Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, February 28 Update:
Striped bass action has been picking up as the warmer weather is giving us a glimpse into spring. A couple of readers reported visiting the powerplant in the past week, where they found a decent bite on mostly 20-something fish with a few 30-plus inchers in the mix. The fish were tight to bottom in the fast-moving rips, and one angler mentioned that an ounce and a half was necessary to find bottom and keep his jigs there. Anglers should note that there have been a lot of boats hitting the plant recently. The bite has been good there at times, but boat pressure can also shut the bite down quickly. Per usual, fishing the plant is either a home run or a strike out. There have also been some fish caught away from the plant along ledges in the 20-to-40-foot range and even some fish caught as shallow as 10 feet of water. The open water bite is still very sporadic, but there are some pockets of fish around if you don’t want to play bumper boats at the warm water discharge. We also saw an interesting catch from the Choptank River last week. Gray FishTag Research reported that one of their striped bass that was tagged in May off the coast of New Jersey was recaptured by an angler fishing a few miles north of the Choptank River Bridge in Cambridge. This indicates some of our migratory fish are moving into the tidal rivers. On the perch front, there have been some scattered reports. A few anglers are finding yellow perch in the upper reaches of the Choptank River where minnows have been working. Another angler fishing the upper Patuxent reported catching just one yellow perch on a recent outing. Fishing the yellow perch run is always a challenge to time as the fish run up and spawn then head back out quickly.
Striped Bass Closure Update: Starting Saturday, March 1st, many of the Chesapeake Bay tidal rivers and parts of the Upper Bay will be closed for targeting striped bass. Other sections of the Bay will remain open for the month of March before the entirety of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland governed waters closes from April 1st to May 15th. Anglers can view an interactive Striped Bass Regulation Map on the Maryland DNR website to see when and where closures take place.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, February 21 Update:
Wind has made it very tough to get on the water this week for Middle Bay anglers. Most of the recent action, and there hasn’t been much, has been catch and release fishing for striped bass. A few of the local guides have been chasing down migratory fish in recent weeks and there have been a few bite windows that have led to very productive days. Those days are the outliers though as water temperatures are still hovering around 40 degrees and fish are still scattered. The zone that most boats seem to be finding fish is from Chesapeake Beach down to Solomons. The CCNPP has also seen some action at the warm water discharge, but whenever the weather is calm, it has usually been crowded. The pattern for these stripers is likely to change in the coming weeks as water temperatures rise. The fish will start to move into the tidal tributaries where they will stage for their spawning run. A few years ago, the bite was red hot around Bloody Point in March for trophy stripers. It is not a guarantee that pattern will set up the same, but warming trends in the weather will move them around for sure.
March is also when the blue catfish bite usually picks up in the Middle Bay. In recent years, big blue catfish have been caught from Sandy Point all the way down to Solomons, right on the bayfront, during the spring. Anglers fishing in the mouths of the tidal rivers and along the shores at the beaches in Calvert County reported catching blues as big as 30 pounds last year. Any fresh cut bait will work, but shad, bunker, and eel are towards the top of the list. This is a relatively new opportunity in recent years as blue catfish have continued to expand their range throughout the Chesapeake Bay. We will make sure to let you know when the bite picks up for these tasty invasives.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, February 14 Update:
Fishing is on the slower side as winter is still holding on strong. Another round of snow at the beginning of the week blanketed the region with anywhere from four to 10 inches of snow. I think we are all over the winter weather at this point and are looking forward to warmer spring temperatures. Despite the cold weather, the striped bass bite in the Middle Bay was on the upswing this week with a few readers reporting successful trips. Captain Pete Dahlberg of Four Seasons Guide Service experienced an excellent day of fishing this week where he and a crew of anglers found a lot of open water activity. Pete said he was surprised to find large schools of fish in depths shallower than 10 feet at times. Water temperatures were well below 40, but fish were active and willing to bite. An angler fishing aboard his boat landed a 40-incher while jigging a 10” BKD. Another reader checked in after fishing at the CCNPP, but said it was crowded with seven other boats there. They caught six stripers ranging from 18” to 25” in three hours of fishing and only saw a handful of other fish caught from the fleet. Five-to-seven-inch soft plastic straight tails and paddletails worked to entice the bites. The extended forecast is calling for more cold next week, so that won’t help water temperatures anytime soon. Bite windows will likely continue to be short lived, but there are still fish out there to chase for those willing to brave the conditions.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, February 6 Update:
The warmer weather to start February has led to some better fishing at times for striped bass. A few anglers made it out onto the Bay on the recent warm days but two readers reported lackluster experiences. One fished Eastern Bay and found good marks in the 50’ to 60’ zone, but neither jigging nor trolling proved effective. Water temperature was 36-degrees. Another fished the Choptank and said he had one bite all day which did produce a hookup, but the hook quickly pulled free and that was it. Captains Steve Griffin and Drew Grahame of Griffins Guide Service did get on some decent bites recently. Last week they had the pleasure of taking out biologists from NOAA to do some migratory striped bass tagging. They caught and tagged 28 striped bass over 40” and two fish around 30” over the course of two days. Z-Man Mag SwimZ, specifically the blueback herring, was the hot bait during their trips. Steve and Drew also ran some trips this week and put their anglers on some trophy fish. They are still having to cover a lot of water to find their fish and bite windows are still limited, but winter fishing for striped bass is always a gamble.
