Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported a short trip that yielded a few keeper sea bass over the weekend. The skipper called it quits early on Saturday as the wind gauge climbed to nearly 20 knots, which would have led to tough fishing and snotty seas. Monday’s trip found much calmer seas, but a relatively challenging sea bass bite—according to the captain, many of the fish they caught were loaded with krill, so they were pleasantly surprised to find the fish willing to take bait and jigs with so much small bait available. They bounced around from school to school and put together a good mess of keepers, with half of the boat catching well into the double-digits. Plus, a few keeper fluke were caught, which is always a nice surprise. They got back out to the grounds on Tuesday with a light crowd of regulars on board and were met with a bigger swell due to building northeast winds. Their first stop was closer to home at Capt. Bobby’s Reef, which left much to be desired, so the skipper pushed a bit further offshore where they started tying into some quality sea bass. The captain caught a couple on jigs as well before the bite died, despite marking a ton of fish. For the remainder of Tuesday’s trip, they had to bounce around between schools, finding a good bite for the first couple drops before the action ceased again. It was a tough pick, but they ended with some nice fish in the cooler—and while the skipper remained hopeful for some fluke to round out their catch, they managed only one on the day. Keep an eye on their Facebook page and give them a call to inquire about availability for upcoming trips.
In Ocean City, Taylor Bakke from Always Bent Fishing OC reported that bluefin tuna have been showing up in better numbers this week as they continue to migrate. The inshore/midshore bluefin bite has been steady off of New Jersey, and that action is starting to bleed into the waters off Maryland. Yesterday, Taylor and their crew caught a 66-inch, 175-pound bluefin while trolling skirted ballyhoo, and they weren’t the only boat that capitalized on their presence. At least four other boats in the area managed to hook and land bluefin tuna, and as the fish continue to press south and fishing pressure slowly drops off, there will be even better opportunities for nearshore bluefin.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Fishing has been getting better with bird shows early in the morning and striped bass right under them feeding on small peanut bunker. Most of the areas seeing consistent bird shows have been The Hill at the mouth of Eastern Bay, the mouth of the Choptank River, and right up in front of Chesapeake Beach. Most anglers are using 5-inch paddletails and straight tails on 5/8- to 3/4-ounce jigheads— white and chartreuse are some of the best colors to start with.
Shallow-water fishing for striped bass has been producing results around Poplar Island and inside the Choptank River—some fish have been caught on topwater lures like 4-inch poppers. Meanwhile, pickerel fishing has been pretty good now that the water temperatures have begun to drop. Anglers are catching them in good numbers on Mepps spinners in the Severn and Patapsco rivers.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
A change of seasons is all around us this week, vibrant colors abound, the mornings have a little more chill in them, and anglers are enjoying fishing across Maryland.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced results of this year’s juvenile striped bass survey, which tracks the reproductive success of Maryland’s state fish in the Chesapeake Bay. The 2024 young-of-year index is 2.0, well below the long-term average of 11.0, and marks the sixth consecutive year of poor reproduction.
Efforts to rebuild the Atlantic Coast population of striped bass have been ongoing for several years. Although recent population estimates indicate improvement, low levels of reproduction will influence future conservation measures under consideration by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Lower Bay
Lower Bay water temperatures are holding in the mid 60s this week and the tidal rivers and creeks are at 60 degrees or slightly below. There is still a productive shallow water fishery in the lower bay region where anglers are catching a mix of striped bass, puppy drum and speckled trout. Casting a mix of paddletails, crankbaits, jerkbaits and soft plastic jigs are the most popular lures to cast near promising shorelines and structure. Drifting peeler crab baits in current areas and fishing plastic shrimp under a popping cork are good ways to fish for speckled trout and puppy drum in about four to six feet of water over grass beds. The lower Potomac, Patuxent, Nanticoke rivers and Tangier and Pocomoke sounds are all good places to cast lures. Traditional locations such as the Cedar Point rocks, Point Lookout rips and the cuts through Hoopers Island are all worth exploring.
Striped bass are holding along steep channel edges out in the bay to intercept schools of small menhaden being swept along by swift currents. Jigging with soft plastics or metal jigs is a very popular and exciting way to fish these channel edges. At times anglers may be lucky enough to encounter breaking fish when the striped bass push the schools of bait to the surface. This action can often be spotted at a distance by diving seagulls, so it is a good idea to have binoculars onboard.
Trolling with umbrella rigs pulled behind heavy inline weights will become more popular as we enter the month of November. The heavy inline weights will be needed to get down to the 30-foot depths where most striped bass will be found suspended off the bottom of the channel edges. Bucktails dressed with white or chartreuse sassy shads will be popular as an umbrella rig trailer. Tandem rigged bucktails/sassy shad rigs can also be a good choice and can be pulled behind a No. 2 planer in most cases.
White perch are headed for deeper and warmer waters this week, the lower sections of the tidal rivers are a good place to look for them schooled up over oyster reefs and lumps. Bridge piers help provide structure, so the Route 4 bridge over the Patuxent River is a great place to look for them. Bottom rigs baited with peeler crab, grass shrimp, pieces of blood worm or artificial bloodworm baits are good choices. Dropper rigs with a metal jig and a small soft plastic jig tied above is another good choice when targeting the larger white perch.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf anglers continue to pick away at a few large red drum moving down the beaches on their way south. The peak of the migration has passed but there are always a few bringing up the rear. Sting rays have been keeping anglers busy and soon spiny dogfish will be on the scene along with clearnose skates. Most anglers are fishing with cut mullet baits, menhaden will work also.
At the inlet anglers are catching sheepshead and tautog on sand fleas near the jetty rocks, bulkheads, bridge and dock piers. Those casting a mix of bucktails dressed with twister tails, or sassy shads are catching striped bass and puppy drum. Flounder are moving through the inlet so drifting strip baits of mullet, squid or using live spot are catching the largest flounder. Casting white or pink Gulp baits on a jig head is also a good choice.
The back bay channels leading towards the inlet are perhaps the best places to drift for flounder this week. The Thorofare and East Channel are at the top of the list. There is some striped bass action this week at the Route 90 bridge piers. Anglers are enjoying some fun catch and release action since most of the striped bass fail to meet the 28-inch minimum. Casting a mix of soft plastic jigs and paddletails near the bases of the bridge piers gets the job done.
Fishing for black sea bass is good this week with some anglers achieving limit catches at the wreck and reef sites. Flounder can also be part of the mix at times. Now and then large bluefish can show up and when they do, reeling in a sea bass bit in half is a tell tale sign they’re up to no good.
The fall migration of bluefin tuna has begun off the coast of Maryland and anglers are catching some hefty bluefins within a few miles of the coast. Usually they will stay within the 30 Fathom line on their migration south but will move in close to shore to feed on menhaden.
Yellowfin tuna are moving south also, and some beautiful yellowfins are being caught at the canyons by trolling, chunking or jigging. Deep drop fishing for a mix of blueline and golden tilefish always helps round out a day of fishing at the canyons.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.