaking in their known Chesapeake spawning rivers (Potomac, Patuxent, Choptank).
There’s still a very good chain pickerel bite in many of these same rivers. I spent a full morning this week catching my lot on a Rapala X-Rap jerkbait (XR10 in olive green), fishing laydowns and docks in creeks of the mid-Severn. A medium pace retrieve did well. The fish were frisky ahead of the front that’s coming. It was likely my last targeted outing for pickerel of the season.
If you want to catch eater-size blue catfish, now is the time! They are feeding well throughout the watershed. The deeper water near the mouths of many rivers seems to be the ticket. The Bush, Magothy, Severn, Choptank have had fish caught this week. I personally saw bait soakers at Sandy Point State Park catch fish off the bank/point on Tuesday evening. Top/bottom or Santee Cooper rigs with fresh chunk bait or chicken should get them to bite. Try fishing a moving tide cycle. Another popular spot is Fort Smallwood Park on the Patapsco; be advised the area in front of the rock armament is closed due to construction. However, it is slated to reopen in “Spring 2024” so maybe any day now, we’ll get notification of the park fully reopening. The park’s boat ramp/fishing pier, playground, and pavilion are still open.
There are 16 more days to try for your trophy striped bass before the April 1–May15 moratorium. Most of the Chesapeake’s main stem is open to catch-and-release fishing right now, but spawning rivers are off limits to striper fishing of any kind. Refer to the Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources maps for reference. Those that are catching, report the fish from anywhere between 3 feet of water to 70—from the shallows to the depths of the channel. It’s wide open sport. You may want to target shallow water, dock lights, and flats at night (check @severn.river.angler on Insta), and the channel edges near popular points by day (Bloody Point leading into Eastern Bay always seems active with boats). Warm-water discharges are also worth checking. Jigging remains popular in the deeper water, while plugging in the shallows has landed some hefty fish (shout out to @scottkemm).
We’re seeing a lot of largemouth bass being caught in many of the reservoirs, lakes, and millponds that dot the region. Also the fresher environs of the upper Patuxent, Tuckahoe, and Marshyhope. Paddletails, weedless or otherwise, have gotten strikes. According to my notes from the past two years, these next couple weeks of March should be for very good bass fishing. More and more northern snakehead are also being caught. The middle-Potomac on the west side and the Blackwater region on the east are starting to fire up ahead of the spawn.
View the Reel Chesapeake Fishing Report, written and compiled by writer and media professional James Houck, at reelchesapeake.com.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Freshwater
In far western Maryland, locals often refer to March as the month of mud due to repetitive freezing and thawing. Regional biologist Matt Sell observed about Deep Creek Lake that “water temps warmed quickly with the recent warm weather, but the current snow, cold and wind are likely going to cool it back down a bit. Walleyes are moving into shallow areas, and most are ready to spawn. Yellow perch won’t be far behind. Northern pike should still be shallow and either spawning or just post-spawn.”
Trout anglers are enjoying the generous pre-season stocking that are taking place each week. Mark Harman, manager of DNR’s Bear Creek Trout Hatchery, says the outlook for the 2024 trout season is looking very good.
We are approaching some exciting times for trout anglers of all ages in the put-and-take trout management waters. The Closure 1 trout waters are now closed and the Closure 2 areas will close on March 24. All waters will open to the public on March 30, for the traditional opening day of trout season. On opening day trout fishing can begin at 6:30 a.m. and waters close at 10 p.m.; all other days fishing will be open 5:30 until 10 p.m. Those hours do not apply to nontidal impoundments of 5 acres or more that contain trout.
This year we have a special treat for our trout anglers under the age of 16, with a special youth day on March 23. These youngsters will be able to fish for trout without the competition of adults. The daily creel limit will be two trout on that day. It is hoped that many parents, relatives, readers of this fishing report, or even neighbors of our youngest anglers take them trout fishing on this special day set aside for them. Check the trout stocking website to find the waters that are stocked.
This month is an extraordinary time of the year to fish for crappie. Small marabou jigs or minnows worked near deep structure under a slip bobber is a tried-and-true way to fish for them. If slab-sized crappie are on your list, this is the best time of the year to fish for them. Sunken wood, fallen treetops, marina docks, and piers are all good places to look for crappie.
The early spring months offer a great time to fish for chain pickerel. The heavy grass beds where they enjoy lurking during the summer months have yet to emerge so they will be holding near any kind of structure they can find. This usually comes in the form of sunken wood along shorelines. Chain pickerel are an ambush predator so they will hover near this type of structure waiting for a baitfish to swim by. Spinners, spoons, and swimbaits rigged with single inline hooks are excellent lures to use when fishing for them.
Largemouth bass are becoming active and have come up from the depths where they spent most of the winter. They can be found in areas between the deeper waters and the shallower shoreline waters. Most grass beds have yet to develop so largemouth bass will be holding near structure. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and craw jigs are currently all good choices. Checking out the sunny side of a pond or river might reveal largemouth bass basking in the warmer water.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
The weather is slowly improving and milder weather offers a taste of things to come. Anglers fishing around the jetty rocks and bulkheads near Ocean City are catching a few tautog on frozen sand fleas and pieces of green crab. Most are below the 16-inch minimum but it only takes one or two legal-sized tautog to make a good fishing trip if dinner is on your mind.
Striped bass are being caught around the Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 Bridge area and around the Route 90 Bridge piers. Casting skirted soft plastic jigs or paddletails up against the bridge piers and jetty rocks is providing some fun action. Most of the striped bass fall short of the 28-inch minimum. Fishing has been slow along the beaches, clearnose skates keep those soaking baits busy, and the beach is a great place to relax whether the fish are biting or not.
Offshore, the boats headed out to the wreck and reef sites are finding good fishing for tautog this week. Limit catches of chunky tautog are common for most anglers. Pieces of crab tend to be the most popular bait. The tautog season is open until May 15 with a limit of four fish per day. Tautog fishing will reopen July 1 until October 2 with a two-fish daily limit, then it closes until November 1. The final season segment then is open through December 31 with a daily limit of four fish and minimum size of 16 inches.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Where are the blue catfish being caught in the bay?