Cover Photo: Quinn Masear caught this nice rockfish jigging a Z-Man plastic on a G-Eye Jigs jig head! Jaxston Smith caught this pickerel in the Severn River using a 3” Z-Man Minnowz on a Z-man Texas Eye Jig Head!
Rockfish: Nice Rockfish up to 30 inches have been caught in a variety of areas of the bay including Poplar Island, Eastern Bay, the Chester River, the Magothy River, and the Patapsco River. The majority of fish are being caught jigging in 15 of more feet of water, or in shallow water near shorelines using top water, Rat-L-Traps, jerk baits or paddletails. Target shorelines, points, and areas like Poplar Island first thing in the morning or at last light. For jigging, look for fish on your electronics or target areas with structure. Live spot and soft crab or peeler crab are still working well around the bridge pilings and from shore at Matapeake, Romancoke or Sandy Point!
Pickerel: Pickerel fishing is definitely picking up in the Severn and Magothy and will continue to get better. Try using a minnow under a bobber, a paddletail or slow working a jerk bait. Fish are in the upper parts of the rivers and creeks, typically in shallow and like structure!
White Perch: There are still some white perch in the rivers and creeks but that bite is dying down as white perch move in deeper water. A great way to catch large White Perch this time of year is to use a metal jig in the main rivers or the main bay near structure or over submerged structure.
Snakehead: There are still some decent snakehead being caught in both the western shore rivers like the Severn and Magothy and on the eastern shore near Blackwater. Subsurface lures will work best this time of year, such as a paddletail on chatterbait.