7/2/2017 Update:
Holy mackerel, there are a LOT of fish near Podickory Point! FishTalk "Fish With Lenny" Contest winner Robert Daley, Lenny, and friend Kohler tossed jigs to catch a few smalls at Thomas Point, caught a handful of 19 inchers at the bridge, then chummed Podickory and had a limit on fish up to 24" by 9:30 in the morning. There were lots of throw-backs, maybe a 10-to-1 ratio, but if you sift through the little guys you'll catch plenty of keepers. The best bite was on the shallow side of the contour in 18 feet of water. Bunker set on bottom and floated back from mid-depth down did the trick. Fish were rather localized with boats 100 yards apart experiencing very different results, and part of the key to success was anchoring on top of a school of fish and moving if you weren't over any.
6/30/2017 Update:
Fishbone’s says trollers in the Upper Bay have done best on stripers while using red hoses and parachutes on tandem rigs with five to six inch baits in white and chartreuse. Ever since the dolphin showed up in the middle Bay, everyone we spoke with agreed that that north of the bridge has been the place to be lately. Podickory Point, Love Point, and the Triple Buoys have all been notable hotspots. Fish also have been around the bridge pilings and at the Sewer Pipe, though these spots have been a bit less reliable than those mentioned previously. Anglers have been catching some very nice fish, including some in the 28 to 36 inch range. Chumming in these areas, mostly along drop-offs from the 20's into the 30's, is also highly effective, although there have also been larger numbers of throwbacks mixed in for the chummers.
Perch angler in the Upper Bay have found bloodworms to be the best bait lately, with bigger fish being found out in the open bay over shell bottom. A few small croaker and spot are mixed in the catch. Most of the perch in the creeks and rivers have been smaller.
Crabbing reports from up the bay indicate somewhat slow, but steady, catches.
6/23/2016 Update:
Just like last week, some key spots on the Chesapeake are hot right now and anglers focusing on them are consistently raking in large striper. Anglers fishing Hacketts are bringing home dinner within a few hours of being out, and the majority of fish being caught are over 28 inches. Love Point, Podickory Point, the triple buoys, and the mud flats are also steadily producing keeper rockfish, with some smaller fish mixed in with the catch. Locals fishing all of these spots and filling their coolers have either been trolling red hoses and Tsunamis, or chumming with bunker. Chumming has also produced catfish feeding in the chum slick, as well.
Jiggers have also reported good catches, mostly from the Bridge. It's hit or miss, though, with the sewer pipe and pilings holding fish and then not from one day to the next.
White perch catches have dropped a bit in numbers but those being caught are larger in size—most fish in the Patapsaco and in Kent Narrows have been between eight and 12 inches. They’re biting blood worms and cut sea clam. According to Tochetermans, crabs have also been running good and steady in the Magothy, however due to the full moon many are light.
As significant numbers of rockfish seem to have shifted north recently, anglers have spotted porpoises in the Middle Bay all the way up to the bridge. (Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reported spotting some within a mile of the south span, near the shipping channel, early this week). We've now also had an unverified report of them being spotted north of the bridge. Some anglers are speculating that their presence has pushed the bulk of the stripers farther north than usual. This also appears to have had the effect of pushing some of the scattered rock into the tributaries. As you run out into the Bay or return to the dock, prospecting a few key river spots could provide surprising results.
6/16/2017 Update:
Upper Bay alert: the rockfish bite in the upper bay has been spectacular this week, with large numbers of fish having moved north of the Bay Bridge! Many being caught around Podickory Point, Love Point, the Triple Buoys, and on the mud flats. There is both a chumming bite as well as a trolling bite in these areas, with red hoses and Tsunamis catching the most and largest fish for the trollers. Pink, chartreuse, and white have been the best colors. Chummers have been experiencing h a high throw-back ratio but fast action with larger fish popping up often enough to fill the box, especially in the Triple Buoy to Love Point zone. Bunker chunks set on bottom in a bunker slick have been the number-one bait and we've also heard the baits sweetened with bunker gut (be sure to slide your hook through the hard, knobby gizzard or it will fall right off) are taking the lion's share of the fish.
Jiggers have discovered fish at the Sewer Pipe and the Bridge, and although this bite has been on-again off-again through the week, it has produced some larger fish pushing 30-inches.
Perch have moved into shallow waters in the bay and are particularly plentiful in the mouth of the Patapsco, Rock Creek, and other Western Shore areas with structure and/or shell bottoms. Blood worms and grass shrimp are catching perch, as always, in addition to shad darts and Mepps cast in the shallower areas. Most fish being caught are in 15 feet of water. Local anglers report although croaker are few and far between, some have been caught mixed in with the perch. Fishbones reported that in addition to a good rockfish and perch run, catfish have also been in abundance this season. Most catfish have been caught on bait, with nothing in specific working any better than anything else. Often they're popping up in chum lines intended for stripers.
Crabs have moved from river shallows to the bay, granting watermen dropping pots far more success than those using trot lines in rivers. Adding a bag of razor clams to pots has been bringing in a significantly larger catch than just using chicken necks this season.
6/9/2017 Update:
The key to catching fish recently has been to find the right spot and choose your lures wisely, due to a week of rain that has brought us muddy water in the northern Chesapeake. When trying to combat the muddy water like we’ve had this past week, Tochterman’s gave us some great advice. They suggested using bright, almost neon colors like chartreuse and pink with a pop of white. These colors will stand out in muddy, murky waters where fish will have trouble seeing a lure that’s even a foot in front of their face. If using bright colors doesn’t work, they suggested using darker colors such as black and purple, which will create a silhouette in the water that is easy for fish to recognize and see. This week Hacketts, Love Point, Podickory Point, and the mud flats have all been producing large fish for some anglers who have been jigging the colors mentioned above. The sewer pipe has held good numbers of smaller fish and a few keepers are coming from the near-by bridge pilings. Chumming with alewives has also been producing good numbers of fish in many of these areas, especially Love Point and also the Triple Buoys.
Anglers looking to troll have been successful from Podickory all the way up to the triple buoys, with hoses becoming the lure of choice according to the guys at Fishbones. Small tandem shad rigs have also been effective. In addition to the stripers, local fisherman have been enjoying a hot perch and catfish bite in recent weeks. As usual the catfish will swallow just about anything you drop in front of their faces, and perch are eating up bloodworms. The Magothy and Severn Rivers are reportedly full of both species.
Crabs are in all up and down the bay, but are not yet in full swing in the Upper Bay. Hopefully warm weather next week will cause that to change.
6/2/2017 Update:
Fishbone’s says chumming has been excellent at the mud-flats, Love Point, and Hacketts Bar. Anglers have been catching lots of decent fish mid 20’s, with a few larger fish mixed in. Lots of catfish are also coming into chum lines, thanks to all the freshwater we’ve had falling from the sky this spring.
Trollers are also getting keeper stripers, while pulling spoons, umbrella rigs, and shad-body lures. The trolling bite hasn’t seemed quite as good as chumming, with the Triple Buoys and Love Point accounting for the best catches.
Perch are here and there, both in the creeks and on oyster bars in open water, and they’ve also been caught around the Bay Bridge and near Fort Carroll. The usual selection of small jigs, shad darts, and bottom rigs baited with bloodworm or grass shrimp will do the trick, on these perch. Anglers casting to the shoreline are also catching them on Mepps spinners. Bottom fishermen have also been treated to a few croaker showing up in the catch this week. While the numbers aren't yet really large enough to target them, this bodes well for the summer bottom fishing season.
Crabbing has also picked up and people are starting to catch good sized males in abundance, with both trot-lines and pull-traps.