Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report

Rockfish

Fishing from the bank or shore this past week has been pretty good. Most of the good shore fishing is north of the Bay Bridge. We’ve seen plenty of pods of dolphin in the Bay this past week and they’ve been pushing bait and fish north of the bridge. Best times to go out are early morning and later in the evening especially with an incoming or outgoing tide. Best baits over the last week have been soft shell crab and cut bunker (alewife). If you’re fishing after midnight be sure to not keep any rockfish between midnight and 5am. Some good spots up north are Thomas Point Park w/ topwater lures such as Smack-Its and Smack-it Jrs. Thomas Point Park is permit only so be sure to get that before you go! Some other good spots to check out are Ft. Smallwood Park and Downs Park or the Key Bridge Harbor.

Trolling the past week has been best around Love Point in deeper water. They’re trolling spoonbrella rigs with silver/green or silver/red spoons. 6″ holographic green sassy shads have also been working. Trolling has been best in much deeper water so if you have a lighter rig, you’ll need an inline sinker to get deeper. 2.5-4.5 knots is the recommended speed to troll so be sure you have enough weight to get those rigs down deep. We’re getting reports of a mix of decent sized Rockfish mixed with Bluefish and even some Puppy Drum.

Jigging the past week has been best in the Love Point, Bay Bridge Pilings and the mouth of Eastern Bay. The trick with Jigging in the past week has been PATIENCE. You can mark a bunch of fish and still not catch any so you must bring your patience rock with you. Bring several colors and mix/match contrasting colors and make sure you’re out there on a transitioning tide. Time that with earlier in the day or later in the evening and you should start to see more success.

Chumming the past week has been really good. Love Point has held decent fish the past week and so has Podickory Point. South side of Hacketts seemed to produce some good numbers as well. Make sure you’re focusing on drop-off and ledges and also make sure the tide is transitioning. Either an outgoing or an incoming tide will be best.

Perch

Much like fishing for Rockfish, tide is a big deal when fishing for Perch. The best times to target them is earlier or later in the day and when that matches up with a moving tide, the conditions are perfect. One of the most underrated baits out there is the Razor Clam. They are White Perch catching machines and at $6.99 a half gallon, you can’t beat it! Bloodworms are second best and they catch lots of species out in the bay. If you’re fishing from a boat or a kayak, target structure in 2′-10′ of water with Perch Pounders. The best color out there is Electric Chicken but we carry some other good ones like Bus Stop, Jamie’s Halloween and Opening Night.

Speckled Trout

The Speckled Trout bite has been hot the last month. On the lower Eastern Shore near marsh and grassy waterlines in 3′-12′ of water many anglers are having success throwing teaser rigs with a small jig and some Teaser-T rigs. Speckled Trout are eating Bay Anchovies and this is a perfect rig to catch them with. Another great rig is a 1/4oz jig head with 4″ white mullet as a trailer. They can’t resist that! The white mullet will attract a mix of species like Bluefish, Flounder and Red Drum.

Ocean Fishing

Many headboats have been coming back with great success catching Flounder and Sea Bass. Fishing the wrecks with squid/minnow rigs or 4″-5″ gulp on jig or bucktails has also been producing good fish. Best times to head out are early in the morning or later in the evening. Some of the surf anglers are using Gotcha Plugs as well as cut bait and they’re bringing in a mix of Bluefish, Rockfish and Flounder.

The Tuna bite has been great the past week especially around Poor Mans Canyon, Washington Canyon as well as Baltimore Canyon.

Shark are being caught off Rehoboth beaches by kayaking big bait out deep. Remember that kayaking bait off the beach in Ocean City is no longer legal.

Fish bites in bloodworm scent have been catching a good amount of kingfish off the beaches as well.

Freshwater

Most of the lakes and ponds are holding warm water now. Temps are consistently high and fish are going to be more active early in the am and later in the evening. Topwater has been producing good size Largemouth around grass flats, structure and thick pads. Look to use buzz baits, whopper ploppers and frogs around these areas. Texas rigged seinkos and soft plastics will also work well around sunken trees or mounds.

In tidal water make sure to focus on an incoming or outgoing tide and time that with earlier in the day or later in the evening. Water color/clarity is huge right now so make sure you’re not wasting your time in murky or cloudy waters. Focus on the edges of grassy areas especially around steeper drop-offs and ledges.