The deep freeze has come to a close, and with boat launches and backwaters thawed, anglers have wasted no time getting back on the water to pursue striped bass, blue catfish, and more. And to the joy of many stir-crazy fishermen, it looks like the mild weather is here to stay for the foreseeable future. The 10-day forecast calls for only a few days of rain and the lowest temperatures hovering around freezing, with highs in the 40s and 50s, which should cause a slight uptick in Bay water temperatures. Grab your jigs and soft plastics, and hit your favorite striper numbers over the next week!
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported a decent day of offshore tautog fishing on Monday the 3rd. With low wind and a light swell, conditions were comfortable. The first spot didn’t produce the results the skipper hoped for, so they moved on shortly after anchoring. Spot number two found the tog biting almost immediately, and while there were a couple of keepers landed and plenty of bites, most of the fish landed were throwbacks. When hooks started coming up bare, they left those numbers in hopes of better results over another piece of reef, which yielded only a few more throwbacks. Unfortunately, the skipper had to cancel their canyon tuna trip the following day due to sporty conditions, but they’re planning to announce more tog and tuna trips in the near future. Head to morningstarfishing.com to sign up for their email list and stay in the know.
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC reported that they were able to find stripers in the back bays after the recent cold snap let up. They went out on Tuesday the 4th and found water temperatures back up in the 40s, which is a promising sign that the bite will pick up over the coming weeks. Bakke also mentioned that the slightly warmer water temps should lead to an improvement in the inshore tautog bite as well. Bakke and Captain Jeff Rosenkilde from Bad Habit Sportfishing are planning to get back on the water this afternoon to search for stripers if the rain lets up. Check out alwaysbent.com for local fishing reports, fishing videos and more!
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
After a few weeks of cold and windy weather, we got a break, finally. Anglers were able to get out and look for some big striped bass, and most found a variety of sizes—the most common size measured between 25 to 30 inches long, but there were a few big cows pushing 49 inches mixed in. Most striped bass anglers headed south to mouth of the Patuxent River and found some fish. Others fished the power plant at Calvert Cliffs and caught a few big cows and a mixed class of smaller fish. It does seem like most of the bass are in the same general region where they staged before the big cool down, so anywhere from West River down to the Patuxent River, mainly on the western side of the shipping channel. Jigs from 1 to 1 1/2 ounces with 6- to 8-inch soft plastics have been doing the trick, but don’t forget to bring some metal jigs up to 2 ounces—they help to keep you near the bottom when the current is running strong.
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.