Way North and Delaware Fishing Report 11/24/2017 Update:
Happy Thanksgiving, anglers! Blustery conditions and the holiday have combined to make it difficult to gather much intel the past few days, however, what we've been hearing is all good news. If you're looking to follow up that big turkey meal with some fresh fish for the weekend, you'll be happy to know that the fish have been snapping. Herbs reports that cool temperatures and high winds have kept the majority of anglers off the water, but those who did manage to get out this week have been catching striped bass around the channel ledges, many of which have been in the upper twenties range. Light tackle jigging has been a popular option, although some anglers have been trolling. White and pearl are still the predominant producing colors and skirted jigs seem to be catching more fish than plain jig heads.
Sarge's is also reporting that jigging has been effective, including on stripers in the Elk River, mostly in the 15 to 20 foot range. Bass have been reported in the Conwingo Dam pool, and have been highly active during the day. Cool temperatures have extended the time that they've been active, and most are taking little grubs and soft plastics. Perch are also around, and although most anglers braving the conditions lately have been targeting the stripers, fishing with grass shrimp or bloodworm bits near bottom in holes (25' to 30') with shell bottom is productive. Prior to the winds a few reports of the first yellow perch were trickling in, and although there's been no word of them the past few days, they should be there for the catching.
Way North and Delaware Fishing Report 11/17/2017 Update:
Herb's Bait and Tackle reports that as water temperatures have fallen, menhaden have began their migration south. Many large fish have been holding on channel ledges, and anglers jigging near channel edges or trolling for them have had great success. Most trollers are using bucktails and small spoons. The most popular times to troll have been on the tide change and at dusk, when many smaller fish have been coming up to feed. The bite on the flats has been on-again/of-again with decent numbers of 20-something stripers. Topwater and soft plastics fished on light (quarter-ounce) heads have been the best way to take them. As has been true for much of the season, white and pearl colors are doing best. Chesapeake Bait and Tackle reports that although many smaller fish are being caught, especially in the river mouths, larger fish have been holding on the channel edges and some fish have been in the 30 inch range.
White perch throughout the area have moved deeper, and the first reports of yellow perch are popping up. Grass shrimp are best for the whites, minnow for the yellows, and both will take bloodworm bits on a bottom rig. Captain Bones continues to report perch and crappie are biting in the upper reaches of the tidal rivers. Grass shrimp, small minnow, and two to three inch tube jigs and twisters are all good bets.
Bass fishing has been good at the Conwingo dam and low water temperatures have kept bass in their fall feeding modes, and they're still taking topwater lures. Catfish have been mixed in, as well as some perch, for anglers fishing bait on the bottom.
Way North and Delaware Fishing Report 11/10/2017:
Good news, northern Mid-Atlantic anglers: with the recent chill in the air, 22 to 28 inch fish have started to show up in larger numbers. Herb's Tackle Shop reported that this week, many stripers have been caught on the Susquehanna Flats, primarily on topwater lures. As in previous weeks, the bite has been mostly during evening time low-light conditions. Largemouth bass are still mixed in with stripers in some areas, though with water temps cooling off some have shifted to deeper areas and moved back to the river channel edges. Anglers have been working birds to locate fish, as well. In addition to the striper bite, white perch have been very active. Captain Bones Bait and Tackle has had many reports of perch, especially at Phillip's Landing.
White perch and channel cats are also in the upper reaches of the tidal rivers, including the North East and the Elk. Perch have moved a bit deeper, and 15 to 20 feet of water seems to be the right zone to find them in at the moment, and they're biting both bloodworms and grass shrimp fished on bottom rigs. Move to deeper channel edges, to find the cats. Catfishing in the dam pool should also be good in the coming days, as the rainfall caused releases early this week but there's been enough time for the riled water to clear out a bit.
Way North and Delaware Fishing Report 11/2/2017:
Moving into November, large fish have continued to be elusive in the waters of the far Upper Bay. With that being said, many smaller fish are still chasing bay anchovies and are easily caught. Herbs reported that the Conowingo Dam pool has been a hotspot for anglers this past week, and is holding large numbers of 16 to 24 inch rock. Most anglers fishing the dam pool have been casting topwater, or light tackle. Meanwhile, Joe Yack from Sarge's reports that stripers are chewing on bunker from Worton's down to the Bay Bridges, and the Elk River has had a good bite on striped bass as well.
Sunset has been the best time of day to catch, and most anglers have reported chasing birds as the number one way to locate fish. Captain Bones reported that most anglers have been using 1/2 ounce jig heads with pearl BKD or GULP! soft plastics.
In addition to the rockfish bite, large mouth bass have also become significantly more active in recent weeks. Colder weather has allowed for more time where the bass are actively eating, and have moved into deeper water than they were this summer. Herbs reports that they've typically been hanging around underwater structure such as stumps, rocks, and fallen trees. Soft plastic crawfish have been the most popular bait recently.
Mixed in with the bass bite has been a fair amount of channel catfish and white perch. Channel catfish are abundant not only in small creeks, but also in more spacious tributaries, where they can often be caught on bottom. They're taking most any bait. Perch are also heavy in most local rivers, and have been holding around docks and piers.