Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 30, 2019 Update:
One of the fun things about writing this report is getting breaking news as the fishing picks up and changes throughout the weeks. Recently, however, I haven’t been getting a whole lot of new information because the fishing has just been so dang good, and staying good all around the Upper Bay. But here’s a new recent surprise: The booming Spanish mackerel fishery has moved all the way north of the Bay Bridge – and is still booming. Clyde’s mentioned anglers are bringing in a surprising number of Spanish mackerel all the way north of Love Point. Most guys have been rigging up with number one and two Clarks spoons, typically in gold or silver. Another popular option has been using Tony spoons, numbers 13 or 14 at the largest. Clyde’s suggested trollers should run the boat about twice as fast as you would for rockfish when going after the Macks, typically between eight and 10 miles per hour. Sticking near the channel edge has been a smart move, however, the Spanish macks this far north have been a bit scattered. Spending the time to cover some water is a good idea for anglers eager to get into them.
Around Hodge’s Bar at Poole’s Island, a few reports have come into Clydes from anglers having success drifting live eels. They’ve been catching some solid stripers, and although the action isn’t particularly quick, when they’ve been hooking up it has generally been with quality fish. Fishbones had anglers coming in who reported stellar striper fishing around Seven Foot Knoll, Love Point, and Swan Point. They’ve typically been live-lining, and the plentiful population of spot in the Bay this year is making it easy. Most guys have just been heading to areas with a hard bottom and between eight and 10 feet of water to load up on them. The mouth of the Chester has been a great area, as well as the Magothy. Tochterman’s let us know that the Bay Bridge area is still producing, too, though the bite has dropped off a bit from what is was a couple weeks ago. Most guys were reporting that the grade of fish around the Bridge is somewhat low, with a large number of throwbacks for both live-liners and anglers tossing soft plastics. With that being said, anglers who have stocked up on spot and are keeping at it have been bringing home dinner.
The Inner Harbor is still experiencing a healthy catfish bite, for those interested. They’ve been taking cut menhaden and chicken breast. A few stripers are still in the Inner Harbor as well, and can be landed by jigging or casting and retrieving six-inch BKD or Gulp! lures. White and chartreuse are still popular colors, however, overcast days have prompted many anglers to make the tactical switch to purple. Perch are in the in the Inner Harbor too, and throughout the tribs, still eager to take bloodworms on bottom rigs. Going after them during dawn and dusk has been a smart option. Heading to your local pier or shoreline after work and dropping a rig down is a great way to end the day, and bring home an after-dinner snack.
Crabbing report: Finally, crabs seem to have made their way up the Bay and become active enough to make it worth baiting the trot-line. And some of them, as you can see above, are true jumbo Jimmies.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 23, 2019 Update:
Fishbones let us know that the Bay Bridge is still a great place to be if you want to catch fish, though the methodology and the catch has shifted. Most trollers are now pulling Clarke spoons or small Drones, in the hopes of getting in on the fantastic mackerel action which has now made its way notably farther north than usual. Anglers in Annapolis let us know that tons of boats hitting the docks with full fish boxes are swearing by Hard Head Custom Baits in pink or yellow. But the mackerel fishery isn’t the only one at the Bridge – the water has also been filled with boats live-lining spot and white perch in hopes of landing a striper. And many boats are, although the fishing has slowed a bit in the past week, and it had slowed a bit the week before as well. Many sub-legal fish are in the area, but landing keepers can be expected.
If all the traffic at the Bridge is turning you off, no worries. Swan Point and Seven Foot Knoll are providing some excellent fishing as well. Fishbones suggested heading out with three-quarter to 1.5-ounce tandems in tow. There have also been good catches reported from the Key Bridge, and all the way up into Baltimore harbor. Both live-lining and tossing white and chartreuse BKDs has been effective.
With live-lining so stellar, we’re glad that the spot fishery is booming. Tochterman’s reported that finding spot has been easy as locating an eight to 10 foot hard bottom. When you’re searching for them, don’t bother sticking to areas where you aren’t catching them hand over fist. Spot school, so if you’re into them you’ll know it and you’ll be cruising to your fishing destination soon after.
White perch have been a little bit more difficult to find this week if you’re searching during the day. In general, perch have been sticking to shaded areas and are most active during dusk and dawn. Still, competitors fishing in the Angler’s White Perch Open had no trouble racking up a huge mess ‘o perch and FishTalk Team Member Zach Ditmars said the fillet station at Podickory Point Yacht Club was a very busy place, last weekend.
Crabbing report: Crabbing is still slow in the Upper Bay, though improving. Better results can be had by heading south to the Middle Bay tribs or farther south.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 16, 2019 Update:
Surprise: Tochterman’s said they had never seen fishing like they have this week in the Baltimore Inner Harbor, as the rockfish are so thick “people aren’t even moving their boats from the dock.” They said that as the bait moved in the rockfish followed right behind them, and most people coming in are using Yo-Zuris, Rattle-Traps, and three-quarter to one-ounce jig-heads with white or chartreuse tails. The area around the Key Bridge has held fish as well. Clyde’s also said rockfishing has been off the hook, especially live-lining after you get your spot with bottom rig with bloodworms, just about anywhere throughout the rivers. They also told us people using eel, peeler, or soft crab have been bringing in stripers.
Clyde’s also mentioned that a nice number of large white perch have moved into the Upper Bay, along with some croaker. Then we talked to Fishbone’s, and they mentioned that these big white perch have moved into the Magothy. Lures like spinners and little swimbaits have picked them up, along with baits like soft crab or worms. They also let us know trolling has had a better class fish than live-lining recently. The bridge is still a hotspot, though the action there has tapered off from what it was and the class of fish seems to have shrunk. Fortunately, Swan Point has been producing good numbers of rockfish, too.
Crabbing report: It's picking up a bit, but those in search of jimmies by the dozens are still best served by heading south. Reports pick up from the Severn on down.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 9, 2019 Update:
Getting out early has been the key to successful fishing on the Upper Bay for the past week. The waters are often packed with boats after the sun has been in the sky for longer than an hour, especially on weekends, and staking out your spot can be a treacherous journey. However, the aforementioned has genuinely been the most difficult part of fishing recently – the water is packed with stripers, and spot are easy to locate with bloodworms on bottom rigs in eight to 15 feet of water. The traditional summer spots are consistently proving why we go back to them year after year. Podickory Point, Love Point, Swan Point, and the Bay Bridge Pilings have all been providing excellent fishing. Tochterman’s reminded us that the most important thing to stock up on has been spot. They also stressed that the bite for spot and stripers has been happening early, and to get out while you’ve gotta have your running lights on.
Anglers who aren’t live-lining have primarily been jigging. Jiggers are typically not catching as many fish as live-liners, although there will always be a few exceptions. Also, across the board the grade of fish in the past few weeks seems to have declined. We didn’t hear any reports of stripers breaking the 30-inch mark this week, although plenty of Facebook-worthy fish are still being caught.
Remember, extreme heat has created stressful conditions for fish. When catch and release fishing, or if you’re in the process of releasing an undersized fish, please remember not to lift the fish out of the water if possible and remove hooks while fish are in the water whenever you can. If fish must come in the boat, be conscious of how long they’re out of the water. Even a few minutes exposed to 90-degree-plus temperatures could leave them floating belly-up later. (Note: The DNR has posted a “green” via their new Striped Bass Fishing Advisory Forecast system for this weekend, with highs not predicted to break that mark).
Anglers keeping to the tribs are enjoying healthy sunrise and sunset perch bites. Taylored Tackle mentioned that the perch haven’t been hitting hard during the day, but can be found around shaded structure and shallow water throughout the day. Finding them takes a bit of searching, and they’ve often been in shallow water, making navigation a bit tricky for larger boats. Shoreline anglers have been having some success perch fishing, but don’t have the advantage of being able to quickly switch between spots when an area doesn’t pan out the way they’ve hoped. Bloodworms on a bottom rig and Perch Pounders remain standard fare.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 2, 2019 Update:
The Upper Bay has been absolutely packed with boats since the end of May, and this continues to be true for good reason – the fishing has been absolutely fire for a few months now and is showing no signs of tapering off. Not only is the bite hot, but anglers are consistently reporting fish breaking the 28-inch mark. We’ve even heard a few reports of stripers breaking 35 inches, which should be unheard of for this time of year. We’re not sure what's driving this killer bite, but we’re here for it. Tochterman’s let us know that Swan Point, Podickory Point, Love Point, and the Bay Bridge Pilings are all fantastic areas right now. Most anglers have been jigging or live-lining, with the majority of chummers having switched over to live-lining. It’s been easy to come across spot to stick on your circle hook, with schools or them jam-packed in areas with hard bottom in eight to 20 feet of water. If you aren’t catching at your first spot, or there’s a solid gap in time between fish, move on. Once you get into a school, filling your livewell should happen quickly.
Because the fishing is so stellar, the aforementioned areas have been jam-packed. Heading out early is the best bet for getting a good spot without needing to navigate through a fleet of boats. With that being said, the best bite has also been at dawn, making that 4:30 wake-up time well worth it.
For anglers who land undersized fish or are catch-and-release fishing, it’s important to make sure that any fish that isn’t going to be coming home with you stays in the water. Being exposed to high above-surface temperatures is detrimental to the fishes’ health, especially when coupled with the tough water conditions they’re already experiencing below the surface. The best way to protect the fish is to unhook them while they’re still in the water. Fish that must be brought on board before release should be handled delicately and returned to the water as fast as possible.
Outside the striper bite, the perch action going on in the tribs is fantastic. Coming across perch has been requiring minimal effort, and getting them on the line is easy if you’re equipped with a bottom rig and some bloodworms or Perch Pounders. The best time to go after them is sunrise and sunset. During the day they’re moving into shaded waters, aiming to escape oppressive sunshine. Catfish are often being caught alongside perch by anglers using cut bait from chicken breast to menhaden.
Crabbing Report: The only thing the Upper Bay hasn’t got going for it right now is crabs – the crabbing report has been absolutely dismal. Marylanders who can’t bring themselves to shell out $250+ for a bushel at the seafood store (or prefer the reward of catching their own) should consider heading south, the farther the better.