Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters shared that striped bass action in the main Bay has been up and down this week since many of the fish are still in the rivers. Cooler incoming weather will help to drop water temps in the tributaries, forcing peanut and adult bunker into open water over the coming weeks. This time last year, the skipper said they had piles of bass and bunker creating excellent fishing, but the water was 4 degrees cooler than it is right now. He’s confident that bite will soon develop—it’s just a matter of time and temperature.
Yesterday, Captain Jamie said, they had great fishing and with a low-pressure system approaching, he expects the striper bite to pop off this weekend. In the meantime, he added, they are still working to find fish in relatively shallow water by casting 5-inch Z-Man paddletails in the Opening Night color on 3/4-ounce jigheads dragged across the bottom. The bait is holding shallow, so they’ll continue to search for bass where they can locate bait until the bulk of resident fish have exited the rivers and begin to stack up on channel edges in greater numbers. To book a trip, head to the ES Light Tackle Charters Facebook page for rates and contact info, and inquire about their upcoming availability for striped bass charters.
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC said the local striped bass fishing remains a little slow, but it’s showing signs of improvement. He got out on Tuesday this week and although the daytime bite wasn’t great, he did manage a keeper flounder, which was a nice surprise. Bakke said he fished the ocean to search for bluefin and early migratory stripers on Wednesday, but despite the amount of bunker, there were no fish actively feeding in the area. However, with all the activity just a bit north in New Jersey, he’s confident the fall run action will trickle toward Ocean City in a few tide cycles—especially with some weather on the way. There were some smaller bluefin caught out near the canyons recently, and there are still some really nice swordfish being caught by the boats making the long run to the edge.
Inshore, Bakke added, the tautog bite has picked up a bit, and a few bluefish are lurking but they’re almost gone for the season. From here on out, Bakke said most anglers in OC will be focused on tog, striped bass, bluefin tuna, and sea bass on the offshore wrecks. Check out the Always Bent YouTube Channel and Instagram page to stay in the loop with the local fishing scene, from inshore bites to offshore tournament coverage and more.
On The Water columnist Tim Hesford, at Anglers Sport Center in Annapolis, reported: “Warm weather this past week has kept middle and upper Bay water temps in the low 60s, which is a good 3 to 5 degrees warmer than this time last year. As a result, there are still a lot of peanut bunker and slot-sized stripers in backwater areas of the creeks and rivers. Anglers fishing open water are finding some striped bass stacked up on channel ledges and under birds, especially around sunrise and sunset. White perch continue to be caught on deeper hard structures and oyster bottoms, and yellow perch are starting to become more active in some of the Eastern Shore tributaries.”
Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing out of West Ocean City reported hit or miss sea bass fishing over the past week with some days producing much better results than others. Last Friday, October 30, the bite started off slow but the first stop did produce the largest sea bass of the day—a nice 20-inch fish. By the afternoon, several anglers had landed double digits of a sea bass before the bite slowed down drastically. They finished the day with three of eleven anglers in double digits, but everyone took home some meat. Sunday’s trip produced better results; they saw a lot of short fish come up at lines in, but those shorts quickly turned into keepers as the bite built up. One angler had his limit in less than 45 minutes! The skipper said they caught some of the biggest sea bass of the year on this day and all of his regular anglers limited out, which more than made up for the lack of porgies he had hoped to find in the mix.
The Morning Star sailed again on Tuesday and, despite a slow start, had another solid day of sea bass fishing with some scup, triggerfish, and a flounder in the mix. Once again, the action really improved toward the afternoon with larger keeper-size fish in the mix. Then, on Wednesday, the first and second drops of the day yielded very little life, so the skipper pressed further east. They found a pile of short fish, headed further offshore, and eventually set up over a pile of quality fish. Despite burning a little more fuel than planned, anglers around the rail ended up with a good haul of keepers. The Morning Star will continue to fish for sea bass (when conditions allow) until the season ends in December. Call 443-235-5577 to reserve your spot on the rail and head to their website for more trip information.
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
It is all about striped bass this week as the fall fishery kicks into gear. Anglers are enjoying excellent fishing along the shores of the tidal rivers and Bay this week. Casting paddletails, crankbaits, and topwater lures during the morning and evening hours has been very successful. This is a wonderful time of the year to get out for a short trip to the lower sections of the region’s tidal rivers for some evening casting for striped bass.
A few anglers are magically finding the last of the spot and live-lining them along channel edges and the Bay Bridge piers with good success. Using live eels and cut bait also works well. Casting soft plastic jigs and bucktails to the pier bases is always a fun way to fish. Kent Narrows is another good place to check for striped bass and white perch this time of the year.
At the mouths of the major tidal rivers and out in the Bay along steep channel edges, anglers are encountering schools of striped bass feeding on bay anchovies and juvenile menhaden. Eastern Bay and the mouth of the Choptank are two excellent locations to explore. The sight of diving seagulls is enough to excite any angler when the striped bass push schools of bait to the surface. Most likely you will not be alone when this happens, so try to be patient with your fellow anglers, as everyone gets excited. Casting a mix of soft plastic and metal jigs is the basic tactic and if the fish are deep, then vertical jigging is the chosen way to fish.
When the striped bass fishing is not so hot and heavy, trolling can be a good alternative if you want to take a striped bass home for dinner. Heavy inline weights are needed to get tandem-rigged bucktails dressed with sassy shads or umbrella rigs down to where the striped bass are holding. Chartreuse tends to be the go-to color in fall.
Lower Bay
Anglers in the lower Bay are enjoying the excellent striped bass fishing they’ve been patiently waiting for. Striped bass are being caught in a widespread number of locations from shallow water to deep water and everywhere in between.
The lower Potomac River from Ragged Point to Piney Point and a few locations upriver have been providing excellent striped bass fishing for anglers casting and jigging. The lower Patuxent River is offering the same good fishing. Casting a mix of paddletails, topwater lures, jerkbaits and crankbaits are all working well in the shallow waters during the morning and evening hours.
Out in the more open and deeper waters, striped bass that are holding along channel edges and are either actively engaged in feeding on bay anchovies and small menhaden or waiting for the next school of bait to come along. The scene of diving seagulls and breaking fish is something anglers dream about from spring to fall and now it is happening. Casting into the melee or jigging underneath is something that will be remembered for months to come.
Trolling is an option for anglers and a common one on charter boats. Heavy inline weights and stout tackle are needed to get tandem-rigged bucktails and umbrella rigs down to the depths where the striped bass are holding. The steeper channel edges and anywhere fish activity is taking place are favored locations. Trolling can be a real asset when the striped bass are spread out.
The Eastern Shore of the Bay is not to be left out; there is plenty of action from Hoopers Island south through Tangier Sound. Anglers there are catching a mix of striped bass and the last of the speckled trout. Herb Floyd was fishing there last weekend and besides enjoying excellent fishing for striped bass and a few speckled trout, he noted that the water clarity was incredible.
White perch are headed for deep waters this week and they will often congregate near deep structure in the lower sections of the tidal rivers. Structure in the form of the Route 4 bridge piers in the lower Patuxent River or oyster bars in the other tidal rivers within the lower Bay all serve as magnets for white perch in fall.
In the lower Bay tidal rivers, it seems there will always be blue catfish. This is a wonderful time of the year to enjoy anchoring up in a channel and casting out several baits and sit back and enjoy the action. The fillets from your catch will do well in your freezer to provide plenty of mild-tasting fish. Blue catfish meat is very versatile for a variety of recipes. From shore, anglers can get in on the action from fishing piers, docks, and convenient riverbanks.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Anglers fishing in the Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 bridge area are experiencing good fishing for tautog near the jetty rocks, bridge piers, and dock piers. Live sand fleas or pieces of green crab are popular baits.
Flounder are still being caught in the inlet as the flounder make their way offshore for the winter. Striped bass are also being caught in and around the inlet and at the Route 90 and Verrazzano bridges. Casting paddletails and soft plastic jigs are popular lures. This is mostly a catch-and-release fishery, but now and then a striped bass measuring in the 28-inch to 31-inch slot can be caught.
The fishing for a mix of black sea bass, tautog, triggerfish, and flounder has been good at the wreck and reef sites this week. Anglers are catching increasing numbers of black sea bass limits.
The anglers headed out to the canyons are catching swordfish and tilefish while fishing in the depths of the canyons. There are also some small chicken dolphin to be caught at the lobster buoys.
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.