Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 27 Update:
HOT WEATHER ALERT! Hey, FishTalkers! Our region is in the midst of another hot, hot, hot spell! We want to pop in and remind you to please keep undersized fish in the water when releasing them, and only bring them out when totally necessary, especially when air temps exceed 90-degrees. As anglers, we’re all in the fight to conserve and restore our striped bass populations—safe catch-and-release practices are an excellent way to ensure that we’re doing our part and reducing striped bass mortality. If you’re interested in learning more about safe catch-and-release practices, check out this Safe Summer Catch and Release article.
Reports of strong catches flowed in from the Bay Bridge this week, with livelining the main tactic but jiggers and trollers catching fish as well. Multiple readers noted that the early morning bite was best, midday was fairly slow, and the evening bite was decent but not as hot as the a.m. hours. Angler’s and Tochterman’s both mentioned this as well, and cautioned that the Bridge may be packed tight on weekends. Many of the pilings will be hit multiple times throughout the day, so if you’re bent on catching and catching fast, heading out in the morning is the way to go. Max the Mate (on the Big Worm) noted that when you traveled up above the Bridge and livelined, striper fishing was still good but catfish also made up a substantial part of the catch. He noted that some of the cats were chunky, and in the 10-pound-plus range. Alltackle had reports of cats interfering with the striper bite as well, although on days when fishing is hot they’re a fun surprise.
Farther north Love Point, the mouth of the Magothy, Podickory Point, the Sewer Pipe, and the channel edges all are reported to be holding fish. Alltackle mentioned that Love Point had an especially good bite this week, with jiggers and liveliners getting in on most of the action. Trollers haven’t been uncommon either, and are hitting the channel edges.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 20 Update:
Finally, the rockfish seem to have scattered out a bit and to a large degree the fleet has, too! While Hodges is still accounting for some of the livelining action, several readers reported a good bite stretching down to the Bay Bridge area this week on rockfish mostly in the 18- to 24-inch range, with a few bigger ones in the mix. In fact, most of our reports were from this zone this week: Angler’s and Alltackle both reported that many boats are heading to the Bridge, catching them there and just north on live spot or soft plastics. Tolchester was another spot that was mentioned multiple times this week. Livelining there remains good, although this spot can still become a mess during weekends. If you want to head out Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, you’ve gotta head out early to beat the fleet. While the 5AM wake-up call is seldom welcome, you won’t be losing bites while contending with a ton of other boats for your spot.
Tochterman’s mentioned that the Key Bridge and Podickory Point have been less crowded but are also holding fish. The Key Bridge, especially, produced some solid striper reports this week, including two 27-inch fish and multiple reports (lacking photo confirmation) of fish between 26 and 28. Tochterman’s also mentioned that the perch bite has been alright there was well.
Speaking of perch — they’re available in creeks up close to shore early in the day, and seem to be moving deep later as the sun beats overhead. It’s feasible to catch them near shore in the hottest hours of the day if you can find a shady area, but some anglers are finding that the fish are becoming lethargic in the heat. Beetle spins and other little spinners are a common perch choice right now, especially as bloodworms are tough to lock down. FishBites or lug worms are a good alternative if you’re still looking to fish with bait.
Catfish reports from the Upper Bay were good this week, with most caught on fresh cut menhaden. The shipping channel produced a 38-inch blue catfish early in the week.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 13 Update:
Many boats headed into the Upper Bay in search of rockfish have been rewarded throughout this season, and the same was true this week. North of the bridge, anglers hitting Hodge’s bar and Tolchester had some good bites. While stripers have been finicky throughout the day, these areas were fairly reliable and had strong livelining and jigging bites if you hit them at the right time. Tochterman’s and Alltackle suggested hitting these areas, but mentioned that hitting them before they’re crowded on the weekends is essential. We’ve heard a few reports that the fish have moved a bit south, and can now be found just north of the Bridge. Captain Jim Batchelor of the Reel Time reported gorgeous limit catches just north of the Bridge this week, and had some chunky spot onboard as well.
In the Tribs and pockets throughout the Upper Bay, white perch have been active. They’re easy to tempt with a bottom rig and FishBites or bloodworms and as usual, mornings have been the best time to go after them in the shallows. Later in the day, they can be found schooled up in deeper water. However, many have been on the small side and on the whole fishing for big perch has been off compared to most seasons. Don’t forget that Sunday is Angler’s White Perch Open, the biggest perch fishing event of the year!
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 6 Update:
Yay — stripers are back in! Darn — the bulk of ‘em are still crowding the Hodges/Tolchester zone and once again fleets are setting up for crowded conditions, with the Poole’s Island lumps also being reported as a good bet. Live-lining spot is the method of choice for most, and we had several reader reports of a solid bite but also had a couple of folks check in to let us know they had slow days. Unfortunately, all of the above confirmed that there are still floaters to be seen, as they were right through the closure.
Of course, we’ve gotta report on the ribbonfish catches that’ve been popping up as far north as in the Severn recently. We’ve now had five confirmed reports with photos, and Alltackle mentioned that they’d heard of guys catching them too! Most guys have been targeting them with soft plastics and are reporting that their lures are absolutely shredded. If you’re hoping to get south of the Bridge and get into them, make sure you’ve got backup-backup lures on board. Those critters are toothy...
Big Worm mate Max Rudow reports steady bottom fishing for perch but spot becoming a bit tougher to find in recent days. Still, a mix of bloodworms and Fishbites on bottom rigs will get the job done.