The Anglers Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report has ARRIVED!
Upper and Middle Bay
- The Conowingo Dam continues to be an excellent spot for targeting Catfish and Snakehead. The Catfish bite is especially good. Anglers are reporting success with all kinds of lures and bait, from paddle tails to cut bait. You’ll find anywhere from 10 to 40 pounders especially at the pooling just before the Dam. The Snakehead bite there is fantastic as well.
- Spot are being caught all up and down the Upper and Middle Bay. Some hotspots are around the mouth of the Magothy River and the western side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Vertical jigging with Chesapeake Sibiki rigs tipped with Lugworms is a perfect way to land TONS of spot.
- Lots of Schooly sized Striped Bass are being caught around the western part of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Other spots such as the edge of the shipping channel or Thomas Point are also proving to be excellent spots to get some keeper sized Rockfish. Anglers are having the most success live lining spot at the moment however vertical jigging is also proving to be an effective way to get on some Rockfish as well.
- White Perch are fully in their normal summer spots. Anglers are catching them all around structure at a depth around 6 feet of water using smaller spinners. For the bigger Perch, anglers are using bottom rigs tipped with Bloodworms or Lugworms around channel edges with some kind of structure.
South Bay
- The Potomac is continuing to be an excellent place to fish for Blue Catfish. The mouth of the Potomac is always packed full of Blue Cats, with the occasional Striped Bass as well. The usual cut bait like Bunker or paddletails prove to be very effective for Catfish. Fletcher’s Boathouse is another fantastic place as well for targeting Blue Cats.
- Anglers have been having luck with Sheepshead at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel using Bottom Sweeper Jigs tipped with Sandfleas or Peeler Crabs! The bridge also offers a great opportunity to catch Reddrum as the sun goes down. Anglers report success using chunked bunker or Peeler Crabs.
- The White Perch bite is excellent all over the Southern Bay. Anywhere in the shallows around structure is host to tons of perch in the mornings and evenings. Small spinners or shad darts is key to targeting the perch in the more shallow waters. Vertical jigging edges of channels with bottom rigs tipped with Bloodworms or Lugworms are key to targeting the deeper perch!
- The southern bay offers lots of opportunities to use different techniques for catching Striped Bass however the bite seems to be on and off. Anglers are reporting success in areas like Cove Point or Point Lookout. Anglers are catching Rockfish on anything from live lining spot and vertical jigging on the channel edges to Trolling small spoons or umbrella rigs. Captain LJ of G-Eye Jigs reports the Bluefish bite is hot at Point Lookout as well!
Additional Information
- Starting July 16th, all areas of the bay will be closed for Striped Bass fishing so make sure to get your fill in before then!
See you next week Anglers!