Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report- May 2, 2024

Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report

Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing Charters reported that he has been busy with volunteer work, building artificial reefs for his beloved blackfish. As a result, he has not been running charters as often, but during a recent trip to add onto the existing reef structure, they managed to sneak in a a little bit of fishing. According to the skipper, they saw some good action in a short period of time, with one particularly quality tautog that ate a piece of shrimp. Go figure! The reef projects continue, so sign up for their email list or check out their Facebook page to stay on top of their availability going forward.

Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD 

The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez. 

Warm weather and no rain has made for the perfect conditions for the beginning of the snakehead and largemouth bass spawns. Most areas are seeing snakeheads paired up, and there are even some early season fry balls with them. That’s not always good news since snakeheads become harder to catch when they are in full spawning mode. The best area to target them has been most of the rivers in the Upper Bay like the Gunpowder River, Bush River, and Middle River.

Most tidal rivers, ponds and reservoirs have seen bass on beds for the past week or so. The reservoirs like Loch Raven, Liberty, and Pretty Boy have seen a good bite over the past week.

Shad fishing is down to the tail end of the run in most southern rivers and creeks in the state, with the Susquehanna River being the last one to get a push of mainly hickory shad and a few American shad.

Most anglers are anxiously awaiting the re-opening of striped bass season in the Bay on May 16th. Until then, many anglers are still chunking for blue catfish, and they’re catching in good numbers with some quality fish up to 40 pounds. The mouth of the Magothy is still one of the hot spots in the Middle Bay area. Anchoring up in shallower water has been the ticket to get more bites over the past week, in depths of 5 to 15 feet of water.

The Angler’s Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez. 

Maryland DNR Fishing Report

Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. 

As we celebrate the beginning of May, balmy weather makes for comfortable fishing from the mountains of western Maryland to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Summer migrant species are showing up in the Ocean City area; among the arrivals is the spring migration of bluefish.

Lower Bay

Anglers are seeing the hickory shad and American shad spawning runs in the District of Columbia section of the tidal Potomac River, providing good catch-and-release fishing, but the peak of the hickory shad run is beginning to diminish. American shad continue to be found in good numbers. High flows and cloudy water conditions in the river have not helped the situation. Tandem rigs of shad darts and small flashy gold and silver spoons are the most popular rigs being used.

There is certainly no shortage of blue catfish in the tidal Potomac and anglers are catching them from the Wilson Bridge all the way to the mouth of the river near Solomons. The blue catfish are on the move due to warmer water temperatures and are not just found in the deeper channels any longer, as channel edges are offering good places to fish. Anglers are setting up in a variety of locations and if they don’t have action in the first 20 minutes just move to another site. The Patuxent and Nanticoke rivers also have large populations of blue catfish.

Fresh cut baits of gizzard shad, menhaden, chicken liver of chicken breast scented with various scents. Circle hooks are the most popular hook to use, often with a 2-inch float to keep baits off the bottom. A sliding egg sinker or fish-finder rig allows the catfish to move off with the bait and engage the circle hook in the corner of the catfish’s mouth. Bait runner spinning reels and conventional reels in free spool help lessen resistance when a catfish is moving off with a bait.

Anglers are finding a few black drum in the Pocomoke Sound, Middle Grounds, and Target Ship area. These are the vanguard of the spring black drum run, so success can be a hit and miss. Finding the fish on a depth finder and dropping baits of clams or soft crab can lead to some exciting action. Cownose rays are also arriving in the lower Bay region and are living up to their reputation as being pesky bait stealers if you are fishing for black drum or blue catfish.

White perch are providing good fishing in the tidal rivers and creeks of the lower bay region this week. In the shallower waters less than 15 feet deep, anglers are enjoying fun light-tackle fishing by casting small spinnerbaits or spin jigs. Others are fishing grass shrimp under slip bobbers with good success or using grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm on a bottom rig. The white perch are steadily moving to their summer habitats in the lower sections of the tidal rivers.

Freshwater

As the warmer weather prevails, it opens a wonderful opportunity for fly fishing in the catch-and-release trout management waters. Presentations of various nymphs, streamers, and dry flies match hatches of stream invertebrates as well as terrestrials. Other trout management waters allow anglers to use spinning gear and artificial lures. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources website provides explanations of the various trout management areas.

Warmer weather has been very inviting to anglers to enjoy a variety of freshwater fishing opportunities this week. Largemouth bass are in a pre-spawn mode of behavior in the western and parts of the central regions and are actively spawning in warmer waters of the central, southern, and eastern regions. The male largemouth bass can be found on the spawning beds in most areas and the female largemouth bass are either holding outside those spawning bed areas or actively spawning.

Crappie are spawning in the deeper waters of ponds, reservoirs, and tidal water across Maryland this week. Various species of sunfish are also actively spawning at this time and their nests can be seen carved out along sandy shallows. Chain pickerel continue to provide good fishing opportunities in both non-tidal and tidal waters. Other species including smallmouth bass are providing excellent fishing in the upper Potomac, the lower Susquehanna River, and Prettyboy and Liberty reservoirs.

Warmer water temperatures are causing northern snakeheads to become very active and they are aggressively feeding, building up body stores for the upcoming spawning season. A variety of lures will entice snakeheads to strike – white paddletails, chatterbaits rigged with white soft plastic creature baits, frogs, and buzzbaits are all good choices. Grass beds are growing and are a good place to target, while sunken shoreline wood and brush also are good places to look for northern snakeheads.

Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays

Anglers along the beaches of Assateague Island are enjoying a mixed bag in the surf in the form of black drum, large bluefish, and striped bass. The coastal migration of large striped bass has yet to arrive off the local beaches but should occur in another week or so. The large spring migrant bluefish are often called “runners” due to their being thin from a long travel route and failure to build up body stores.

At the Ocean City Inlet and the Route 50 area tautog are a major focus for anglers using sand fleas and pieces of crab for bait. The areas around the jetty rocks, bulkheads and bridge piers are holding some of the greatest numbers of tautog. There is a good mix of tautog measuring 16 inches or larger along with sub-legal tautog. Striped bass and large bluefish are being caught by anglers casting soft plastic jigs and paddletails.

Flounder are beginning to show up in greater numbers and provide a chance for anglers to enjoy some flounder fishing. The channel areas leading from the inlet offer the best fishing opportunities.

Fishing for tautog at the offshore wreck and reef sites continues to be very good this week, with limit catches being common and tautog weighing in the double-digit range being caught and released. The 2024 tautog season will close May 16 and will reopen July 1 through October 31 with a two-fish daily limit. The 2024 black sea bass season opens May 15 to September 30 with a limit of 15 fish per day at a minimum size of 13 inches.

Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.