Middle Bay Fishing Reports

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 22 Update:

The Angler in Chief reports that rockfish are finally (finally!) schooling up for real and chasing bait in the open waters of the Middle Bay zone. Relatively small (historically speaking) and often brief bird shows have been popping up at numerous locations, including everywhere and anywhere along the western shore from Thomas Point to North Beach. They’re on the move and chasing bait, in 15’ to 45’ of water. On the east side they’ve been spotted from the Matapeake-to-Gum Thickets zone, and the mouth of Eastern Bay. Multiple readers also mentioned encountering birds in Eastern Bay plus at the mouth of the Choptank. Many of the fish are in the slot or just above it and midweek he saw a 32” come up to the boat, and the fish are beginning to show that football shape common to fat fall fish. Rudow also said no specific color or lure type seemed to stand out recently and at times it seems more difficult than it should be to get bites, but if you get on the schools and work at it you’ll catch your fish. Readers mentioned catching on white skirted BKDs, jigging spoons, and white plastic shad. Several also said that when found in deep water, the fish were down a bit at 20 or 25 feet even where they saw birds.

Contributor Adam Greenberg reports that prior to the big blow setting in, white padltails retrieved painfully slowly were still producing some rockfish in the shallows of the Choptank. However, he also said the spot and perch had completely left shallow waters he'd been catching them in up until recently. The striped bass bite at the mouth of the Patuxent is turning on with the dropping water temperatures. Boats are reporting more frequent bird shows, though they often scatter when approached. Drum Point appears to be consistently producing fish this week with both trollers and light tackle anglers finding success. There has also been fish up to 30” caught at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and as water temperatures drop, more fish will congregate around the discharge as they seek out warmer water. Species such as speckled trout and red drum can often be found here throughout the fall and sometimes into the winter. FishTalk contributor Eric Packard visited this week with a few other anglers and said they caught over 40 striped bass with most being caught in the faster moving water of the discharge. The fish averaged between 20” to 23”, but the big fish of the day was 31”. Packard also mentioned catching two under-slot puppy drum. One-ounce jigs with five-inch soft plastics did most of the catching, and when they tried to use larger baits, the fish seemed uninterested. They have been other instances recently where fish have preferred the mid-size baits over the larger profiles, so keep that in mind.

FishTalk’s own Zach Ditmars says he’s been enjoying an excellent pickerel bite up in the Severn River, but also notes that the fish have been very concentrated, and one cove can be barren while another is chock-full of fish. White soft plastics are doing the trick. A reader also reported good pickerel action casting inline spinners in the river.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 15 Update:

There has been decent striped bass action around the Bay Bridge on both the east and west sides of the bridge. Trollers are doing best trolling along the edges of the shipping channel and between the pilings. The bridge offers good structure for fish and light tackle anglers can find good success jigging in the eddies on the backside of pilings during running tides. The rockpiles under the bridge are also a great spot to try jigging for both stripers and white perch. The cold fronts this week finally have water temperatures falling again and fish have started to school up and get into their typical fall feeding pattern. Bird shows are becoming more prevalent so keep an eye out for them while on the water.

The Angler in Chief reports an improving rockfish bite in many parts of the Middle Bay, and says that despite vicious winds and very low water the Little Choptank produced plenty of slot and under-slot fish last weekend. With the strong winds blowing the water out of the river, the fish were all caught off the ends of piers reaching into relatively deep spots. A brief stop at the powerplant produced a couple of nicer fish up to 25” and others on the scene earlier had reeled in a handful over the 30” mark. Jigs of multiple varieties and a six-inch chrome jerkbait did the catching.

We have more reader reports of bird shows (finally!) with breaking fish in the vicinity of Matapeake, at the mouth of Eastern Bay and up E-Bay near Parsons Island, and the mouth of the Choptank. Many are said to be small but plenty of slot fish are partaking in the frenzies. The colder weather seems to be getting the schools of rockfish more organized and although the bird action hasn’t been widespread, drifting and trolling around channel edges and river mouths is starting to produce more bites than is past weeks. Let’s hope that the pattern we expected to take place weeks ago finally gets itself in order, because it has been a slow start to fall fishing on the Bay. What we heard from readers this week does indicate that although the pace has picked up in Eastern Shore areas, the tough rockfish bite continues for some anglers on the west side from the Severn down through the West. There were two skunk reports and a report of catching just a couple fish through that area this week.

The Severn River pickerel bite continues to improve and light tackle guide Tom Weaver of Fish With Weaver has been enjoying excellent action in the upriver creeks. The fish are holding close to fallen wood and areas coated with floating leaves. Slow rolling spinnerbaits and other shiny lures has been working well. Most of the pickerel found in local tidal waters are between 15 and 20 inches, but there are also some lurking that are well into the mid 20’s. Anglers who enjoy pickerel fishing should consider signing up for the CCA pickerel championship which runs from now through the end of February.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 8 Update:

There is no pretty way to put it, the striped bass bite has downright stunk in many areas recently, but there are a few bright spots and this week the reports of success improved notably. While many anglers have been left disappointed a few are finding feeding fish and the bite windows we have heard of around the last hour of daylight. Many of the traditional fall jigging locations along the main channel and at river mouths have been barren most of the time. The Angler in Chief reports that last weekend close to home in the South River fishing was one of the toughest October weekends in his memory, with just a handful of rock to show for a day and a half of fishing. He notes that decent schools of rockfish are still patrolling the western side of Poplar and can be spotted via side-scan on the south side as well, however, getting them to bite is a real battle. Two readers reported slow action there followed by a burst of activity in the last hour of light. Multiple readers reported similar experiences but two reported catching a two slot fish each earlier in the day, by slow-trolling Rat-L-Traps and similar plugs. Readers hitting Eastern Bay also report some slot fish coming over the gunwales, again with trolling doing the trick with chartreuse 5” paddletails and Rat-L-Traps in 10’ to 15’ depths. Water temperatures are still in the 60s thanks to abnormally warm weather. Once they drop into the 50s, we can hope that the fish get into feeding mode.

Contributor Eric Packard reports better action on rockfish in the lower Patuxent, catching slots and under-slots from the piers while tossing Bonga Shrimp tails on half-ounce Hardhead jigs. He also found stripers plus a few under-slot reds in the lower Potomac while fishing from the kayak. White paddletails got them biting. Contributor Adam Greenberg said the Choptank has been providing action this week, but the bite window has been limited to the last 90 minutes of daylight and most of the rockfish are undersized. He noted that fishing in the very same spot he caught fish before and after dark, the next morning drew a blank at daybreak, then in the evening the fish started chewing again.

White perch have vacated the shallows for the most part and can be found in deeper water near shoals, oyster bottom, and ledges. The lower sections of the tidal rivers are good places to search for schooled up perch. Bottom rigs tipped with Fishbites, bloodworms, live minnows, or grass shrimp should get them biting. The rock piles at the Bay Bridge are also a hotspot for perch once they move to deeper water. Jigging for them with small metal jigs or using any of the bait mentioned before will be the most effective ways to catch them.

Pickerel action in the rivers is picking up the pace. Captain Tom Weaver of Fish With Weaver has had several trips up the Severn tributaries this week and his anglers have caught fish up to 24”. Fish are generally hanging out around leaf-littered shorelines, fallen trees, and docks. Jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and paddletails are all baits that typically get the pickerel biting. The flashier the lure, the better.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 1 Update:

The Angler in Chief says the rockfish appear to be transitioning out of an October lull, but on the flip side of the coin, most of the redfish seem to have departed and he didn’t find any in the South River this week. Schools of striped bass are roaming along the edges of Poplar Island, but it takes some hard work to get them biting and often there’s plenty of competition, which may be contributing to their spooky behavior. He said subtlety jigging small silver spoons and chartreuse BKDs on half-ounce heads on bottom in 10’ to 12’ triggered a few fish to get aggressive, and some others reacted well to BKDs and paddletails cast up to the rocks. A three-quarter ounce white Rat-L-Trap also triggered a few hits when the fish were acting inactive. Most of the rockfish in the area were in the 16” to 26” range.

Many anglers in the Middle Bay report experiencing similarly slower fishing for much of the month with a few pockets of better action. A kayak angler working the Patuxent near Benedict said the bait was thick but he never got a touch from predators (though he did note that shoreline anglers casting out cut bait were catching plenty of catfish). And a reader we've heard from many times before, who is an excellent angler, reported a skunk trip out of the West River early this week. Captain Steve Griffin of Griffins Guide Service took the time to explain why the bite has been slower recently. He explains that the fall turnover is a phenomenon where water surface temperatures cool down and become denser, causing them to mix with the oxygen deprived water on the bottom. This can make fish act lazy and not want to eat. Some signs of the turnover included murky water or leaves floating just below the surface of the water. Captain Steve recommends not switching over to big baits yet, when the fish are lazy give them a smaller bait with a slow presentation. The four-inch Z-Man Diezel Minnowz have been working excellent on his recent trips. Steve is also seeing bird show action to pick up a bit and we can expect things to cut loose once a few more cold fronts move through.

White perch are starting to move to deeper waters and will often be found feeding under schools of striped bass during the fall. Try dropping a small metal jig to bottom under birds and you will likely find some perch hanging close by. A reader in the Deale area reported that he has been catching perch at night around dock lights using small jigs. Most of the fish have been small, but a few 10-inch fish are mixed in.