Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported good sea bass fishing in calm seas earlier this week. Since the season opened, the rails have been light and anglers have been boxing enough sea bass for the table with a handful of limits. On Monday, they had a light crowd and only one limit, but plenty of catches in the double digits across the board. The skipper said sea bass were super tight to structure, almost invisible on sonar until baits were deployed, and feeding on tiny sand eels. A few fish even spit up small butterfish. Jigs and bait were doing the trick, and one angler began dropping bare hooks and continued catching without a problem, even landing a double header. Seas were too rough for fishing the following day despite their efforts, but the captain plans to sail again for sea bass once the wind lays down. Give them a call at 443-235-5577 between 8 AM and 8 PM for availability and to reserve your spot on the rail.
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC was on the kayak catching stripers when he shared his report. Bakke said big striped bass and now, tons of bluefish have been filling in along the area beaches. More recently, there have also been big bull reds showing up in the surf. Meanwhile, the back bays are still hot for schoolie to slot-sized striped bass as well as speckled trout and bluefish. Out in the ocean, fishing for sea bass has been good since the season opener while in the coastal bays, the flounder bite has been hot as of late.
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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.
Striped bass season finally opened up for the main stem of the Bay while the rivers will open up on June 1. This week was great with everyone catching striped bass in good numbers. Most anglers got out and fished the known areas like the Bay Bridge, Hackett Point, Love Point and Podickory Point. Live-lining spot around the Bay Bridge pilings and jigging 5- to 6-inch plastics have been the most common approaches. At Love and Podickory points, trolling 6-inch tandems has been the ticket around channel edges. However, some guys have found fish in shallow water around Hacketts Point while fishing in 10 to 15 feet of water, casting paddletails and topwater lures in the mornings.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Middle Bay
Striped bass is on every Chesapeake Bay angler’s mind this week and despite strong winds and rough bay conditions, anglers enjoyed good success over the weekend and can look forward to calmer conditions this week. The Choptank River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Holland Point to a point of land at the west entrance of Chapel Creek are open.
Many anglers reported they were able to tuck in to a leeward shore and enjoy good fishing for striped bass on light tackle by casting and jigging. Casting a mix of paddletails, jigs, crankbaits and topwater lures presented a fun way to catch striped bass. Trolling is always a popular option and the channel edges on the western side of the bay offered good fishing and some protection from the wind. The weekend was a good time to be in a large boat.
Striped bass anglers are urged to report their catches and fish they release on the DNR Volunteer Angler Survey. The information from anglers is very important to the striped bass program biologists.
Water temperatures in the middle Bay are holding around 70 degrees this week and offer near-perfect conditions for striped bass. They can be found in the shallower waters near points and submerged rock jetties during the morning and evening hours and offer fun light tackle topwater action with poppers or anglers can choose to cast paddletails and jerkbaits. The rocks at Poplar Island, the Naval Academy, and the lower Choptank are excellent places to fish.
Jigging soft plastics along the steep channel edges where striped bass can be located suspended close to the bottom will be a great option when concentrations of fish can be found on depth finders. The mouth of the Choptank River, Buoy 83, and any channel edge where fish can be located can offer good fishing.
Trolling is always a popular way to fish, especially on the larger charter boats. Umbrella rigs towed behind inline weights with bucktails, and soft plastic swimbaits will be used as trailers. Tandem rigged bucktails and swimshads will be popular also and the bucktails are usually dressed with a soft plastic shad or twistertail to attract the attention of fish in the 19-24 inch slot. Steep main channel edges are usually the target for those trolling.
Lower Bay
Reports from anglers tell of good to excellent fishing for striped bass this week, the winds have calmed down and the more open waters of the Bay are more accessible. Through the weekend many anglers tucked into wind-protected shores and enjoyed fun light tackle action by casting and jigging. Many fished the Patuxent River below Point Patience and the lower Potomac River. A fair percentage of the striped bass caught were a little over the 24-inch maximum but most everyone managed a fish in the 19-24 inch slot if they were keeping a fish.
Large red drum are moving into the shallower waters on the eastern side of the Bay along with some speckled trout, sheepshead, and black drum. Soft crab baits are the most popular baits being used and when it comes to black drum and red drum the baits are usually not dropped till the drum are spotted on a depth finder. It is that time of the year when the lower bay is overwhelmed with cownose rays eager to gobble up soft crab or peeler crab baits.
The speckled trout can be found at the mouths of marsh creeks and the grassy shallows along the marshes of Tangier and Pocomoke sounds. Casting soft plastic paddletails or drifting peeler crab baits are good choices to target them. The sheepshead are being caught near the Target Ship on peeler crab. Bluefish are also moving into the region and tend to be in the two-pound size range.
Fishing for Chesapeake Channa remains good this month in the tributaries of the Potomac River, the Patuxent, Nanticoke, Wicomico and Pocomoke rivers. Grass beds are filling out and the fish are holding close to them and are in a pre-spawn mode of feeding behavior. There will be a Chesapeake Channa and blue catfish fishing tournament on June 1 at the Anacostia River, which features a fishing tournament and a list of educational activities. Check the DNR calendar for more details.
The spot and small croaker have arrived in the lower Bay and can be found in shallower areas and the lower sections of the region’s tidal rivers. The spot are a good size for live lining; the croaker are only about 6 inches long. Anglers fishing pieces of bloodworm are also catching kingfish when fishing for spot.
Slowly the blue crab fishery is gaining traction as water temperatures warm and blue crabs shed to larger sizes. Recreational crabbers report that the best catches are coming from the lower Eastern Shore in waters 12 feet deep or less. Catches per outing range from a dozen in the middle Bay to a fair portion of a bushel in the lower Bay.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf anglers along the beaches of Assateague are enjoying exciting fishing for large migrating striped bass this week. Most measure over the 31-inch maximum but all anglers would agree it is a thrill and for many a personal best to catch and release a large striped bass. Cut baits of menhaden and mullet have been the preferred baits; a few bluefish and of course lots of clearnose skates have been part of the mix. Anglers fishing sand fleas are catching the last of the black drum as they pass by our beaches, those fishing with bloodworms report catching a few kingfish.
At the Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, anglers are reporting that the tautog bite is dropping off and an increased number of sub-legal tautog are being caught. The change of the tide is one of the best times to fish and sand fleas remain the preferred bait. A mix of striped bass and bluefish are being caught in the inlet on bucktails and soft plastic jigs. Flounder are always in play since the inlet is the pathway to the back bay areas.
The back bay waters have been churned up lately due to strong winds and it would appear more wind is in the forecast along with some rain. Clear water is needed for good flounder fishing so flounder fishing will show diminished returns during this period. Fishing for striped bass at the Route 50 and Verrazzano bridges remains good and is mostly a catch and release fishery. Casting paddletails in the morning and evening hours near the bridge piers is where the action is.
When the winds cooperate, captains are finding good fishing for sea bass on the offshore wreck and reef sites this week for their anglers. The Maryland black sea bass season is now open through September 30, with a 15 fish per day limit at a minimum length of 13 inches.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.