Way North and Delaware Fishing Report, August 2018

Way North and Delaware Fishing Report, 8/31/2018 Update:

Editor’s Note: Mollie Rudow, our intrepid fishing report compiler, started at St. Mary’s College of Maryland last week. As a new student she has prioritized her studies and will no longer be working on our FishTalk fishing reports every week. Moving forward, Parker Martin, our former FishTalk intern who has filled in for Mollie in the past, will be gathering the intel and writing up the reports. Please join us in welcoming Parker to the reports!
 
The fishing has been slower than molasses in recent days, and for good reason. The Conowingo Dam flood gates continue to flow, meaning higher water levels, muddy clarity, and changes to salinity that have just made the fishing difficult. If you do, however, get past all the debris and use wacky-rigged worms or topwater lures, you could find yourself locked into some largemouth or smallmouth and some rockfish, respectively. As for the rockfish, trying to get them to come to you through the murky waters with chum and live-lining eels has been a great option with the conditions up there.
 
Slightly to the south spot have been showing up more and more in heavier numbers in recent days, and the anglers certainly are confirming that. Spot are readily available in some of the shallower areas of the upper bay that have hard bottoms of oyster shell or sand. The mouths of the Magothy and Chester rivers have been good places to fish for spot in about 15 feet of water. While bloodworms are the most effective option, you could opt for... (really, stick to the bloodworms!)
mollie rudow white perch
Mollie Rudow out-fishes her dad again, this time for white perch!

Lastly, white perch have been the saving grace for many anglers in the Northern Bay since they’re appearing to feed through the water conditions. If you get out on a day that isn’t blistering hot, using bait on a bottom rig in deeper waters tends to be the most popular way to catch them. If you happen to have a fine mesh net, go ahead and look for some grass shrimp. Being a natural bait, your wallet will take a rest and the perch will flock to you even more. Drift these close to docks and other structures for consistent results. And if all else fails, you’ll probably still find the often forgotten face of the channel cats; these guys have been everywhere due to the weird salinities.

 

Way North and Delaware Fishing Report, 8/23/2018 Update:

There’s still a good deal of turbid water coming down the pipe from northern areas, with heavy discoloration stretching down more or less to around the Sassafras and some level of discoloration clear down to Swan Point. Despite this there is still a so-so topwater bite being reported for (mostly small) stripers on the Flats, mostly at dawn and dusk. That said, catfish remain a much more reliable option, are thoroughly willing to bite and chunks of fish or chicken livers set on bottom on 8/0 or larger circle hooks along holes and in channels, and are keeping the rods bent for area anglers.

fishing for blue catfish
No matter how riled the waters have been, catfish can be counted on the keep biting up north in Chesapeake territory.

By most reports, those in search of stripers are running south to areas like Swan and Love Points or are fishing near Poole’s. Chumming remains the go-to tactic (read the Upper Bay report for more info on these areas). White perch also remain an option, especially along the shorelines where there are docks or rip-rap. Bloodworms or grass shrimp on bottom rigs have been effective on the perch, while light-tackle anglers have had success casting small plastics and Beetle-Spin style blade-baits.

Way North and Delaware Fishing Report, 8/16/2018 Update:

As water clarity has continued to improve in the upper reaches of our Bay, fishing has began to turn on again at the Susquehanna Flats with Herb’s reporting a strong early morning topwater bite. Although many fish have been undersized, keeping in trend with the rest of this season, they’re providing steady action and make for an exciting way to start a day of fishing. Aside from the Flats, many anglers located in the far northern parts of the Bay have been heading south to Love Point, Swan Point, and Podickory Point, where the rockfish have been continuously active. Catfish have been around too, and not just up in the rivers. Thanks to the flush of freshwater that's been pouring in recently catfish are turning up all over the place, including out in the main-stem Bay.
catfish in chesapeake bay
As Jay Bernstein found out earlier this week, catfish have become a common catch in many areas of the Chesapeake where they aren't normally found. This one was all the way out in the middle of the Bay, at Thomas Point!!

Sarge’s Bait and Tackle Shop reports that chumming, live lining, and light tackle jigging have produced the most fish in these spots. That being said, anglers setting up to live line with circle hooks have by far been landing the larger fish. Spot can be found at the mouth of the Chester and Magothy rivers, as well as around the Bay Bridge in about 15 feet of water, for those in need of some bait for the livewell. Chummers have been landing fish too, and although this leads to more small fish in the mix it's also led to good numbers of large catfish mixed in.

White perch, meanwhile, have provided steady action off docks and in tributaries. Most are being caught on the traditional bottom rig and bloodworm combo.

Way North and Delaware Fishing Report, 8/9/2018 Update:

As wind and tide have moved much of the debris that littered the Chesapeake for the past few weeks to shore and down the bay, anglers have been able to venture out and start enjoying the water again. Although clarity is poor and the occasional floating log is still being spotted, Captain Bones reported good fishing was to be found in the Susquehanna, where chummers on the Maryland-Delaware line were quick to get into 18 to 22 inch stripers. The vast majority of fish have been undersized or barely legal, particularly up rivers and outside typical shoals where fish have been holding this summer. Herb’s reported that those smaller fish are making for great action on the Susquehanna flats, where there has been a hot topwater bite at sunrise and sunset. Heading out before the break of dawn is a must in the mornings, because as the sun is coming over the horizon the bite has often been best. 

Bass fishing has stayed productive in the lower Susquehanna, where B&B Tackle suggested using little buzzbaits, frogs, and soft plastics to lure bass out of holes.

largemouth bass
Eric Packard reported a good morning bass bite this week with topwater and wacky worms doing the trick.

Way North and Delaware Fishing Report, 8/2/2018 Update:

Notice: before digging into the report, such as it is, we have to add the same cautionary information as last week. Due to exceptionally poor water conditions resulting from the Monsoons of 2018, it's still difficult to find people who have been fishing, much less successfully. The Maryland DNR is still recommending that boaters use extreme caution in the northern sections of the Bay. Reports of massive rafts of garbage, floating logs, and tires are common. See Chesapeake Bay Boating Alert: Yes, it IS Bad Out There, (updated today) for the latest information.

debris floating in chesapeake bay
We're afraid this is the norm, not the exception, for the time being.

Herbs reports that yes, there are logs on and just below the surface. Most of the water up north is still skunked and most of the area anglers who made it out on the water did so late in the week, and went south to Swan or Podickory Points to try chumming. Some people have been sticking to safer options and fishing for catfish or perch up the tributary rivers. Captain Bones had a similar report, noting that water quality is poor and caution is in order with logs all over the place, both visible and not visible. The only reports of stripers they heard came from Podickory, Swan, and Love Points. Fishing bloodworms and grass shrimp on bottom rigs up the rivers is a good alternative, for both white perch and catfish.