Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, February 25 Update:
Pickerel continue to offer some winter fishing action, and during the warm weather this week were biting strongly in multiple locations. Two readers checked in after enjoying success on the Magothy, on spinners and also on the fly. We also heard from a couple who hit the creeks of the Patapsco and enjoyed a solid bite. Angler’s mentioned that they had heard from a few guys who hit the water during sunny, warm days earlier this week and found pickerel in the Magothy as well. On the Eastern Shore, they reported that pickerel and largemouth are hitting strong in the millponds for anglers fishing minnows or spinners in shallow water, and reader reports indicate jerkbaits are proving effective as well.
Yellow perch remain somewhat active as well, with scattered catches reported throughout the tributaries. It does appear as though many of the initial schools of yellow perch that had moved into and up rivers for spawn have broken up a bit, with anglers searching for them and covering some water to get a few.
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Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, February 18 Update:
Fishing in the Upper Bay has primarily been concentrated in the tribs and secluded bodies of water. However, we did have one reader check in with us who fished the Bay Bridge rock piles this past Saturday when the weather was warm. They managed to locate some nice resident 22- to 24-inch stripers in 30 to 40 feet of water that were happy to snap up some jigs on bottom. They also searched for white perch around the pilings, but couldn’t find any to put in the cooler.
In general, the fishing has been a bit finicky. Western shore anglers haven’t been finding much close to home, with the tributary bites thin. Winter chain pickerel are still available in the Magothy and Severn, although Anglers and Alltackle reported that the bite hasn’t been great. More attention has been paid to perch recently. Most guys are having the best luck heading to the Eastern Shore and fishing the Tuckahoe, mill ponds, or areas like Wye Mills that are providing a much healthier, steadier panfish and catfish bite. Yellow perch in these areas have been apt to taking bare minnows or shad darts and other small jigs tipped with them. Catfish are taking chunks of cut bait on bottom, as usual. We also had our first report in months of a snakehead from the Eastern Shore.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, February 11 Update:
Cold weather and iffy fishing kept many anglers ashore last weekend and early this week, and we aren’t blaming them. Bearing some bummer conditions, a few boats headed out chose to hunt the Severn and Magothy for pickerel. Reports were slow to mixed, with a few anglers reporting that they had multiple hits and a couple hookups during a day slow-trolling the Magothy, and a few others who were either skunked, or landed one fish. Good news is that generally if you’re cruising around for them, you can stay close to shorelines and in protected areas if the weather isn’t too great. Anglers on the western shore who are so motivated and lucky Eastern Shore natives have been finding pickerel in the millponds, though mid-week Contributor Eric Packard found that the fish there utterly refused to bite. With their ice skim now gone, however, all are accessible and we know darn well they’re holding fish. With the incoming warmth today and tomorrow the bite may well be triggered.
Yellow perch are on in the rivers, with a couple of readers reporting success on yellows and a few whites in the mix as well. Both minnow and grass shrimp are in vogue, fished on darts. While none of the folks who checked in with us gave away specific locations, one did mention that the fish were already surprisingly far upriver approaching the spawning zones. AllTackle also heard from a few guys who scored stringers fishing the tribs this week.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, February 4 Update:
Although the fishing is decidedly meh in the area, anglers who stayed local this week were able to hook up on fish in areas free of ice. Many of the coves and creeks have had on-again, off-again skims forming overnight but melting away when the sun’s out. Chain pickerel were around the Magothy and Severn, willing to bite live minnow and flashy jigs. No reports of whoppers came in this week, with two-to-three hookups per trip and fish around 20-inches pretty standard. However, poking around the creeks and coves did make for an interesting perch bite when it was on. Anglers are finding little pockets of them lit up, with a sporadic bite.
If you’re really looking to fulfill your perch-fix, heading to the Eastern Shore (if you aren’t there already) is a surer way to get it done. The bite in the Tuckahoe, Pocomoke, and many tributary creeks is good. Going after them with live minnows is standard and may also produce a crappie hit in the right spots plus plenty of pickerel.
We didn’t have any reports of catch-and-release striped bass this week, although chances are that some are hanging around. No surprise that few people are finding looking for them on the Bay right now worthwhile, given the presumably slow bite and non-ideal conditions.