Maryland Fishing Report
March 29th, 2019
Perch Run
The Perch run has transitioned from a mix of Yellows and Whites to nearly all Whites. A few Yellows can be caught in deeper holes in transition areas from the creeks/spawn sites to open water. In many eastern shore creeks/tidal rivers we’re seeing a strong white perch run over the last two weeks. Bloodworm tipped shad dart tandems or suspended under a float will do well in/around submerged structure. Bottom rigs with either bloodworms, grass shrimp or minnows will work also.
One of the hotter areas this past week was the Choptank River and the creeks that branch off of it. We’re seeing some nice sizes and numbers come out of that area. Some other areas to note are Tuckahoe Creek, Beachwood Park in the Magothy and the upper reaches of the Patuxent River. We saw a good amount of White Perch being caught in these locations this past week.
Best baits are going to be live minnows, grass shrimp or bloodworms. In shallow water (< 6′) fish these baits under a bobber. In deeper water (> 6′) fish these baits off the bottom with a top & bottom rig. You can increase your chances of catching fish if you fish a tandem rig. You can throw two shad darts or smaller jigs at the same time with a tandem rig and bounce these baits off the bottom around structure. A very effective and productive technique!
Shad/Herring
Water temps in some of the tidal rivers and creeks is hovering around 45º-48º. With that, we’ve received reports of some Shad and Herring being caught in Tuckahoe Creek. This isn’t a full on run at this point, but stay tuned for more of these soon as the weather starts to turn. No reports of these fish being caught in the Potomac or Susquehana yet but expect that to change very soon.
Rockfish
Things are starting to heat up! We’re netting bait (Fresh Alewife) and prepping for the trophy season to start on April 20th! Anglers have reported a few catches from shore (Sandy Point State Park) and from boats/yaks in many of the local Rivers. Make sure you’re up to date on the rules and regulations on where to fish for Rockfish. The DNR map can be found here and is very comprehensive on where/when you can fish for Rockfish.
Some of the hotter spots have been deeper structure areas like the Bay Bridge Pilings, Power Plant down near Calvert Cliffs and in the mouth of the Patapsco. Jigging in these areas has been pretty good this past week. Trolling for Rockfish has picked up and anglers are finding fish in their typical Rockfish highways in the shipping channels in 35′-50′ of water. Concentrate on the areas closest to the mouths of the rivers as this is where these fish will school up as the move in to spawn in the creeks and rivers.
Best baits to use are depending on the type of fishing you’re doing. Trolling larger baits right now is your best bet. Make sure no stinger hooks are used and the barbs are flattened. No more than 6 rods may be deployed no matter how many anglers are on board.
Bait fishing for Rockfish requires non-offset circle hooks or J hooks with less than 1/2″ gap. Bloodworms, Alewife or White Perch are all good baits to catch Rockfish right now.
Freshwater Fishing
Fishing the freshwater ponds and lakes right now is good. Now’s the perfect time to get the kids out of the house on the weekends and get em fishing! Grab a dozen worms and a half pint of minnows, some hooks and floats and make some memories!
Largemouth Bass
Bass can be caught a variety of ways right now. Targeting shorelines and submerged structure with either suspending jerkbaits, jigs or in-line spinners will be the most productive way to catch them. You can go as simple as a worm on a hook under a bobber, also.
Crappie
Crappie fishing has been good over the last week. Lots of eastern shore ponds/lakes like Wye Mills, Tuckahoe, and Unicorn Lake have all been good. Fishing minnows under a float near submerged structure has been very productive. You can also find the bigguns hunkered down in a few deeper holes still.
Show us what you caught!
We’d love to see your catch! Send your photos with some simple info (your name, location, bait/technique) and any other info you’d like to share to kevin@anglersannapolis.com. By sending your images you are giving us permission to use them online. If there are any children under 18 we need their parents permission before posting any images online!