Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 5/25/2018:
Coming home with dinner has been no problem this week, as the Upper Bay has been absolutely alive and action-packed. Trolling still seems to be the most productive means of catching fish on the Eastern side, particularly around Love Point and from the LP buoy down to the bridge. Fishbones recommends trolling light tackle, such as small tandems, spoons, and two to three ounce bucktails. The median size fish has been somewhere between 28 and 32 inches, however there have been good number of large outliers, as always. Chummers have also been doing well in these areas but chumming has been stronger on the Western side of the Bay.
Chumming and light tackle jigging bites around Podickory Point, Six and Seven Foot Knolls, and Belvidere Shoals has been producing some great fish, primarily in the earlier part of the day. Chumming has proven most effective in ares of very stained water. (Note the picture above). The bodies of discoloration are moving in and out with the tide so just where you encounter them is difficult to predict, but it's definitely worse on the Western shore. Still, Podickory is a top destination, with most of the chumming bites coming on deep lines set at or near bottom in 20 to 30 feet of water. Limit catches of fish between 22 and 32 inches have been steadily reported.
Tochtermans mentioned that when it comes to jigging and trolling, our typical favorite white and chartreuse soft plastics haven't been the hottest baits lately, and suggested keeping some purple GULP! Alive six inch soft plastics aboard, as darker colors have been doing unusually well in the past week. Again, you can thank the stained waters. Overall the bridge has been by far the best area for jigging, however, smaller sized fish have been a huge part of the mix.
Anglers dropping bloodworms on bottom rigs are now finding white perch in the usual summer spots. Oyster shell bottom in 12 to 20 feet of water is best. They're also being caught by anglers casting around docks and piers in the Magothy.
The bad news: reports from successful recreational crabbers are nonexistent.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 5/18/2018:
ANGLER ALERT: Remember that circle hook regulations have now gone into effect! All anglers chumming or live-lining in the Maryland portions of the Chesapeake MUST use in-line circle hooks. Read Maryland Chesapeake Bay Circle Hook Regulations, to get the full scoop.
Bud Hein at Fishbone’s shouts “Rain rain rain!” Fishbones reported that the size drop was on Wednesday and area anglers are excited to fill up the cooler, and this time not with just beer. Smaller but now-legal fish have seemed to reach the Upper Bay especially between the LP buoy and the Bay Bridge. Bud said a favorite spot that both him and his customers seem to share is also the depth drop right off of Podickory Point, where it hits 26 feet. Tochterman’s tells us chumming on that same ledge is a great option particularly now that the size limit has changed. Be aware, you can now keep any rockfish over 19 inches, but can only have one of your two fish over 28 inches. Trollers pulling trophy gear are still encountering some big fish (though the season never did produce as hoped) but most are now mixing some six-inch baits into the spread to catch smaller stripers, as well. The Triple buoys to the Bridge has been a good target zone, for the trollers.
There have also been a surprising number of reports of rockfish already being caught in the shallows of the Upper Bay. Topwater right at daybreak and sunset, and soft plastics in white and chartreuse the rest of the day, have been getting the bites. Anglers dropping those same plastics have been finding some stripers milling around the Bay Bridge piling, including at the Rockpiles, particularly on an outgoing tide.
The area shops have also heard about the shad movement up in Deer Creek (see the Way North report for more details).
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 5/10/2018:
Bud at Fishbone’s says since Monday the rock fishing has really turned on. From the LP Buoy to the bridge has seemed to be a hot zone. Also from Thomas Point to Bloody Point and all around the ships, and these fish have seemed to move back into their shallower habits swimming at around 15 feet. Bud says trolling tandem parachutes with white or green looks like a go-to option. Tochterman’s let us know they've been hearing about a good rockfish bite being more North towards Love Point.
They also heard talk of the shad movement up in Deer Creek at Tochterman's, but as for now many anglers have been finding them in the Susquehanna. There's also been good perch fishing in Downs Park, primarily catching keeper-sized perch on shad darts. We also heard from readers casting the shoreline that some fish have already moved shallow, and are hitting soft plastics like BKDs. The bigger stripers have defiantly started their spawn up north, but it should take another couple weeks for all of the fish to finish so the Upper Bay bite should pick up in the coming days, as these fish head back for the ocean.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 5/4/2018:
As water temperatures in the Bay have finally pushed over the 55 degree mark, large female rockfish have begun to spawn and make their way back down the Chesapeake. Fishing turned on early this week, and while it still wouldn't be described as "hot," some trollers did begin to return with dinner in the fish box just after last weekend. Boats that have had success are mostly returning with between one and three fish. Tochtermans reported that trolling large parachutes and bucktails with nine-inch soft plastic shad has been the most successful tactic. No surprise, whites and chartreuse have been the color choices proving most effective. Trolling the channel edges has been hot, as well as fishing the area around the Triple Buoys and Love Point. Most fish have been biting around sunrise, and Fishbones recommends heading out early - very early - to get your catch.
Part of the recipe for success has been trolling a very large spread; the more lures you can get in the water, the better. Board lines running relatively shallow are now taking most of the fish being caught.
We haven't had any reports of bait anglers or jiggers scoring trophies in the Upper Bay this week, and we did hear from a couple of anglers who soaked bunker at Love Point and the LP buoy without success. However, jiggers have been catching some throw-back fish. Jigging the Bridge rockpiles has been the most consistent bite, with most of the fish ranging from 16 to 26 inches. The water is warming up fast, though, so this action should improve at any time. And remember, folks, there have been reports of a lot of fish bottled up way north, waiting to spawn, in the recent past. These fish should do their thing and head south any day now, so a decent run north of the bridge should be expected sooner rather than later.
In addition to rockfish, perch have stayed a consistent fishery and are still in rivers, although the spawning run is complete and they're now being found more often down-river in holes. They're continuing to take blood worms and grass shrimp.