Upper Bay
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Despite reports of fish kills in the Upper Bay zone this week, anglers are still finding and catching plenty of rockfish. Areas like the Baltimore Inner Harbor, Patapsco River, Bay Bridge pilings, and Seven Foot Knoll have all been productive. Live lining, jigging three inch to six inch plastics, and throwing topwater and diving plugs at shoreline structure like docks, rocks, and grass are good ways to get bit. White perch fishing continues to improve as the weather cools down, with reports of good numbers of fish coming in from anglers bottom fishing on knolls, shoals, and the Bay Bridge pilings. Bottom rigs tipped with soft crab bits, grass shrimp, or bloodworms are a good bet, as well as small metal jigs on the artificial side. Fish are being caught shallow as well in the Magothy and Chester Rivers, with anglers finding success using Perch Hounders, small feather or hair jigs tipped with grass shrimp, and minnows under bobbers. Croaker and spot continue to be a reliable target with plenty of eater-sized fish in the mix. They can be found in the same aforementioned areas where one would bottom fish for perch, as well as off of Sandy Point State Park. Bottom rigs with bloodworms are a great bet, but the larger spot and croaker will readily hit a micro chatterbait or jig paired with a scented plastic like Gulp. The blue catfish bite continues to improve as the weather cools, with reports of good numbers of fish in the Chester River, around Pooles Island, and in the Lower Susquehanna River. Pro live lining/chunking rigs baited with cut alewife, cut eel, soft crab, cut spot, and peeler crab have all been reported as hot baits.
Middle Bay
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Rockfish was definitely a hit or miss bite this week in the Middle Bay. Those anglers who fished a moving tide during the first hour and last hour of light were most successful at areas like Poplar Island, Thomas Point, Sharp’s Island lighthouse, and the Choptank River. Topwater plugs and three inch to five inch paddletails are the best options for casting at shallow water structure during these low light hours. On a dead tide and/or during midday, try live lining spot or jigging heavier metal lures in deeper water where you see bait on the surface or mark it on your sonar. This tactic may result in bluefish, which have been good in both size and numbers. Many anglers are trolling spoons and hoses for them along channel edges between Poplar Island and Point Lookout. There are a good number of Spanish mackerel mixed in as well. A few cobia are still around in the main Bay as far north as Calvert Cliffs, however it seems the further north you go, the more finicky the cobia tend to be. Bottom fishing can be an awesome way to score multiple species in the Middle Bay, as there were a number of lizardfish, weakfish, whiting, and short flounder reported this week along with plenty of spot, croaker, and the occasional perch. Sabiki rigs tipped with bloodworms or small Gulp baits fished over wrecks, reefs, and shoals in the main Bay and at the mouth of the Choptank have been productive. Good reports of white perch fishing continue to increase as we transition into fall, with anglers finding them bottom fishing as well as casting at docks shoreline structure with three inch paddletails and Perch Hounders. The blue catfish bite is picking up as well, with reports of success from the Upper Choptank on cut alewife, peeler crabs, soft crabs, and chicken liver.
Lower Bay
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Fishing for rockfish is in a similar pattern as in the Middle Bay, with moving tides during low light hours producing the most fish. Decent reports have come in from the Potomac River, as well as reports of a solid speckled trout bite. Bridge and dock pilings, rocky points, and grassy shorelines are all great places to target for both species. Live spot, diving plugs, topwater plugs, and three inch to five inch paddletails are all working well. Bottom fishing is flat out awesome right now at the mouth of the Potomac and even out in the main Bay, with anglers catching a number of species including spot, croaker, perch, baby sea bass, lizardfish, pufferfish, baby black drum, small puppy drum, pufferfish, weakfish, whiting, and more. A bottom rigged tipped with bloodworms is hard to beat. Out in the main Bay, folks are getting their final shots in at cobia before the season closes. Those that have been seen on the surface and caught on the chunk are primarily undersized and hesitant to bite, but a few keepers did hit the deck this week. Trolling large hoses is a good way to target cobia this time of year as they continue to thin out and head south. Bull reds are still around but in much smaller numbers, with a few schools being reported in the vicinity of the Target Ships and Tangier Sound. Once you mark them on side scan, drop down a six inch to eight inch jig on a heavy head and bounce bottom. Another way to target these fish is to set up on a shoal or ledge and bottom fish using peeler crabs, soft crabs, or cut spot. Bluefish are plentiful along with a few mackerel, with anglers trolling spoons and hoses along channel edges and over bait balls between Poplar Island and Point Lookout. We’ve also heard a handful of reports of sheepshead at the Target Ships. If you go and try for them, a bottom rig or bottom sweeper jig baited with sand fleas or fiddler crabs is the way to go.
Freshwater
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Snakehead are still biting well in the West side tidal rivers, Blackwater, and tidal ponds. Chatterbaits, underspins, and topwater frogs are still working well as these fish are holding in dying vegetation like grasses and lily pads. The bass bite continues to improve as we transition into fall. Largemouth in any of the regions ponds, lakes, or reservoirs will readily take a wacky-rigged stick worm or a Texas-rigged creature bait during the day, and throwing topwater frogs, poppers, or ploppers during the sunset and sunrise hours should get bit, too. Smallmouth fishing in the Upper Potomac, Monocacy, and Susquehanna River remains hot and accessible as water levels are still low and clear. Finesse jigs, ned rigs, inline spinners, and soft plastic swimbaits all worked well for anglers targeting smallies this week. Cooler weather has gotten the crappie biting as well, with schools of fish being found around submerged structure like wood, weeds, and rocks. A minnow under a bobber is always a great bet, but a float ‘n fly rig with a micro feather jig or a Perch Hounder should get them biting, too.
Coastal
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Variety in the surf is improving as reported by a number of anglers this week. Pompano, spot, croaker, kingfish, bluefish, and flounder are all being caught. Those folks throwing large baits for sharks or bull reds have had to weed through tons of rays to get their target species, but persistence pays off when fishing large baits. We’re still hearing reports of a great sheepshead bite at the inlet, with fiddler crabs and sand fleas catching fish on heavy bottom sweeper jigs that can handle the strong currents. The back bays still have plenty of flounder with anglers finding success on bucktail/teaser rigs tipped with Gulp. The RT 50 bridge remains hot for bluefish and rockfish, with many catches coming on soft plastics on heavy jig heads or live eels on bottom rigs. At the offshore wrecks and reefs, the main catches have been flounder, sea bass, and triggerfish on bottom rigs tipped with squid or slow pitch jigs. Out in the canyons, anglers are still enjoying a decent white marlin bite, with the occasional bull mahi or yellowfin hitting on the troll as well. The lobster pots remain thick with mahi, and blueline tilefish continue to bite on bottom rigs tipped with squid in 300 feet to 400 feet of water.
Crabbing
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Crabbing is still on fire, with areas like the South, Chester, and Severn Rivers being reported as the hottest right now. Trot lining or pull trapping in 12 feet to 15 feet of water produced the biggest crabs, but more numbers came in the 5 feet to 8 feet range. Chicken necks and razor clams remain the hot baits for pots, pull traps, hand lines, and trot lines. Remember to bring some extra bait, because Fishtalk Magazine reports lots of undersized and female crabs are in the mix if you’re crabbing shallow.