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Fishing Reports
Weekly fishing reports for the Chesapeake Bay and Mid-Atlantic and surrounding region. If you would like to be notified via e-mail when our weekly fishing reports are updated, click here to sign up.
FishTalk fishing reports are presented by Anchor Boats, Brown Dog Marine, Fishbites, Parish Creek Landing, Riverside Marine, Suzuki Marine, and Tri-State-Marine
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, January 16 Update:
It has been an incredible winter run for bluefin tuna along the beaches, but that bite may be coming to an end. Fish In OC reports that they didn’t have any boats check in with successful trips this week out of Ocean City which may indicate that the fish are pushing to the south. A few boats tried despite the bitter cold and wind but came up with skunks. There are still some fish hanging around off Virginia Beach and we did hear of one… Read more from Coastal...
Freshwater Fishing Report, January 16 Update:
It looks like ice fishing has become a possibility in the region’s western areas, and as of early this week the south-eastern arms and protected coves of Deep Creek were said to have sufficient ice (four inches is considered minimum) for safely venturing forth, but we didn’t have any photo-confirmed catch reports. Most of the southern PA lakes still had open water midweek while some coves were ice covered, so considering the long-range forecast… Read more from Freshwater...
Way North Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 16 Update:
Cold temperatures are persisting, and ice is continuing to build up in the Way North region of the Bay. The Susquehanna River has been full of slush and ice north of Conowingo Dam with more building up in the surrounding rivers and tributaries. Ramps are still frozen in many places, but there have been a few dedicated anglers willing to break ice to get out and fish. Schools of yellow perch have been staged at the mouth of tidal… Read more from Way North...
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 16 Update:
Early this week we had a report from the Magothy that winds have kept most of the river ice-free so far. Upper arms and creeks have been skimmed and lower portions are skimming nightly but opening up during the day, so finding pickerel and/or perch may be a roll-the-dice possibility. Yellow perch also offer winter opportunities in the Upper Bay tidal tributaries including the Magothy, Gunpowder, and Bush rivers. They will mostly be… Read more from Upper Bay...
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 16 Update:
It has been a while, but we finally have some striped bass reports this week. With the temps climbing slightly and the winds taking a break here and there a few brave anglers ventured. While the action wasn’t reported to be fast and furious there were some beautiful fish biting with 40”-plus fish coming up to the boat. One reader reported a pair of bigs and a couple other misses in the Middle Bay, and another found one in the upper 30s… Read more from Middle Bay...
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 16 Update:
Blue catfish are offering the best fishing opportunities in the Lower Bay this week. Ice is building up in tidal rivers and smaller tributaries making access difficult in areas. The upper Potomac is frozen across in D.C. from the Washington Channel up to the Fall line and there are a lot of ice chunks above the falls flowing downriver. This section of river is one of the more productive for big tidal blue catfish, but anglers will have… Read more from Lower Bay...
Tangier, Pocomoke, and Lower Shore Fishing Report, January 16 Update:
Is anyone else counting down the days until spring? This weather has been downright brutal recently with bitter cold and wind persisting. Ice is still covering many creeks and ponds and the striped bass bite on the Bay has been just about nonexistent. The saving grace to fishing in this region is the Pocomoke River. AS long as the water stays open, there will be opportunities for several freshwater species. Crappie and… Read more from Tangier and Lower Shore...
Way South Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 16 Update:
The cold is persisting, but red drum have still been biting in the Way South tributaries. There were a handful of reports from anglers fishing this week who had success targeting reds. One caught his personal best with a 31” over slot fish caught in Little Creek. Another angler fishing an unspecified tributary at night said the reds were steadily biting before the snow last weekend. He caught four with the largest measuring 25”. All… Read more from Way South...