Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 26 Update:
The Upper Bay has a lot of options as spring is finally popping, and the folks at Fishbone’s say that in the past week anglers have been chasing white perch in the area creeks, pickerel are still very active in the same waters, catfish are scattered around just about everywhere, and catch-and-release trollers have had solid success, too. Angler’s Sport Center notes that both stripers and catfish have been biting for fishermen casting from the shore of Sandy Point, and multiple readers chimed in to back up that report. Most of the stripers have been solid upper-20s, but some of the catfish have actually been even bigger than the rockfish. Bloodworms have been generating plenty of bites from both species. White perch have also been present in the Magothy, though recent reports seem to indicate that this past week the river was inundated with gizzard shad — we lost count of how many sources reported snagging and catching them.
On the eastern side perch and catfish are active in the upper Chester, with white perch taking grass shrimp on darts and the catfish eating just about anything you sink to the bottom. There are a few yellows around as well, but their numbers are steadily declining. We also had a reader report of a “very big probably rockfish” up the river, breaking off a bottom rig with minnow intended for yellow perch.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 19 Update:
Despite the dip in temperatures followed by gusty winds, the shorelines of the Eastern Shore yellow perch hotspots were lined with anglers much of last weekend — with mixed results. Reports from Greensboro, Hillsboro, Red Bridges, etc. varied from not a bite to filled stringers, with some anglers doing well on minnow and Contributor Eric Packard noting that anglers casting night crawlers on bottom rigs were catching fish. A few pickerel and bass were in the mix for those casting minnow under a bobber or along the bottom on a shad dart. The first solid reports of white perch came in this week as well, and it seems that their numbers are on the rise as the yellow perch begin cruising back downriver. The Angler in Chief tried one of the salt ponds (Triton) to see if the whites had moved into those areas yet, but walked out after catching nothing but one embarrassingly small catfish.
A couple of readers reported in after trying for perch in the Magothy, and said they saw a few caught at Beechwood but the action wasn’t very hot over the weekend. One also noted that Sunday was so windy he couldn’t really tell if he was getting bites or not. When we checked in with Tochterman’s they mentioned that while no spots have begun to sparkle and shine yet, the Port Deposit and Lapidum areas seem to hold the best potential. They said that anglers in those areas are primarily using bull minnows on shad darts, or are jigging little shad darts tipped with grubs just off the bottom. Catches aren’t astounding, but consistency is what we’re looking for! Tochterman’s also suggested hitting up the Blackwater if we get some sunny warm days and you’re hoping for a snakehead bite. They heard multiple reports last week that when it heated up and the sun was shining the snakehead came on, and were eager to bite.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 12 Update:
With the rather significant change in weather this week the reports coming from Upper Bay areas diverged; contributor Eric Packard hit the waters of the Magothy early in the week and his report, along with that of a reader, were of frustrating winds and difficult fishing with just a couple of pickerel willing to bite. Anglers probing the Patapsco in search of C & R stripers had a similar experience. Later in the week, however, the yellow perch woke up and began biting on minnow and grass shrimp. Beachwood (for shoreline anglers) and Nanny’s Creek were both mentioned as decent bets on the Magothy. We also had one reader check-in after fishing the Bush River with yellow perch success on minnow under bobbers.
On the Eastern side, the perch reports are best described as getting better and better as the temperatures rise. Some anglers are striking yellow gold while a few are striking out, however; hitting the rivers on a low or outgoing tide, or a change of tide, seems to be a significant factor leading to success. Minnow fished on shad darts have generally been the best bait, and we haven’t heard of any whites in the mix at the Eastern Shore trib spawning areas as of yet. Island Tackle Outfitters has also been hearing a mixed bag of reports this week. Like us, they’re hoping that the warm weather we had this week will push the fish from being finicky to full-on biting over the weekend.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 5 Update:
The pickerel bite in the rivers is in full spring swing, and we had a reader check in this week to mention that the pickerel he caught were full of roe and had shredded fins, indicating that the spawn is underway. Angler’s and Alltackle in Annapolis both confirmed this, having multiple reports this week from the Magothy, Baltimore-area creeks, and the Severn.
Yellow perch are also popping up in greater numbers in the tribs. The tackle shops mentioned that it’s possible to go after them with some reliability now, but locating a pocket of fish is the key. They’ll take small shad darts tipped with a minnow, and bottom rigs with bloodworm. We’re expecting that rising temps in upcoming weeks will support the bite, letting us bring home more fish for dinner. Tochterman’s mentioned that they heard a few reports of yellow perch scattered in the Tribs, with little variation between which rivers are producing best.
Multiple reports have been coming from anglers running to traditional Eastern Shore spring run hotspots including Hillsboro, Greensboro, Stoney Point, Red Bridges, and Watts Creek, of solid catches. Minnow on shad darts, sometimes cast and retrieved, sometimes under bobbers, and sometimes on bottom rigs, have been the best offering. We also had a report of grass shrimp hooked through the nose on a shad dart and hopped across bottom doing the trick. A reminder: if you’re into the fish hot and heavy, consider releasing the fat females and keeping the skinnier males. There’s no real difference in the amount of meat, and the more females that get to spawn, the better off we’ll all be. Also consider how many you really need to take home, as four or five fish will provide a meal to most families and the legal limit of 10 is more than most folks need for dinner. If you haven't seen it yet, check out our spring yellow perch run how-to video: