Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 26 Update:
Striped bass fishing in the Middle Bay has continued to be inconsistent, with only a few areas holding scattered fish. Boats have reported catching some keepers at the Bay Bridge, the MARI reef in Eastern Bay, Poplar Island, and the shallows of the Eastern Shore, but the bite has varied from day to day. Some days offer a slow but steady bite, while other days have led to skunk trips. Rising water temperatures will only make fishing more difficult, and it will be best to plan for morning trips when air and water temperatures are the coolest. FishTalk’s own Zach Ditmars had one of the better repots of the week, catching five stripers (three slot fish) during an evening trip while throwing a ¼-ounce G-Eye jighead and four-inch white Z-Man paddletails to docks.
An angler wrote in to report that they had a good topwater bite at Poplar Island at the beginning of the week during a morning trip. The fish were hitting topwater spooks, and they caught around a dozen. The bite lasted for about two hours after sunrise, then shut off once the sun got high. Reports Editor Dillon Waters also visited Poplar this week but had lackluster results. He and a few anglers ventured to the island on one of the hotter days of the week to try topwater in the evening. Temps at 8pm were still in the mid 90’s and water temperatures around the island were as high as 89 degrees. They only caught one sick-looking rockfish and had a few other misses. The extreme heat has skyrocketed water temperatures, and it may be time to shift our focus away from rockfish until things cool off a little bit. These fish do not do well in warm water and catch and release mortality is significantly higher during the summer months compared to other times of the year. Anglers who plan to target them should practice proper catch and release tactics, but even that may cause too much stress.
We heard from numerous readers that white perch fishing in various Middle Bay tribs is way off, with one regular perch sharpie reporting he caught just two fish in his last three outings and another reporting a skunk in the West River. The Angler in Chief says he spent an hour or two looking for perch in the South on a recent afternoon and was also unable to locate any. Similar reports have come in from anglers fishing around Holland Point, Chesapeake Beach, and the Patuxent River. The lack of perch has us scratching our heads as to where they might be after what seemed like a normal spawning run this spring. Bluefish reports have tapered off after pods of dolphins moved into the Middle Bay. There was a good bite at the beginning of summer around the Sharp’s Island Light, but those fish have been more scattered. We did have a report from a pair of anglers who found some good size bluefish in the vicinity of the Target Ship. We know the blues have been holding near wreck and reef sites, so we can hope that more schools move up the Bay in the coming months.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 19 Update:
The Angler in Chief says there’s still a nice daybreak bite on topwater at Poplar, but other than that, areas close to home in the South River zone have been pretty barren. He did try dropping bloodworms to bottom one day early this week and the bites were fast and furious with spot, some eater sized, and just-too-small croaker taking the baits. Contributor Eric Packard has enjoyed a much better rockfish bite in the St. Mary’s River lately, with paddletails doing the trick and a speck also hitting on occasion. Boats trolling around the mouth of the Choptank near the Sharp’s Island Light are still catching some bluefish, though the bite seemed to clow down a bit this week. Two boats checked in each with less than a dozen after trolling the area with hoses and spoons. Unfortunately, dolphins have been prevalent in the area and can shut down the bite after they move through.
Reports Editor Dillon Waters made it to the Bay Bridge on his kayak last weekend and was able to catch around a half dozen rockfish while jigging pilings in 15’ to 20’. A white BKD on a one and a half ounce jighead worked well when bounced along bottom. He also hit the Severn this week and reports that only a few white perch and croaker were hanging in the vicinity of the Naval Academy Bridge. He caught a handful of each while jigging a two-inch, one-ounce metal spoon along pier pilings. Anglers fishing from shore at Jonas Green Park were catching spot and small croaker while casting from the fishing bridge. A reader fishing on the Patuxent said he caught around 20 white perch while throwing beetle spins to rip-rap shoreline on the main stem of the river. The bottom fishing at the mouth of the Patuxent has also been very good with jumbo spot, some eater sized croaker, and the occasional yellow perch and whiting being caught. Bottom rigs tipped with Fishbites or bloodworms have led to fast paced catching on most days.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 12 Update:
The Angler in Chief says the rockfish were finicky in many Middle Bay areas recently as unsettled weather continued, and the overall bite in the South River has been fair to poor. There was better action early in the day and in cloudy conditions at Poplar Island, when red/white Game On topwater plugs produced some bites from rockfish up to 26”. He also noted that strong numbers of small spot and croaker have moved into the area and there seems to be a banner amount of baby bunker both in the creeks and out in the open water. There have also been swarms of tiny young-of-year bunker in the Stone Rock area and near Tilghman Reef. There are still some rockfish being caught at the Bay bridge by live liners and pilings on both the East and West sides appear to be holding fish. There are also good reports of spot and small croaker (with a few keepers here and there) around Sandy Point and the mouths of the tidal rivers. Depths of five to 15 feet appear to be the zone where the most action is taking place. Bottom rigs with Fishbites or bloodworms is the ticket for success.
Reports editor Dillon Waters ventured out on the West River at the beginning of the week in search of perch, but says he was skunked. He fished from the mouth of the river up into the smaller creeks, stopping at docks, rip-rap, and bulkheads along the way. Live minnows under a bobber and small perch spinners failed to produce any bites. The lackluster perch bite seems to be widespread as other readers fishing at Holland Point in Herring Bay also reported striking out this week. Holland Point is usually a perch fishing hotspot in late spring and early summer, but they have yet to show up in any numbers. Trollers are still finding bluefish around the mouth of the Choptank in the vicinity of Sharp’s Island Light. The schools of blues have been at depths of 20 to 40 feet and have been sporadically popping up on the surface chasing bait. The gear that has proven effective includes rubber hoses trolled behind inline sinkers and umbrella rigs outfitted with spoons. One reader said the “spoonbrella” rigs have been out catching other trolling gear on recent trips. Most of these blues are between two and five pounds, but some up to 10 pounds have been in the mix.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 5 Update:
Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow says the rockfish have been biting fairly well along piers and shoreline structure in the shallows at times, with some slot fish and a surprising number of under-slots. Four- and five-inch paddletails in gray and brown/white on half-ounce heads have been doing the trick and bouncing them along bottom has been more effective than a steady or mid-column retrieve. However, it’s been hit or miss, and he says that on a couple of trips bites were very hard to come by. He also mentioned that a return trip to the powerplant for black drum was a big, fat ray-fest. Cownose rays were also reported to be thick around the western shore tidal rivers, the mouth of the Choptank, and around Poplar Island. One reader also mentioned seeing several pods of dolphins at the Choptank last weekend.
A reader hitting the West River in the early morning hours reported catching rockfish plus a surprise snakehead, one on the South said the bite had been tough inside the river, but he did pick up a slot fish and a throwback casting paddletails. From the Choptank, an angler (who we know to be very good) said he ran all over the place early this week and barely managed to scratch out a single throwback rockfish in the shallows while hitting spots that had produced just days earlier. Another pair of anglers fishing just outside the Severn River wrote in to let us know they found some slot rockfish while casting chartreuse paddletails. Hallocks-Grace Charters let us know they found some slot rockfish while live lining spot at Poplar this week. Another reader also sent in a picture of a slot fish caught on topwater just to the north of Poplar. There doesn’t seem to be a hot zone for rockfish right now, so covering water and trying several different zones is a good idea with Middle Bay areas producing inconsistent results day to day.
The white perch fishing in the Middle Bay has been slow to get going this year. Below average water temperatures and muddy water may be to blame, but hopefully better numbers move into the tidal rivers soon. Reports Editor Dillon Waters was fishing the Rhode River this week on his kayak and reported catching a half dozen under-slot rockfish and one slot fish while casting three-inch pearl paddletails on quarter-ounce jigheads. He also caught two big white perch on the same lure that were over 11 inches. Another reader fishing in the West River says perch fishing has been terrible this year, but an afterwork trip this week provided his first good trip of the year. He found a school of perch that were willing to bite cast after cast and put about 20 on a stringer to take home.