Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Hickory shad and white perch are chewing in the Choptank River, where abundant blue catfish in the mid-teen size range are also drawing attention from anglers.
Near Ocean City, striped bass to around 28 inches are being caught in numbers on soft-plastic paddletails and swim shads as they migrate out of the coastal bays to begin running up the coast. Meanwhile, tautog anglers are pulling a mix of short and keeper tautog from the jetty rocks and the Route 50 bridge. Out front in the surf, good fishing for mid-size to large black drum continues.
Striped bass fishing remains closed as spawning activities wrap up in middle Bay tribs like the Choptank, Nanticoke, and Patuxent Rivers. Spawning should begin in the upper Bay rivers over the coming week or two as water temperatures stabilize and conditions improve.
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC reported: “Down here on the coast, black drum in the surf is the talk of the town. They’ve been off to a hot start this year. Inshore, keeper tautog are being caught more frequently at the inlet and off the bridge. And of course, we’re still picking away at back bay stripers. A handful of bigger stripers are starting to show up at the inlet and in the surf too!”
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Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Anglers have flooded most of the shad streams and have been getting on a pretty good hickory shad bite in most of the area. The Potomac River, upper choptank, and Mattawoman creek seem to be the most popular areas to target them right now 1/6-1/8 oz shad darts tandem with a gold or silver spoon seem to be the hot ticket. The catfish bite around the Annapolis area has slowly picked up with most of the bite happening north around the mouth of the patapsco river around north point state park and just out side middle river. Other anglers are still targeting the remaining of the white perch run around the upper patuxent river, Potomac and some of the eastern shore creeks.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Upper Bay
Anglers are enjoying fun catch-and-release for hickory shad in the lower Susquehanna River near the mouth of Deer Creek and in Octoraro Creek. The hickory shad can now be found in good numbers and will readily take a variety of bright colored flies, shad darts and small spoons. Many anglers often place a small spoon tied above a shad dart to increase their chances of a hook up and adds some weight for casting. Fly rod anglers can do the same. The recent cold weather may temporarily delay the hickory shad spawning runs.
Middle Bay
Water temperatures in the upper Choptank dropped 5 degrees in the last 36 hours, it is hoped the recent striped bass spawn from last week can endure. The striped bass spawn kicked into high gear last week in the upper Choptank, Nanticoke, Patuxent, and Potomac rivers when water temperatures reached 61 degrees. The upper Bay spawning sites will soon follow, they are usually later due to cooler water temperatures coming from the Susquehanna and Elk rivers.
There are reliable reports of some hickory shad action in the upper reaches of the Choptank this week. Casting small silver spoons and shad darts in tandem are a popular way to fish in the current breaks and pools.
The blue catfish population in the Choptank River is exploding with extremely large numbers of blue catfish less than 14 inches. At present blue catfish up to 30 pounds are being caught in the Choptank from the Dover Bridge area to Denton. Fresh cut bait of most any kind of fish works well, and many anglers have good luck with chicken parts and wild shrimp from a grocery store. The most popular rig is a 5/0 to 7/0 circle hook, rigged with a torpedo float and a sliding sinker fish finder type rig.
Lower Bay
The spring striped bass spawn occurred last week along the Nanticoke, Patuxent, and Potomac rivers, although there will be some continued spawn in the next week or so.
Anglers are enjoying some exciting catch-and-release action with hickory and American shad on the Potomac River, just across the District of Columbia border. One must purchase a District of Columbia fishing license to get in on the action at the famous Fletcher’s Landing area. American shad are being caught on shad darts in the main channel of the river, mostly from small boats and kayaks. Hickory shad can be caught by casting from the shorelines or from boats, shad darts and small silver spoons are the most popular offerings.
Chesapeake Channa, commonly called northern snakeheads, are becoming more active as water temperatures rise. Because grass beds are not fully developed, they can be found in more open waters. The sunny side of creeks is a good place to look for Channa as they seek warmer waters.White paddletails are one of the most popular lures to cast and fishing large minnows under a popping cork is another favored way to catch early in the season.
White perch are beginning to descend from the spawning reaches and move downriver. They can be found moving in the deeper channels and can be caught on bottom rigs baited with pieces of bloodworm or by casting shad darts.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
There is some exciting news this week as surf anglers are catching some medium-sized black drum along the beaches of Assateague, with clams and sand fleas as popular baits. At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge areas tautog are being caught with a fair proportion of legal-sized fish in the mix. Striped bass are being caught near the jetty rocks and deeper waters by anglers casting soft plastic jigs.
In the back bay waters, the bridge piers of the Route 90 and Verrazano bridges are holding striped bass that are being caught on soft plastic jigs and paddletails. Most of the striped bass being caught come up a few inches short of the required 28 inches, but they provide plenty of catch-and-release fun.
Offshore, tautog are getting all the attention of anglers fishing the wreck and reef sites. When captains find the right site, limit catches are common and double digit tautog are being caught and often released.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Chesapeake Bay Fishing Forecast
Surf fishing is heating up in the Ocean City area with more and bigger striped bass moving up the beaches. Anglers who are fishing chunked bunker and/or clam stand to catch stripers and some big black drum in numbers. Be sure to use heavier gear to get any under- or over-slot stripers in quick and back on their way to continue the spring migration—you’ll be thankful if a trophy black drum takes the bait!
The marshes and bays are giving up stripers as well, although they are generally under-slot size. In the coming weeks, as backwater temperatures approach and climb into the 60s, the first flounder of the year will begin to move in along the coastal bays and populate many of the same areas as resident striped bass—the ones that don’t migrate north in the spring.
The hickory shad run will ramp up again after the recent cold snap put a slight halt in the action, and American shad should be showing up in better numbers. Right now, the best place to look for American shad is in the main channel of the Potomac River near D.C. Be sure to purchase a District of Columbia fishing license if you plan to wet a line at Fletcher’s Landing during the shad run.