Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 1/25/18 Update:
The ice that covered most rivers local to the upper bay has melted, opening up the water to anglers brave enough to venture out this week. Despite warm weather, Tochtermans reports that water temperatures haven't changed much, making for some pretty poor fishing recently. A few crappie and perch were reported in the Magothy River, caught on little orange, chartreuse, and pink shad darts. Tochtermans hasn't heard of anything coming off of the Bay Bridge pilings from the guys who have stopped there, however we did get one report in from someone who caught a couple 16 inch rockfish in the area.
We spoke with a couple readers - plus our own senior editor Kaylie Jasinski - who ice fished Middle River before the recent warming trend. Some anglers blanked out but some were catching yellow perch, so there are a few fish in the area right now.
We'd like to give a shout-out to Upper Chesapeake Bay fishing report sponsor Riverside Marine, who we saw at the Baltimore Boat Show today. If you go to the show, please be sure to stop by their display and mention that we anglers appreciate their help in bringing FishTalk to the area!
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 1/19/18 Update:
Fishing has been tough on the Upper Bay, with Tochtermans and Fishbones reporting that cold weather and frozen water have been keeping anglers off the water. We heard from one reader who tried ice fishing a cove off the Magothy and found safe ice in one area, but unsafe ice in another, so we have to stamp a question-mark on this option and advise caution. Heading to Deep Creek is still your best bet to catch dinner, as plenty of walleye, pike, and yellow perch are still in the lake. If you’re brave enough and bold enough to give ice fishing a shot check out the Freshwater reports for more info.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 1/12/18 Update:
The folks at Tochterman’s say that most everything seems frozen up at this point, although just prior to the deep freeze the few brave souls who got out on the water did manage to catch and release a few rockfish. Up to six inches of ice at Deep Creek has allowed the first of some good ice fishing (see the Freshwater Report for more info), but with this warmer weather coming around this might unfortunately bring unsafe ice. Bridges have been un-fishable due to ice.
It was almost possible to ice fish on the Magothy the past week. Though the ice did get thick enough, the extraordinarily low tides we had drained much of the river, much of the time. Water levels have returned to normal, but as pointed out earlier, the abrupt warmth with rain may make the ice unsafe. If you try it this weekend, all we can say is please be exceptionally careful and remember that the ice is very likely weak and sketchy.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 1/5/18 Update:
Tochtermans reports that fishing has been slow in the Upper Bay, as weather conditions haven't let anglers out on the water. We're expecting a few frigid months with lackluster fishing as we enter this year, however the determined angler still has the option to head west and fish frozen lakes. And yes, they are thoroughly frozen – be sure to check out the Freshwater reports, to hear about ice fishing opportunities.
Speaking about ice fishing: the Magothy has frozen solid and its coves should now be giving anglers the rare chance to ice fish on a Bay tributary this far south, which we found quite productive for yellow perch, a few white perch, and some pickerel the last time the river froze solid. However, nature’s “bomb cyclone” sucked a ton of water out of the Upper Bay, and as of yesterday afternoon the water was down a good three feet or so. We think that will likely make the weekend a bust (heck, it’ll be a high of 21-degrees with a 20 mph wind on Saturday, anyway) but after the water comes back in, we’d bet that bull minnow fished on shad darts through the ice will be a good bet. If you’ve never tried it before, be sure to check out Cheap and Easy Ice Fishing, to learn how it’s done with tools and gear you almost certainly already have laying around the house.