Lower Bay Fishing Reports

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 4 Update:

It was an action-packed week as anglers across the region found success throughout the Lower Bay tributaries. FishTalk contributor Adam Greenberg made it up to Fletchers Cove on the Potomac River this week and reported a steady shad bite on tandem rigged shad darts and spoons. He was also able to catch two blue catfish and one big flathead that measured 37” while jigging a 1.5-ounce jighead and 7” fluke style soft plastic. Adams says that anglers looking to jig for catfish should consider adding Pro-Cure or some type of scent attractant to their jigs because a co-angler caught zero catfish with the same jig compared to his three fish with the jig slathered in scent. Captain Chad Koenig of Dog Days Fishing was also out on the upper Potomac and says the area has filled in with eater sized catfish in the 10-to-20-pound range. He is catching less fish over 30 pounds, but still no shortage of bites with steady action on blue catfish and flathead catfish. His anglers have also jigged up white perch, quillbacks, stripers, and walleye. Lower Bay anglers fishing in D.C. and Virginia are still able to catch and release striped bass, but Maryland anglers are prohibited to target them now that the closure is in effect until May 16th. The big stripers are running up the rivers to spawn and we encourage anglers who catch them to handle them with care and get them back in the water as quickly as possible. After several consecutive years of poor spawning recruitment, we need to do what we can to protect the breeding size class of fish we have now.

The shad run has begun in earnest, and we had a reader report of solid action in the Potomac near Fletchers on spoon-and-dart tandem rigs. The fish were hitting both silver and green near visible seams in the current. Greater numbers of American shad have shown up around Fletchers Cove and spin casters and fly anglers are reporting schools of fish just downriver from the boulder field north of the cove. The rain this week bumped up the flow of the river which should help bring more fish into the area and enhance the bite. Anglers interested in fishing the upper Potomac River during the shad run should follow along with the Friends of Fletchers Cove Shad Report courtesy of longtime D.C. local Mark Binstead. Many readers, the Angler in Chief, and FishTalk’s Zach Ditmars all reported good shad action at Mason Springs, with fish hitting small spoons and darts but spoons producing more bites. Chartreuse was the hottest color and anglers fishing early in the day reported a much better bite than those fishing late. We also heard from an angler who had good success on them while casting crappie-sized plastics on jigheads. Some small yellow perch were mixed into the catch, and one reader reported a river herring as well. On the Rappahannock, the shad run is still going strong in the Fredericksburg area. A pair of anglers reported launching at Little Falls and heading upriver where they caught around 30 hickory shad. Gold spoons were the hot lure.