Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 29 Update:
Anglers fishing the Middle Bay are experiencing healthy catches this week, with plenty of rockfish to go around. Angler’s in Annapolis reported that trolling and jigging are both producing stripers, and chumming is producing a mix of stripers and cats. Trollers sticking to the channel edges have typically been pulling white or chartreuse bucktails, umbrellas, and tandem rigs. The bite hasn’t been exceptional, although some of the higher-grade fish are coming in for trollers. We had reader reports from the area between Chesapeake Beach and the West River this week from anglers who managed to catch a dozen stripers ranging between 20 and 25 inches. Alltackle is reporting that Thomas Point is still producing, although it was crowded this weekend and tends to be around dusk. Hacketts has also maintained a small chumming fleet most days, with a few stripers coming over the gunwales but catfish more numerous. Chummers are finding themselves catching catfish with a vengeance in many areas, so if you’re planning to chum, make sure to head out with an overabundance of menhaden. While the cats may be pesky, some have been large and fun to fight. A reader reported catching a few this week between 12 and 32 inches at Thomas Point. The stretch from Thomas Point to the Green number-one marker has been a hot zone, in 25 to 30 feet of water, for both the catfish and the stripers.
This week we also had three reports of bluefish north of the PLO already, including a 35 incher hooked by a jigger in the Middle Bay! Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reports that the shallow water light tackle bite has been great fun at times, and a bit slow at other times, with the tide appearing to be the main factor more so than time of day. He said he’s been finding the end of the outgoing is best, for slinging white and chartreuse plastics — mostly whites — in two to five feet of water. He also said the fish are widely scattered and just about every spot he’s probed he’s found at least a fish or three. Between him and reader reports, Thomas, Poplar, Franklin Manor, the CCNPP, and the lower Choptank have all come up as good shallow water spots this week. In other words, the fish are scattered all around so don’t worry as much about focusing on one hotspot in specific and cover lots of territory, and you should come up with some fish.
Crabs are coming in steadier, and large males are now present. While most crabbers aren’t taking home enough for a feast, they’re bringing enough for dinner or a snack.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 22 Update:
Full Disclosure Warning! High winds and poor conditions forced anglers to stay land-locked for most of the week, through much of our area. Due to these circumstances, most of the info in this week’s report comes from over the past weekend and early in the week. If you get the chance to head out, shoot us an email at [email protected] and let us know how you did!
Both schoolies and some trophies were coming in across the Middle Bay this week, and the waters have been busy. Thomas Point, Bloody Point, Poplar, Breezy Point, Chesapeake Beach, and Parker’s Creek to the Gas Docks all turned up multiple times throughout reports coming in. Trollers are doing the best in these areas and Angler’s Sport center reported that pulling chartreuse and white three to five-ounce umbrellas with nine-inch shads has been many anglers ticket to success, for the bigger fish. Staying along the shipping channel edges has been common. While these areas have been relatively steady, unfortunately last weekend was tough and many boats did come home empty-handed, or without a trophy.
Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reported that a great bite for fish up to 32 inches at the mouth of Eastern Bay turned into an on-and-off bite, perhaps because over the weekend boat traffic there became thick. The Eastern Shore shallows were also productive, but the shallows on the western side were mostly overcome by very discolored, red-brown water, and were not at all productive. Reader reports of jigging success also came in from the mouth of the Choptank and the lower Pax (including the first report of a speck there). We also heard of the first bluefish caught in the Middle Bay this week (congrats, Tom!)
While trollers and jiggers are doing well, plenty of chummers recently are wondering why they even bought a bucket. Alltackle in Annapolis let us know that the chumming fishery has been totally dominated by catfish. Seldom are chummers returning without having caught at least one or two cats and six or eight is common. While these guys have been stealing baits and causing many a false excitement, the good news is that plenty who made their way into fish boxes this week including some very large fish up to an alleged whopping 40 pounds.
Crabbing report: There are a few around, willing to chew on chicken necks or clam bags. Low-caliber crabber Lenny Rudow reports getting 17 one morning this week, running a trot line in eight feet of water. Better reports have come from the Patuxent and points south.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 15 Update:
Angler’s and Alltackle in Annapolis both reported that the striper bite picked up quite a bit over the past week. Trollers got into some good action hitting the edges around Thomas Point, Bloody Point, Chesapeake Beach, and Breezy Point. Large white umbrellas, tandem rigs, and bucktails have been the hot rigs. While guys are catching, success has largely been dependent upon anglers staying on the water throughout the day. Many hits are coming after a long day trolling, so if you head out, don’t get discouraged by a few hours of silence. Many boats have often been opting to cover vast amounts of ground, heading up and down the shipping channels on the Eastern and Western sides. Boats putting in the time and effort have been rewarded with catches ranging from one to five or six fish; we had one report this week of a boat with seven.
There was big news this week of one very big fish: Paul and Deven Callahan pulled in a 64-pound, 55-inch striper (3.5 pounds shy of the state record). The fish hit a tandem rig. There was also a 52-incher reported this week from just outside of Deale.
With schoolies coming in soon, Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reports taking several short last-light exploratory trips on a very windy Bay this week with some limited success. The bridge was a bust (see Upper Bay reports), as were shallow-water spots on the Western side (which were mostly blotted out by icky red water), but when there was clean water in an area with rocky bottom and 12 feet of depth, it was possible to jig up a few fish on skirted white and chartreuse plastics.
Chummers have had very limited success with stripers, but are finding that catfish are plentiful in the Bay and rivers. They’re primarily taking cut menhaden. One reader did report catching a few soon-to-be keeper stripers in the low 20s on chum near Thomas Point.
Perch fishing in the rivers on the western side has been extremely difficult due to the discolored water. However, anglers fishing some of the salt ponds connected to the Bay are still catching decent numbers on grass shrimp on shad darts, suspended under a bobber.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 8 Update:
The past week has brought more changes for recreational fishermen across Maryland, giving us more options on how and where we fish – woohoo! As of Thursday, May 7th at 7:00 a.m., recreational fishing activities including catch-and-release fishing opened up again. While this is great, there are still a few restrictions still in place. Anglers are expected to abide by social distancing guidelines, and maintain family groups with fewer than 10 individuals while on boats. Fishing tournaments remain prohibited, but the Department of Natural Resources has reopened fishing piers that had been closed and social distancing must also be practiced while fishing from piers or shore. All normal rules and regulations regarding fishing must be followed, including creel limits, gear restrictions, and seasons.
For many anglers, the first week of trophies was hit or miss. This year’s opening day saw a much smaller fleet than normal on the water: maybe 10-percent of the usual turnout. Anglers also didn’t get to preseason fish this year and were essentially heading out in the dark. Still, the fishing might be termed better than expected considering how slow the opening weeks have been the last couple of years. Most keeper fish caught were by trollers pulling large tandems and umbrella rigs in white and chartreuse. We heard from over a dozen readers (many thanks to you all for sending in reports!!), who caught between one and five fish, mostly ones and twos, mostly on board lines. Hotspots that regularly came up included: Bloody Point, Deale, and Chesapeake Beach. However, we got about an equal number of skunk reports (and people tend to report skunks a lot less than they report success) so don’t feel bad if you didn’t get any the past week. Alltackle in Annapolis reported that most guys had to cover a lot of ground before getting a hit.
Meanwhile, the catfish bite has been consistent. Alltackle reported high numbers of cats caught this week by Bay anglers fishing cut menhaden. Angler-in-Chief Lenny Rudow reports experiencing this while chumming for stripers at Hacketts, Love Point, and Thomas Point, on two different days. Both days lacked striper bites, but produced nice dinner-sized catfish. He also said there are schoolie stripers already schooling up in the usual early summer haunts, and tossing jigs one evening this week put multiple bends in the rod. Chartreuse-skirted white plastics did the trick.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 1 Update:
Standard COVID-fishing disclosure, folks: wherever you live, there are probably some restrictions in place and some waterways made inaccessible. Our Social Distancing While Fishing page has links to the different state authority webpages with the latest info and updates on when, where, and how fishing can be done. With many businesses still closed, again we say thanks to all you readers who sent in reports and pictures. Please keep them coming to [email protected].
With most other fisheries shut down due to sustenance fishing only orders, catfish and white perch have remained the bulk of the catch coming in. Anglers who headed out this week let Alltackle in Annapolis know that they battled muddy water early in the week, but were able to land white perch in the rivers after it cleared up a bit. Angler-in-Chief Lenny Rudow headed out for white perch and catfish early in the week as well, and reported stained water far up the South, clearing up closer to the river’s mouth. The cats have typically been taking cut menhaden and chicken livers. Perch anglers have definitely been doing better in the salt ponds, where Lenny reported an excellent bite despite his great dismay at being out-fished by that Ditmars guy. Anglers Sport Center is also reporting a mix of catfish and perch, and notes that fishing bunker in the Bay in the 15 to 25 foot range (off Love Point, near the bridge, or at Hackett's) you have a shot at trophy stripers and catfish at the very same time.
Ah yes, and what about those stripers? Yeah, tomorrow is opening day and we have zero intel, since no one’s been able to fish for them for a month… it’s looking a bit like a shot in the dark at this point. That said, pound netters have certainly been finding stripers in their nets this week so hopefully, they haven’t all bolted just yet. One thing we’ll note: with all the rain and mucked-up water, heading south far enough to find clear conditions would seem to be in order prior to setting out a trolling spread. Bait anglers should have a good shot either way, since the fish can sniff that bunker out without a problem.