The Anglers Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report has ARRIVED!
Upper and Middle Bay
The Conowingo Dam is still the go to place when it comes to targeting Blue and Channel Catfish and Northern Snakehead in the Susquehanna River! Maryland DNR has instituted a tagging program where you can get rewarded for catching tagged Snakehead! DNR has reported that up to 500 tags will be put on snakehead in the Gunpowder River, Upper Chesapeake Bay tributaries and Creeks in the Potomac such as the Mattawoman and Nanjemoy Creek! Anglers can get $10 for a yellow tag, or the grand prize of $200 for a blue tag! More information about this program can be found online on the DNR website!
Anglers are reporting great success with Jigging with soft plastics and Live-lining around places like Thomas Point, Brickhouse Bar and the Key Bridge for Striped Bass! All parts of the bay are now open to catching and keeping Striped Bass, however remember that it has to be within the 19 to 31 inch slot, and only 1 per day per angler may be kept.
The Perch bite is HOT right now! Anglers are catching decent sized White Perch in the shallower waters with spinners, but the BIG ones can be found a little depper, towards the edges of channels. Anywhere in shallow waters where there’s structure, there’s more than likely going to be Perch! Anglers are reporting huge success with Soft Crabs and Peeler Crabs, however a good alternative would be a Chesapeake Sibiki Rig tipped with Bloodworms, Fishbites or Lugworms!
Spot can be found pretty much everywhere in the main bay now! Anglers are reporting TONS from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Podickory Point using Chesapeake Sibiki Rigs tipped with Lugworms or Bloodworms!
South Bay
Your best bet for targeting Striped Bass in the South Bay is trolling. Anglers are finding success using heavier jigs and plastics to get down deeper where the Striped Bass are holding. Jigging along channel edges are also proving to be an effective tactic as well. In shallower waters Anglers are finding a good mix of Striped Bass and Speckled Trout using smaller plastics and jigs, as well as chunking with Alewife or Soft Crabs.
High Numbers of Red and Black Drum are being caught in the South Bay, however make sure you’ve spotted them before throwing bait as the Cownose Rays are in large numbers, and can be a nuisance.
As always, the lower and tidal Potomac is home to TONS of Blue Catfish, and it’s not showing any signs of changing anytime soon. Anglers are reporting success with jigs rigged with soft plastics, and chunked Alewife. More and more Blue Cats continue to show up in the Wicomico River, so that’s another great area if you’re targeting them. Blue Catfish are invasive, so you can keep any size and as many as you’d like! They’re also incredibly fun to fish for as they always put up a good fight!
Similar to the upper and middle bay, White Perch are being found everywhere in the shallows around structure. A good sweet spot is around 10-15 feet. Chesapeake Sibiki Rigs tipped with Bloodworms or Lugworms prove to be the best tactic for catching large amounts. Expect to find spot mixed in however as anglers are reporting high numbers of spot being caught on Bloodworms.
Additional Information
Crabbing has really picked up as they’re moving heavily into shallower waters, especially in places like The Magothy. Local anglers are reporting huge success using Pull Traps baited with Chicken Necks or Perch Bodies!
See you next week Anglers!