Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 29 Update:
Naturally everyone’s awaiting the rockfish opener on Sunday, but since there has been zero pre-fishing, we have zero intel on any hot zones to head for. Good luck, everyone! Meanwhile many area anglers have been keeping themselves busy with the catfish. We had readers check in from the South, West, and Patuxent Rivers this week and catches ranged from four to 10 cats including some in the 15- to 20-pound range. Cut frozen bunker was mentioned as a good bait.
AIC Lenny Rudow reports that there are still white perch in the salt ponds, however, if you want to take home dinner it’s a game of sorting through countless throwbacks until you find a keeper or three. Grass shrimp are a must-have and suspending them under a bobber on a shad dart does the trick. Although the river spawn is done and perch should be available in the open waters of the tribs, we didn't get any firm confirmation of catches this week. Still, dropping grass shrimp or bloodworm bits on a bottom rig over hard bottom near the channels should be a good bet right about now.
Shad are still being caught in the rivers that get runs, and Anglers is reporting that the Choptank, Patuxent, and Mattawoman are all holding some fish. We also had a reader report come in from Mattawoman with small spoon and dart tandems getting over a dozen solid strikes in an afternoon.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 22 Update:
Throughout local rivers, blue cats and white perch are sustaining much of the bite on the Middle Bay. Blue catfish are providing most action for anglers hoping to score larger fish, and can be caught from shore or boat. They’ve been holding steady in the rivers, but can be found in the main Bay as well. Most anglers fishing for them have been opting to use cut baits and soak them on bottom. Fresh menhaden, chicken livers, or clam snouts are all great things to have on the end of your line if you’re looking to bring in a big blue cat. Alltackle reported that anglers fishing around Sandy Point State Park had some good catches.
White perch are in the mid-to-lower reaches of the rivers. The bite was reportedly best early this week, dropping off with the cold weather later. With a great weekend of weather ahead of us, we’re hoping that bite will pick back up! AIC Lenny Rudow says the white perch bite in the salt ponds is going great guns, and last weekend he was getting bites literally every cast on a shad dart baited with a grass shrimp and suspended two feet under a bobber. However, he also noted that the bulk of the fish were small males and it was a 12- or 15-to-one throwback-to-keeper ratio.
Angler’s also reported that they’ve had some monster snakehead brought in throughout their 2022 Monster Snakehead Hunt, so far. One angler fishing outside the tournament also brought in a snake weighing in at 15.8 lbs. Snakehead Angler Alert: Remember that at 4:00 tomorrow (Saturday) FishTalk Contributor Eric Packard will be giving a seminar on how to catch snakeheads at the Bay Bridge Boat Show! The seminar will be at the Fishing Pavilion located near the food court, and Packard will hang around for a happy hour meet-and-greet afterwards. AIC Lenny Rudow will be on at 4:00 today (to talk about jigging for rockfish) and Sunday (when the topic will be alternate species in the Bay, like specks and reds).
Also noted this week: the hickory shad are still running from Greensboro to Red Bridges, although they’ve dipped off with the cold weather. Casting little jigs and bright, colorful small spoons is getting them to bite.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 15 Update:
With striped bass closed for catch-and-release, anglers have shifted their attention to other species. Blue catfish are a favorite for anglers seeking larger fish and are readily available region-wide. Most of this week the blue cat bite was happening and produced some good-sized fish, ranging from the upper-teens into the 30s. The Tackle Box had one report of a whopper blue cat from the Patuxent, as well. Readers who checked in throughout the week weren’t short on multi-cat days, but a couple also mentioned that they had to be really, really patient. There was also a short period midweek (Wednesday in specific) when for whatever reason the cats seemed to shut off for a while and a reader plus Contributor Eric Packard reported a complete absence of action. Alltackle reported that anglers fishing for them in most of the local rivers and in the Bay have been soaking cut baits, including alewife. Clam snouts and chicken livers are also good bets for them.
On the Eastern Shore, creeks off the Potomac, and in the Pax near Waysons, hickory shad had been reported. We heard from several readers who said high water had put a damper on the bite early in the week, but once it had some time to settle out Angler’s reported that the bite had become better. The Choptank up to Red Bridges was noted as good before the high water and should have settled back out by now, with the fish taking flashy spoons and brightly colored shad darts.
Angler’s reported that white perch have been a common target in the tidal rivers this week, with the bite picking up a bit from the past few weeks. Some perch are further upriver now, continuing to take the classic shad dart or bottom rig with bloodworm or grass shrimp, and some anglers also found them downstream of the spawning zone as they head back out into the main rivers. A better bite has come on in the salt ponds now, however. Two readers checked in after hitting salt ponds on the Western Shore in the Annapolis area and filling a stringer from top to bottom with white perch while using grass shrimp for bait.
Snakehead are awakening on the shore and across the region. Wader and boot-clad anglers who were drawn to marshy shallows and ponds by the warm weather reported that snakes were into it, hitting a mixture of topwater frogs and other surface lures, though no one reported more than a couple of fish. No locations were divulged either, though this is no surprise since these types of spots can be very contained and easily overrun. This does tell us, however, that shallow/stagnant areas are now warm enough for the fish to activate, and the creeks and rivers can't be too far behind.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 7 Update:
Rockfish may be out of bounds but you can still get a heavy bend in the rod via Mr. Whiskers. We had a reader check in after sinking cut baits in the channel of a Western Shore Middle Bay tributary and in short order catch chunky blue cats one after the next; he noted that it was the very first spot he tried. Angler’s echoed that the blue cats are targets of anglers hoping to get something large, or just something, at the end of their rod right now. BLUE CAT ANGLER ALERT: Don’t forget to sign up for the FREE CCA-MD Invasives Species Count. Just take a pic of the blue cats you catch, upload them on iAngler, and you’ll be entered to win uber-cool angling prizes!! (Plus, fisheries scientists will then get access to the population data you help to accumulate).
The perch have remained finicky, and we haven’t heard that the bite recover since the cold snap a couple of weeks ago. There are scattered reports of the occasional perch in the West River, but the bite is nothing like it should be. On the Eastern Shore hits are more frequent, but the season on that side of the Bay is also lackluster compared to the historic showing that white perch normally give. Trips to Martinak, the Choptank, and the tendrils of the Nanticoke all had anglers returning to Alltackle and Angler's Sport Center with varied reports.
The hickory shad are plowing along throughout upriver areas that normally get a run on both Eastern and Western Shores. We may be seeing peak action in southern tribs right about now, with multiple angler reports coming in of catches (well) over a dozen in a matter of a couple of hours. (Though we did hear on Wednesday from a reader that there was high, muddy water at Fletcher’s and he only caught a single fish; hopefully the effects of the heavy recent rains won’t last long). As usual tandem rigs tied with a spoon on the bottom and a shad dart up top are the hot offering. In the past week we heard from various sources and readers of multiple dart colors proving effective, and gold, chartreuse, and silver spoons doing the trick. Remember, these fish can change their color preference from day to day so go armed with several choices and swap ‘em out until you find the hot choice of the moment.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 1 Update:
AIC Lenny Rudow reports that the shad are in, a report coinciding with Angler’s reports from the Potomac, though their numbers haven’t yet seemed to have hit their peak. Among the anglers he fished with the average catch in the Mattawoman was a half-dozen or so hickory shad (plus some very small yellow perch), and reader reports coming from Fletcher’s were identical (minus the perch). Small green or gold spoons and pink/white shad darts drew the most strikes. Contributor Eric Packard caught just a handful on a follow-up shad attempt after the temps fell out early in the week. With the weather trending warmer after the cold snap, however, there’s a good chance for a significant uptick in numbers as the temperature rebounds.
White perch are around the tidal rivers, with Alltackle reporting that the bite for post spawn fish has been just alright. The Choptank and Martinak State Park were mentioned as spots that had good populations of fish throughout the week, although reports weren’t plentiful as the weather this week was definitely limiting for anglers to get on the water. In general, hitting the traditional hotspots and deep holes with jigs tipped with minnow or grass shrimp is a good bet. Blood worms on a bottom rig are also working.
The catfish bite is providing plenty of action as well. In the tribs and on the Bay, big blue and channel catfish are taking cut bait. There are plenty of spots on the Eastern and Western shores, from Martinak to Sandy Point, that are providing good catfishing right now. Fresh cut menhaden, chicken livers, and clam snouts are classic baits and readers and Angler’s are reporting excellent action from Sandy Point.
Striper closed for catch-and-release today. In other news, crabbing season officially opens today in Maryland. We don’t expect to see them on trot lines for a while yet, but in the meantime they’ll be in stores once again and soon we’ll be able to feed the crabbing addiction.