Cover Image: Amanda Groft found Yellow Perch biting in the upper parts of the Nanticoke River using live minnows! Anglers Employee Jimmy caught Crappie up to 14 inches in the Pocomoke River!
Yellow Perch: Our reports from this week all indicate that the yellow perch bite has yet to really turn on in the upper parts of the Choptank River. There are some smaller sized male fish being caught, but we haven’t seen the spawning females move in yet. However, with warmer weather moving in this weekend, that is certain to change, and we predict that the bite in areas such as Hillsboro, Greensboro, Denton and Martinak will pick up significantly within this next week! Right now though, the best yellow perch reports in terms of both size and numbers are coming from the uppers parts of the Nanticoke. Live minnows have been the most successful method of fishing for them. You can fish them on a bottom rig or on a shad dart or hot skirt under a bobber. We recently did videos on selecting the right bobber, and using a slip bobber!
Crappie: Another great panfish option is crappie! Nice crappie are being caught all over the eastern shore from the upper parts of the rivers, to the mill ponds to Tuckahoe State Park. Live minnows work very well for them as well, or you can use a little plastic stinger on a 1/16 or 1/32 oz jig head.
Bass: Large mouth bass are in pre-spawn right now, so they are feeding very actively! Reaction style baits such as crank baits will be the ticket, and the best color to use is crawfish red! As the water warms up, they are moving into more shallow water. Any of the mill ponds on eastern shore are holding nice large mouth bass, and the fishery in the upper Potomac is also very good right now! It’s a great time of year to target this species so get out there and have some fun!
Rockfish: Our resident rockfish are still holding in deep water, typically 40-50 feet. As temperatures increase you may be able to find them in 30 feet of water. You’ll want to use heaviers, 3/4 to 1.5 oz jig heads to get down to the bottom! In terms of the big Migratory fish, we have received reports of people catching them pretty far up in the creeks, which means that they have moved up to spawn! If you want to try to catch and release one of them, target the mouths of the rivers.
Snakehead: Snakehead fishing is starting to pick up. Using a spinner such as a mepps or live minnows will be the best bet until water temperatures warm up more. It’s only going to get better, so make sure that you sign up for our Monster Snakehead Hunt! Click here for details!