Lower Bay Fishing Reports

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 28 Update:

The spring shad fishing action is on, people, with reader reports of solid action coming from the Lower Bay rivers and creeks ranging as far north as Mason Springs. That’s where Contributor Eric Packard went last weekend, and casting tiny silver spoons produced over a dozen hickories in two hours. The action on the upper Potomac has also picked up with anglers reporting steady action with hickory shad. Strong northwest winds have blown the tide out a few days this week which made fishing from the shoreline difficult, but on high tides, the fish are running in the pools and seams close to the bank. There was also a report from an angler fishing from a boat who said they picked up a handful of American shad this week too. The American shad tend to prefer deeper water, so anglers will have a better chance to catch them if they can get out on the water in a boat or kayak. The shad run on the James and Rappahannock rivers is also going strong with hickories providing most of the action. Shad darts, spoons, and curlytail jigs are all proving effective.

The Tackle Box checked in and said that catfishing has been excellent on the Potomac River. Many of the fish are in the two-to-five-pound range which are perfect eating size. They also have reports of a better class of fish in the Bushwood area with more five-to-10-pound fish being caught along with some trophy size fish in the mix. The biggest fish are being pulled from north of the 301 bridge with 20 to 40 pound fish common and some fish over the 60 pound mark being caught. Captain Owen Koch of Capital Blues Fishing Charters was out several times this week on the upper Potomac and reports that he is catching several fish over 20 pounds with a few 40 pounders as well. He is catching his fish on gizzard shad body segments and is finding the bigger fish close to current, but out of the fast-moving water, along current seems or in eddies or deep holes. Catfishing has also been very good on the Rappahannock and James rivers as these fish are much more active now that shad and other migratory fish are showing up. Goober Time Guide Service reports that the James River catfish bite is on fire and earlier this week a half day trip yielded a trophy blue catfish, a trophy flathead catfish, and several other big fish of both species. Some striped bass are also starting to migrate up the Lower Bay tidal rivers for their spawning run. Anglers should be extra careful when handling these fish if caught and release them as quickly as possible. All Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries will close to targeting of striped bass on April 1st. The main stem of the Potomac and Virginia waters of the Bay will remain open for catch and release. Anglers can view the Maryland DNR striped bass regulation maps for more information.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 21 Update:

The spring runs are still going strong and while yellow perch are winding down, shad fishing is really starting to pick up big time in the Lower Bay tributaries. Brian from Angler’s Arsenal let us know that he had numerous reports of yellow perch being caught in Mason Springs last weekend. One angler reported seeing over 80 caught in one day, but most were undersized in the six-to-eight-inch range. We also got the first report of hickory shad being caught at Mason Springs last weekend. There were only a couple fish landed, but their numbers will continue to increase in the coming weeks. Down on the Rappahannock, the shad run improved a lot this week and there were multiple reports of hickory shad being caught in the City Dock area of Fredericksburg. Anglers fishing the James River are also enjoying steady hickory shad action and a few American shad are starting to show up too. Shad darts and spoons are proving very effective.

Reports editor Dillon Waters took his kayak out on the upper Potomac in D.C. to jig for catfish and reports that the river is running low and clear as of midweek. He fished the stretch of river around Fletcher’s Cove and caught a 20-pound flathead and three blue catfish in the 10-to-15-pound range. All fish hit one and a half to two-ounce jigheads paired with six to eight in paddletails. He also talked to a kayak angler that caught 16 hickory shad while trolling shad darts. Captain Chad Koenig of Dog Days Fishing has also been running trips on the upper Potomac in D.C. and has found excellent fishing. A trip this week yielded flathead catfish up to 40 pounds and blue catfish up to 70 pounds. His anglers are catching fish on both fresh cut gizzard shad and artificial jigs.

There have been reports of striped bass migrating up the bay for their spawning run and we had a report of a 44-inch fish being caught on the Corrotoman. The stripers will follow the shad up the rivers and are known to be caught on the Potomac and Rappahannock in the spring. Anglers should remember that Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay will close for striped bass from April 1st through May 15th. Potomac River Fisheries Commission, D.C., and Virginia waters of the Chesapeake Bay will remain open to catch and release fishing.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 14 Update:

The warmer weather seems to have triggered some better perch run action and contributor Eric Packard found some yellows willing to bite in Mattawoman last weekend. The action wasn’t fast and furious, but it was a steady pick. Oddly, the fish neglected minnow instead preferring small red jigs jiggled on a drop-shot rig. Yellow perch are also pushing up the Rappahannock and several anglers reported catching fish in the Fredericksburg area. Live minnows have been working best. The first shad of the year at Fletcher’s Cove was caught last Friday by an angler fishing about a half mile north of the cove. This week there were a few more hickory shad caught by shoreline anglers throwing spoons and darts, but the bite is not hot yet. Hickory shad have also started to make an appearance on the Rappahannock and the first few fish of the year were caught in the Fredericksburg area this week. The big schools are not there yet, but they are definitely on the way. Anglers on the James River have also started catching them as well. Shad darts and small spoons will usually work best when shad fishing. You won’t want to miss the shad run as it can offer the most action-packed fishing of the spring.

FishTalk’s Zach Ditmars hit the Potomac near Fort Washington with a set of Cat Slayer rods and some fresh white perch for bait last weekend, and said the bite was on the slower side but they did catch a decent number of cats in 20’ of water. No jumbos showed up, but they did get good eating-sized fish up to 30” or so. Captain Greg Buckner of Miss Susie Charters has moved his boats to D.C. for the spring to fish for blue catfish and he found a hot bite this week just north of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. One of his boats caught over 50 blue catfish with the largest weighing 41 pounds. The blue catfish bite has also been good on the Rappahannock and James rivers. As the shad and herring move into these rivers, the catfish will follow them looking to feed. Flathead catfish have also been active and anglers jigging for them on the upper Potomac in D.C. are reported a steady bite right now. Fishing will only get better from here on out.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 7 Update:

Spring spawning runs are on everyone’s mind as the weather is finally starting to warm up. Contributor Eric Packard visited a couple of Lower Bay tribs where perch are normally found right about now, but said he had zero bites at Mason Springs and Allen’s Fresh. He spoke with several anglers who had similar experiences. Down in Virginia, we had a few reports of better perching in some of the tidal tribs. An angler fishing north of Aylett, Virginia on the Mattaponi reported catching a few yellow perch and one white perch on minnows at the beginning of the week. Another angler fishing near Little Falls on the Rappahannock says that there has been decent action for yellow perch in the area and some big ones too. He pulled two citation sized fish out of the river this week. While the perch run has been slow to get going across the board, the warm temperatures that are forecasted next week could kick things into gear. It is always a good idea to go out and fish during warming trends in the Spring.

The warmer weather is also making blue catfish more active, and the big ones are biting. We got a report from ana angler who said that the fish in D.C. are biting in all depths ranging from 20’ down to 60’ and everywhere in between. They caught several 20-pound fish and a few 30-pound fish this week using cut bait. As anadromous fish such as river herring and shad make their way into Lower Bay tributaries in the coming weeks, these fish will be looking to gorge themselves on the abundance of baitfish. Down on the James River, Goober Time Guide Service has continued to put their anglers on blue cats including several trophy sized fish. After rain events like the one we had in the middle of the week, the increased flow and muddy water can turn on the catfish bite. There is a fine line between when the river is too high to fish though, so make sure to check local USGS flow gauges in the area where you plan to fish. The blue catfish bite should remain good throughout this spring.