Fishing Report - Chesapeake Bay

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Upper Bay Region:


Low flow conditions continue in the lower Susquehanna River due to the lack of water releases from the Conowingo Dam. Cooling water temperatures are causing the striped bass bite at the dam pool and lower river to improve. Fishermen are live lining eels, small gizzard shad and white perch along with casting surface lures and swimming shad type lures. Fishermen are also finding a little bit of striped bass action in the channel areas below the mouth of the Susquehanna and other areas such as Turkey point by casting soft plastic jigs and crankbaits such as Rat-L-Traps. Fishermen are reporting they are seeing more striped bass now in the mouths of some of the tidal rivers in the upper most region of the bay such as the Elk, and Sassafras. The bluefish that were in the area last week seem to have retreated back down to the Hart-Miller Island and below areas. Fishing for channel catfish and white perch remains good.

Cooler water temperatures are started to spur the shallow water fishery into gear and also is doing a lot to improve the striped bass fishing in the entire region in general. The Patapsco River NOAA Buoy is currently showing a water temperature of 68-degrees. The area around Pooles Island and Hart-Miller Islands are getting the attention of fishermen who are casting lures, chunking or live lining. The mouth of the Gunpowder and Patapsco are also reported to be good areas to look for striped bass. Trolling small to medium sized bucktails along channel edges around the Key Bridge and Fort Carroll is another good choice for area fishermen. Fishermen are reporting that bluefish extend from the general area off the Patapsco River south to the Bay Bridge and that some of the blues are as large as 5 lbs. Trolling spoons or surgical tube lures deep has been one of the more popular ways to catch bluefish lately but they are also being caught by fishermen that are chumming and jigging.

Along with the larger bluefish that have recently moved into the region, fishermen are reporting a better grade of striped bass is being seen. Most of the activity in the upper bay in regards to bluefish and striped bass for the last couple of months has been sub-legal striped bass and small bluefish; a larger version of both is certainly a welcomed sight. Live lining spot, chunking and jigging around structure such as the Bay Bridge pilings and the Sewer pipe continue to be productive as are some of the popular channel edges. White perch fishing is very good on many of the hard bottomed shoal areas and the mouths of most tidal rivers. Recreational crabbing has been good in several rivers such as the Elk and Chester and other rivers such as the Gunpowder and Bohemia seem to have fallen off.



Mid Bay Region:

Fishermen in the middle bay region have not seen much change in their fishery this past week but now that water temperatures are beginning to drop changes will certainly be on the way. Spot are still readily available for live lining and that is just what a lot of fishermen are doing at a number of locations. The Gum Thickets, Bloody Point, the Diamonds, False Channel at Buoy #4 and the Bay Bridge pilings have all been popular locations to send a live spot to the bottom in hopes of finding a striped bass. Bluefish have been doing a good job of tearing up baits but it seems to just be part of the price of admission to this game.

Trolling medium sized bucktails or bottom bouncing has been proving to be a viable way to put striped bass in the fish box but again bluefish are getting into the act also. A number of fishermen are trolling deep with spoons and surgical tubes lures and catching their bluefish after they catch their limit of striped bass by live lining. The sharp channel edge from the Radar Towers to Parkers Creek is a good place to troll as is the channel edge on the eastern side of the bay from the Gooses north.

Fishermen are encountering breaking fish now and then and taking advantage of the situation by jigging with metal and sometimes adding a dropper fly. Bluefish are a big part of the action and unfortunately have a habit of biting through leaders while in pursuit of a dropper fly. This kind of action can be found throughout the region as striped bass and bluefish push small bait to the surface. Fishermen have also been reporting large menhaden in the region and hopefully some of the large fall migrant striped bass will push up the bay in search of this larger bait. Right now, except for some of the larger bluefish there aren’t too many fish that can take on a 12” menhaden.

Spanish mackerel are still being found in the lower portions of the middle bay region by fishermen casting to breaking fish or by those trolling deep with small spoons. Cooler water temperatures will most likely cause these fish to continue to move south this week. These cooler waters will also hopefully put a little more gas into the shallow water fishery that has not developed to the extent it has the potential to be. Cooler waters will bring striped into the shallows and within range of light tackle fishermen casting lures in the morning and evening hours. Shoreline fishermen will also have an opportunity at these fish from docks, piers and shore lines. Fishing from piers such as the Choptank Fishing Pier has been good lately for striped bass at night. Fishermen have been catching spot at the shallower end of the pier and taking them out to the deeper end and live lining them on the bottom with good results. Casting bucktails and soft plastic jigs has also been working under the lights.

Bottom fishing for white perch and large spot continues to be good in Eastern Bay, the Choptank and other hard bottomed locations. A few sea trout and flounder are also being caught from time to time. The best flounder fishing continues to be on the Taylor’s Island Flats. Recreational crabbing is fair to good in a number of the tidal creeks and rivers in the region; crabbers are reporting that the crabs are heavy.




Lower Bay/Tangier Sound Region:

The lower bay region continues to offer a long list of fishing opportunities this week for Maryland fishermen. Water temperatures are starting to drop and the current water temperature at the NOAA Buoy at Point Lookout is 70-degrees. Fishermen continue to catch spot at the mouth of the Patuxent and other tidal rivers and creeks and transport them to locations such as the channel edge at the Gas Docks, Point-No-Point, Cove Point and below the Target Ship with excellent results for striped bass. Bluefish are of course a big part of the action in the lower bay region and extract their due from anglers live lining spot.

Chumming at the SW and NW Middle Grounds and Buoys 72 and 72A has been improving for striped bass and more boats are fishing these areas as water temperatures cool and fishing gets better. Bluefish are of course in residence in the same areas and can make short work of fluorocarbon leaders. Trolling small spoons deep continues to produce Spanish mackerel and they are also being caught by fishermen casting to breaking fish. Trolling surgical tube lures deep will put a lot of large bluefish in the fish box as well as jigging under breaking fish. Breaking fish are being found here and there in the lower bay/Tangier Sound regions and can offer some exciting action.

Bottom fishing for large spot continues to be good in the region in general and fishermen in the Tangier Sound area are catching a mix of large spot, croaker, sea trout, flounder, speckled trout and small bluefish. A number of the bottom fishing boats out of Crisfield have been fishing at Great Rock and Tangier Light as well as the Puppy Hole.

Light tackle fishermen in small boats are starting to see there shallow water fishery around the marshy shorelines on the eastern side of the bay begin to develop with the cooler water temperatures. Fishermen are finding a mix of striped bass, bluefish, puppy drum and speckled trout in the general region from the mouth of the Honga River south to below Crisfield. Recreational crabbing has been very good in the upper portions of many of the regions tidal rivers and creeks.