Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, September 26 Update:
Although the mackerel have by all reports headed south for the season we had a reader report of a pair picked up off Love Point last weekend, so there’s still a chance of finding some stragglers. We also heard from a reader on the Magothy that some small red drum are still around, too, catching a pair while casting to docks for perch on the lower river with white Perch Hounders. He also noted the perch fishing had picked up and there were a few 12-inchers in the cooler, and another reader sent in a pic of a nice yellow perch they picked up this week.
Anglers Sport Center backs up the reports of redfish in the Magothy, and advises fishing shallow with Perch Hounders, small gold-blade spinnerbaits with a minnow on the back, and light ¼-ounce or 3/16th ounce jigheads with three-inch soft plastics. Rockfish will be in the mix as well but better reports for the stripers are coming from the mouth of the Patapsco, where anglers are finding success casting four- and five-inch paddletails and shad bodies on half- and three-quarter ounce heads. A kayak angler also reported good success in the area on rock up to 22” trolling jerkbaits along the drop-offs near Hawkins Point.
Editor’s Note: Our intrepid and awesome Reports Editor Dillon Waters is away on his honeymoon this week, and the reports were compiled by the staff in his absence. We send Dillon and his bride Layla our congratulations and best wishes for a wonderful future.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, September 19 Update:
We are entering the fall transition period where fish will start to school up and chase the numerous schools of baitfish in the Bay. Fall seems to be ahead of schedule and cooler than average temperatures have kicked off a good striped bass bite. Anglers fishing in the Patapsco River reported that the open water jig bite is picking up this week. The stiff east winds limited when boats could get out and fish effectively, but when fishable windows presented themselves, the fishing was good. The mouth of the river up to Fort McHenry has been a hot zone with schools of striped bass swimming around. Love Point was also noted as a good spot for live liners tossing spot this week. The topwater bite has been good in the early morning hours around rock jetties, old pilings, piers, and other structure. Two anglers fishing at the old Key Bridge caught striped bass up to 30 inches and took home two slot fish earlier in the week.
Perch are in the creeks and catfish are biting too, but aside from these fish the most impressive catch from the Upper Bay we heard of this week was a 46-inch black drum. That’s right, an angler caught a massive black drum at a shoal just outside the mouth of the Patapsco River. The fish was caught using a three-quarter ounce jighead with a soft plastic paddletail. It was released to swim another day. This is the farthest north we have heard of a big black drum being caught in a long time. Where there’s one, there may be others. We also saw a report of a 24-inch slot red drum caught by an angler using cut bait on a fish finder rig just inside the Key Bridge. That’s the beauty of late summer and early fall fishing, you just never know what you are going to catch. The shoals and rivers are also offering up excellent bottom fishing for white perch, spot, and croaker. The mouth of the tidal rivers, Six and Seven Foot Knoll, and the Bay Bridge are just a few of the Upper Bay hotspots for bottom fishing. Bottom rigs tipped with a variety of baits including bloodworms, Fishbites, and peeler crab are working well.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, September 12 Update:
The best striped bass action is still taking place in the Upper Bay this week. Captain Sean Gonketchum has been finding plenty of rockfish action in the Patapsco. His best bites have been in the evening, and he reports that half ounce Jigged Up Unlimited jigs and Z-Man paddletails have the fish fired up. Fishing structure has been key, and he recommends keeping a tight line while the lure drops. Wait for a tap and then set the hook. He even caught a bonus white catfish while jigging artificial baits this week which was the first he has seen caught on a jig. Other successful reports form the Patapsco also rolled in this week and it seems that last week’s turnover event didn’t mess up the fishing too bad. The area around Fort McHenry was noted as productive and a shoreline angler fishing with topwater reported that the first hour bite this week produced dozens of blowups while casting a blue Chug Bug topwater lure. A boat fishing near Buoy 13 along the shipping channel near Baltimore Light and Bodkin Point said that the edge was loaded with fish, and they quickly caught a boat limit while live lining with spot. Their spot were easy to catch using bloodworms and perch were also quick to hit pieces of soft crab fishing on bottom rigs. And another fishing off Love Point enjoyed similar action on rock while livelining spot.
A reader checked in from the Magothy to let us know that the white perch bite has picked up with the cooler weather. He noted catching some very nice 12” to 13” fish while casting spinners and chartreuse Perch Hounders to docks. Small puppy drum and flounder have also been caught in many of the traditional perch areas. Docks, rock jetties, and other shoreline structure is holding fish and will be good areas to target in the shallows throughout the fall months. Most of the puppy drum are under the 18-inch slot minimum, but a few keepers have been reported from north of the Bay Bridge. Belvedere Shoal and Six and Seven Foot Knoll are excellent locations to bottom fish this time of year and there are plenty of fish to keep rods bent. Spot, perch, and croaker are all plentiful and willing to bite bloodworms, lugworms, and Fishbites. White perch fishing at the Bay Bridge has also been good in depths of 10 to 15 feet on both the east and west side. Now is a great time to fill a cooler with eater-sized white perch.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, September 5 Update:
Fall is in the air as temperatures cooled off again bringing us below average temperatures for this time of year. Despite the lack of mackerel and blues north of the Bridge up to now we did have a report of both species showing up off Love Point in the past week, though still in relatively low numbers. The best report we heard was from a boat catching a pair of the mackerel plus one bluefish. FishTalk intern-turned-fishhead Adam Greenberg reports that there are perch and undersized rockfish hitting along docks in the Magothy. He said there are tons of peanut bunker in the river, too, a great sign for the upcoming fall bite. The big surprise this week was multiple reports of flounder showing up north of the Bay Bridge. The farthest north report we saw was from the city docks in Baltimore with a few other reports from the Pasadena and Cape St. Claire areas. The flatties were reeled in mostly by perch anglers throwing lures in the shallows. There were no keepers, but most were 10 to 14 inches and quite the catch for the Upper Bay.
There was some bad news this week from the Patapsco where we saw a fish kill near the Inner Harbor. Lots of dead peanut bunker and rockfish were found thanks to what is known as a “pistachio tide”. This happens due to a thermal inversion where air temperatures cool off and cause surface waters to sink, thus bringing bacteria that normally lives on the bottom to the surface. This creates waters that are deficient in oxygen. The pistachio tide is naturally occurring, and we typically see it happen in the fall. Hopefully the event will be short and things can get back in order soon. Despite the fish kill, other sections of the river were productive this week and it is still worth getting out on the water to enjoy the beautiful weather. A kayak angler fishing the Key Bridge had an excellent early week trip catching a mix of catfish and rockfish. Green Bass Assassin soft plastics were noted as the top producer for bites with live minnows dropped down on a jighead also working. They kept a fat 23-inch fish for the dinner plate. The lumps around Pooles Island are still holding good numbers of stripers this week. Live lining with eels and spot has been very effective with blue catfish being a common bycatch. We are gearing up for an exciting fall on the Bay, so make sure to set aside some time to hit the water.