Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC reported that they were planning to sneak offshore the day before the blow but their trip, unfortunately, was hindered by some power troubles and a late start. They stayed inshore in hopes of playing catch and release with some bluefin tuna without success, while a few of their buddy boats made it offshore and picked off a few yellowfin. Inshore fishing, he said, has been a bright spot despite less than ideal sea conditions. The tautog bite has been excellent with a lot of keeper fish coming from nearshore structure, the local piers and docks, and the OC Inlet jetties. Stripers ranging from slot-size to 35 inches, he added, continue to make a solid showing in the Ocean City area, and their crew has enjoyed catching bass around the bridges on 5-inch paddletails like those made by NLBN. As conditions settle, Bakke said they are planning to do some more striper fishing over the weekend. Check them out on Instagram @alwaysbentfishingoc and head to their website for more in-depth local fishing reports.
Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters said he was able to get out only a couple of times due to the storm conditions lately, but those outings brought some outstanding striped bass fishing. The fish, he said, are schooling heavily in deeper water and on ledges, where they’re pushing bait like peanut bunker and anchovies up against the bottom structure to feed. According to the skipper, 6- to 8-inch soft plastics on jigs are producing the best results for his charters when those fish are hanging down low. Head to Capt. Jamie’s Facebook page for contact info. and trip rates to get in on the bite!
Captain Walt of Light Tackle Charters in Crisfield reported that his charters are catching striped bass on light spinning tackle and artificials in the shallows around structures like jetties, stump fields and points. Almost all of the fish, he said, fall within the legal size of 19 to 24 inches. They have also had plenty of throwbacks over the 24-inch maximum, and a few fish up to 30 inches to keep things interesting. However, according to the skipper, “It’s not as good as it should be this time of year, with a good day being 10 to 12 fish. A far cry from the 30 to 40 fish days of just a few years ago.” Give Captain Walt a shout to get a date on the books for some fall striper action.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Water temperatures have finally hit the mid to upper 50s, perfect for striped bass and other desirable fish in the region. The shallow water striped bass bite is still producing some fish, especially in the middle to lower portion of the Bay. There have been reports of more schools of striped bass in the middle Bay Area, blitzing, at times, on peanut bunker and the giveaway is the bird show. The mouth of the Choptank River, Chesapeake Beach, Patuxent River and lower Potomac all had good reports of breaking fish around channel edges on the tide changes. Some striped bass can also be found in the local tidal creeks, where there is still plenty of bait hanging around in shallow.
Pickerel fishing in the middle bay tidal rivers has been excellent, with good numbers and quality. There has been a healthy mix of smaller striped bass in the creeks as well. The Patapsco, Magothy and Severn are some of the best tidal rivers for pickerel fishing this time of year.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Read the full DNR report here.
Middle Bay
Anglers are reporting that striped bass fishing in the middle Bay is in a transition period as water temperatures drop toward the 60-degree mark. The shallower waters along bay and tidal river shorelines are still providing good fishing for striped bass for those casting topwater lures, paddletails and jerkbaits during the morning and evening hours. A few notable locations include Thomas Point, Poplar Island, Sharps Island Light, Eastern Bay, and the mouth of the Choptank and Little Choptank rivers.
The Bay Bridge is never overlooked by anglers seeking striped bass holding close to the bridge piers and rock piles. Anglers who can still find spot for bait are drifting live baits to the pier or rock pile bases. Live eels and small white perch also work well. Others are casting soft plastic jigs to the pier bases and enjoying good success. The tide is always a critical factor, and anglers should check the tide charts before investing time at the bridge or at the river mouths.
Baitfish in the form of juvenile menhaden and bay anchovies are moving out of the tidal rivers and into a phalanx of striped bass waiting along steep channel edges of the region’s tidal rivers. Jigging with soft plastic or metal jigs is a time proven tactic during this fall pattern of striped bass behavior. The mouth of the Choptank River and Eastern Bay are popular locations for jigging. Trolling with umbrella rigs behind heavy inline weights deep along channel edges is another proven method for those who wish to troll.
Lower Bay
Fishing for striped bass in the lower Bay continues to be good this week. Strong winds will be a player this week, but hopefully things will calm down by the weekend. Cooler water temperatures in the region’s tidal rivers are forcing bay anchovies and juvenile menhaden to exit the rivers and move south along main channels.
The lower Potomac and Patuxent rivers are providing good striped bass fishing for anglers jigging in the deeper waters or casting paddletails in the shallower waters. The Piney Point area, the mouth of the St. Marys River and the Cornfield Harbor area are just a few locations where the fishing has been good. In the lower Patuxent River, the area around the Route 4 bridge and the Cedar Point rocks have been good places to jig in the deeper waters or cast paddletails along shorelines.
The main channel edges of the Bay have been good places to troll deep with umbrella rigs along the steeper edges and the main channels leading out of the Potomac and Patuxent rivers. Casting paddletails along the shorelines on the eastern side of the bay near Hoopers Island and Tangier Sound are also productive ways to fish for striped bass and speckled trout.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
The Ocean City region is once again subject to stiff winds this week. Anglers had a break last weekend and enjoyed every minute of it with good catches inside the inlet and offshore as well.
The surf continues to be chewed up this week, and anglers will have a hard time holding bottom till the surf calms down. There are bluefish and flounder in the surf.
At the inlet, anglers were catching a mix of sheepshead and tautog earlier this week and that fishery should hold together this week. Flounder are moving through the inlet and headed offshore, the inlet and the channels leading to the inlet are the places to be. Water clarity will most likely be an issue so an incoming tide might offer clearer water. Striped bass are also being caught in the inlet and near the Route 90 Bridge piers.
The boats headed out to the wreck and reef sites found good fishing for their anglers this past weekend. Anglers made good catches of black sea bass along with a mix of flounder, triggerfish, sheepshead, and tautog. The captains that are targeting large flounder for their anglers are finding some impressive catches.
The few boats that traveled out to the canyons came back with limit catches of small dolphin near the lobster buoys and did some deep dropping for blueline tilefish and at least one swordfish was brought into the docks.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Read the full DNR report here.