Middle Bay Fishing Reports

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 25 Update:

While there hasn’t been much action on the main stem of the bay with the striper closure, there are several tribs that are fishing well. We had a couple of reader reports of excellent white perch action at the salt ponds on the Western Shore in the Annapolis area. The fish usually run here slightly later than in the rivers and this year it seems no different, with the run in peak action last weekend. Grass shrimp on darts about two feet under bobbers have been the top offering, working best when the bobber is slowly jiggled back in after a cast. Grass shrimp can be caught by using a minnow net to scoop along dock pilings and marsh edges. Several of the local bait and tackle shops also frequently carry fresh grass shrimp. The shad run was still going full force last weekend. One reader reported some luck casting spoons and darts in the upper Patuxent, and a trio of anglers had an epic day at Mason Springs, catching well over 100 between them, including some triple-headers. Silver spoons were the top producer but some hit darts as well. The shad runs will slowly taper off in the next few weeks, but there should still be good opportunities to catch them through the end of the month.

The blue catfish have not arrived in any numbers in the Middle Bay, which is a stark difference from last year. Multiple anglers have tried their luck from Sandy Point down to Deale, and we are mostly hearing of skunks. The local pound netters are pulling a few blue cats from their nets, but mostly onesie twosies when they check them. Lack of rain this spring may be keeping the catfish from spreading out, which could be a good thing for our native fish. Without an abundance of blue catfish to target locally, anglers will be patiently waiting for the striped bass season to open on May 16th. The weather has been in a fairly stable warming pattern and water temperatures in this region have finally reached the 60-degree mark. This means that speckled trout will start to show up in the shallows around emerging grass beds and other structure. Anglers typically find them in the Choptank, Little Choptank, and lower Patuxent during the spring.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 17 Update:

The weather has been very erratic lately, and the wind machine has really been cranked up, but there were still some decent reports from Middle Bay waters. Contributor Eric Packard says that despite the erratic weather, the shad have been biting strong, and a trip to the upper reaches of Mattawoman produced dozens and dozens of fish on dart and spoon tandems. He also cast a fly rod for a while and said the fish were more than willing to attack flies as well. Water levels were exceptionally high from all the rain and the water wasn’t too mucked up. Packard also visited the upper Patuxent this week in search of American shad, and while he didn’t find them, he did catch some hickory shad and a white perch. Reports editor Dillon Waters hit the local tidal salt ponds last weekend in search of white perch. It was windy and cold with temperatures only around 50 degrees, but he did manage to catch around a dozen during a two-hour trip. Grass shrimp on shad darts under a bobber was the ticket to getting bites. He also had another rod cast out, but said he only got bit while actively retrieving his line. The technique was to slowly reel and pop the bobber, then let it sit for a few seconds and repeat until a fish hit. The colder weather and rain over the past week shut down the blue catfish bite north of the Bay Bridge and likely pushed back their arrival (if they are going to show up) to this section of the Bay until we see a warming trend. Local commercial watermen have been finding a few blue catfish in their nets, so there are a few around, but they don’t appear to be around in numbers…yet.

The striped bass closure is still in effect for all Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. During this time, anglers are prohibited from targeting striped bass. Striped bass season will open for certain areas of the Bay in Maryland waters on May 16th. You can view the Maryland DNR striped bass regulations map to see when and where targeting striped bass is allowed.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 11 Update:

Colder temperatures returned this week and brought us back to the reality of early springtime weather. The Angler in Chief reports that white perch have packed into the Middle Bay salt ponds where they run, and a short morning trip to Triton Beach produced steady action with about two dozen caught in a couple hours of fishing. Grass shrimp on a shad dart suspended two feet under a bobber drew all the bites, and he says that while the numbers were good, most of the fish were on the small side, with eight fish big enough to head for the frying pan but most in the six- to seven-inch range. He also says he saw at least three snakeheads rolling on the surface but couldn’t get any to hit despite throwing a Super Rooster for a while. FishTalk Production Manager Zach Ditmars went way up the Severn last weekend and said the pickerel were slow to bite and beaten up (as is often the case around spawning season) but a handful were willing to bite. The chain pickerel season for tidal waters is currently catch and release only. Anglers will be able to harvest them again starting May 1st with a minimum size of 14 inches and a creel limit of 10 per day.

The blue catfish are starting to show up in the northern areas of the Middle Bay, and we had a report from an angler fishing from shore at night in the Deale area who caught one blue catfish, a white catfish, and two accidental stripers while fishing with fresh gizzard shad. We also have reports from the local netters that a few blue cats are turning up in their nets. There have been good reports from just north of the Bay Bridge with a lot of fish roaming around Sandy Point in five to 15 feet of water. Based on the pattern from recent years, these fish will likely continue to make their way south and offer fun angling opportunities during the striper closure. Two readers checked in after fishing Mason Springs last weekend and enjoyed excellent action on shad. Each caught several dozen while casting dart/spoon tandems and one mentioned lime green was the color of the day. Contributor Eric Packard hit it after the rainfall this week and reported high water that was a bit muddy, but he said the fish were still biting, and he caught around 30.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, April 4 Update:

The end of spring striped bass catch and release brought mixed results for many anglers, with readers reporting a sporadic bite in several Middle Bay areas ranging from the Bay Bridge to the Chesapeake Beach and Eastern Bay providing a highlight. Last weekend and Monday most boats reported zero to two fish, but some did reel up multiple trophy fish of 40” and larger. FishTalk contributor David Rudow and Reports Editor Dillon Waters made it out last week and joined the fleet in Eastern Bay to get in on the last few days of catch and release action. Huge schools of bunker were scattered around from 30’ to 70’ of water with about half of them with stripers in chase. The abundance of bait in the area made for a very technical bite that required precise casts to get bites. Over the course of the day they landed around a dozen fish with between 22” and 42”. Most fish were in the mid 20’s. With the striped bass closure in place, anglers fishing Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay will not be allowed to target striped bass until May 16th. You can view the Maryland DNR striped bass regulation maps to see when and where anglers can target striped bass throughout the year.

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. The good action should continue as more fish migrate north for their spawning run. Warmer temperatures should be bringing fish up the Patuxent soon if not already. The white perch on the Pax have pushed upriver and are being caught north of Waysons Corner and in the smaller creeks downriver. One angler fishing Western Branch said that there were schools of perch all the way up near the warm water discharge. Bloodworms have been working best, but they cost a pretty penny. Grass shrimp, minnows, and night crawlers are all great bait choices that also work for perch and are significantly cheaper.