Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 27 Update:
Contributor Eric Packard had some good success in the Baltimore creeks fishing for pickerel, catching seven in a morning and “losing just as many.” He noted that many fish were short-striking his lures and said a chrome/green jerkbait and a quarter ounce jighead with a four-inch green tail were the offerings that got the fish snapping. The tidal tributaries in the upper Bay provide excellent pickerel fishing in the wintertime and the good bite should continue through February. The creeks within the Magothy and Patapsco all hold solid populations of pickerel. Jerk baits and spinners are great artificials to throw for the pickerel. Shiny baits or baits that rattle work well at getting their attention and enticing them to bite. Live minnows work especially well in the colder temperatures. The pickerel fishing should remain good through the rest of winter. There is still time to register for the CCA Pickerel Championship which runs until the end of February. There are plenty of divisions and prizes to compete for!
Anglers Sport Center reports that yellow perch are starting to show up in the Severn and Magothy but will not be in full spawn until mid to late February. The perch spawn is hard to predict and can vary depending on temperature and other weather events. Live minnows are the best bait for the perch and can be fished under a bobber or paired with a shad dart to be bounced on the bottom. Right now, focus on deeper holes and channels. Don’t be afraid to bounce around if things are slow because one area may produce zero bites while others will be loaded with fish.
A few catch and release rockfish opportunities still present themselves this time of year in the upper Bay. The Patapsco, Bay Bridge rock piles, and the shipping channel all usually hold some residential rockfish year-round. Locating them and getting them to bite can prove to be difficult but catching a mid-winter rockfish can be very rewarding for dedicated angels.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 19 Update:
There are still some schools of rockfish in deep water and large ocean run rockfish are mixing in with these schools to stage for their spring spawning run. Most of the larger fish are being found south of Solomons but some schools of fish up to 30 inches can still be found in the upper Bay. One angler launched out of Sandy Point on Monday this week and headed to the main channel near the bridge in search of some mid Bay catch and release rockfish action. Water temperatures were in the low 40s out in the main channel. They searched for fish in 50 to 75 feet of water but found the best marks around 60 feet. Rod set ups included three quarter ounce and one-ounce jigheads with a mix of white, chartreuse, and albino shad color soft plastics. Their first fish was a fat 24 incher that hit a chartreuse BKD on a one-ounce jighead. The hits are a light tap at best and the best technique was to cast up current and let the lure swim along bottom. Over the course of a few hours, they caught six rockfish, with the largest being 28 inches, and missed about a dozen more.
Pickerel fishing has been good in the tidal tributaries and that trend should continue as long as water remains open. The extended forecast looks like colder weather may return next week with nighttime lows below freezing. This will likely cause some of the smaller bodies of water like creeks to freeze up, which has been a problem after cold nights, so make sure to get some fishing in when you can. The tide may be more important than water temperature as pickerel will bite in just about any water temperature. In the cold, slow down the presentation of your baits or use live minnows under a bobber. Slightly warmer days may call for quicker retrieves or jerk baits to get the pickerel biting. A rising tide will be your best bet for pickerel since they like to hang near shoreline structure. A low tide, especially when it is blown out, will make targeting them difficult. Make sure to check out the CCA Pickerel Championship and enter if you’d like to compete for some great prizes. The tournament is open until the end of February, so there is still a lot of time left to enter and fish.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 12 Update:
A mild first half of January has given us some great fishing days for anglers wanting to wet a line. Those fishing the Baltimore-area creeks reported a very good pickerel bite last weekend with between a half-dozen and 10 fish on average, between a trio of anglers. Jerkbaits were the ticket and average size was put at 22 inches with a couple of citation-sized fish also caught. The Severn and Magothy are also popular tributaries to target these fish. Bladed jigs and spinnerbaits are other artificial baits that work well for pickerel, but you can never go wrong with a live minnow fished under a bobber. Rain Thursday night may have muddied up the water, so if that’s the case, stick to dark, natural colors. Gold bladed chatterbaits create vibration and flash in the water which is key for getting pickerel to strike. Make sure to check out the CCA Pickerel Championship and enter if you’d like to compete for some great prizes. The tournament is open until the end of February, so there is still a lot of time left to enter and fish.
Yellow Perch are currently staging which means they are in the deeper holes of the tidal tributaries. The Magothy in particular has a strong population of yellow perch and anglers are already catching them in some of the creeks. Minnows on shard darts under bobbers or bounced along the bottom has been working well but small spinnerbaits are also getting the perch to bite. Towards the end of the month and beginning of February, the perch will start to make their way up the tidal creeks to begin their spawning run. We didn’t hear from any anglers targeting rockfish this week but based on last week’s report, there aren’t many fish around willing to bite. Your best bet for a chance at catch and release action on the upper Bay will be in the Patapsco or along the rock piles at the Bay Bridge. The fish will be holding close to bottom in the deep channels so light tackle jigging with heavy jigheads will be required to get baits down.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 6 Update:
The New Year has brought us some unseasonably warm weather that has made for some great fishing days this past week. The ice that formed as a result of the arctic blast around Christmas has finally melted away leaving us with open water in the tidal rivers that are primed for pickerel fishing. Fishbones Bait and Tackle says that the bite in the Severn, Magothy, and Bodkin has been good this week and the warmer weather has them active. The upper portions of the creeks in these tidal tributaries is where you will find the pickerel. Spinners, bladed jigs, and live minnows all work great for them. Focus on areas with structure or ledges nearby. Some recent rain may have muddied the waters so if you are fishing in murky conditions, throw dark, natural colored baits for better results. Make sure to check out the CCA Pickerel Championship which runs until the end of February. There are plenty of divisions for anglers to enter along with some great prizes.
Rockfish season is closed in the Bay but anglers can still head out to try some catch and release fishing. One angler reported that he launched from Sandy Point and ran to areas along the shipping channel from just south of the bridge up to the Baltimore Lighthouse. They only marked a few fish along the way in 65 feet of water, and unfortunately they had no interest in his baits. Water temperatures were as low as 39 degrees in some areas but for the most part remained in the low 40s. On his way back to the dock he stopped at the Westbound Bay Bridge rock piles and did not mark any fish or bait. Another boat working in the same area gave a similar report. The warm weather we had this week may push some fish slightly shallower and get them more active, but for the most part it will be slim pickings until spring time for rockfish in the upper Bay.