Upper Bay Fishing Reports

Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 12 Update:

The Bay Bridge continues to produce some impressive striped bass action, with live-lining, eeling, and jigging all accounting for fish, while the Patapsco is still offering opportunities for light-tackle anglers. White perch are schooling in deeper water around the Upper Bay, and pickerel fishing is beginning to heat up throughout the Magothy, Patapsco, and Baltimore-area creeks. Anglers looking for a mixed bag have plenty of options as the fall season progresses.

Boats fishing at the Bay Bridge during Fish For a Cure last weekend reported very good rockfish catches (with one boat live-lining saying they caught around 50 fish, and another that was eeling, catching so many that they went through three dozen eels) with most of the fish in the slot or just over it to about 26”. Early this week, an angler jigging BKDs on one-ounce heads at the pilings also filed a good report, with about a dozen fish caught. Sizes were mixed with some unders, several fish in the slot, and one just over it. The rock islands at the bridge can be particularly productive this time of year as fish seek out deeper structure where current is sweeping schools of bait during moving tides. Last year, metal jigs were particularly effective in early November. In the Patapsco, the topwater action along riprap shorelines and docks can still offer some good fishing. The open water bite has been decent at times too, with light tackle anglers and trollers picking up fish from the 895 Bridge to the former Key Bridge.

White perch are still schooling at the mouth of the Patapsco River and along the main shipping channel running in front of Gibson Island. We had reports from areas in the Middle Bay that perch were still being caught in the upper reaches of the tidal rivers this week, so there are likely still some perch inside the Upper Bay rivers and tidal creeks. The cold front on the way this weekend will likely send them out to deeper water over the next week. The open water bite is the most reliable right now. The key has been to find oyster bottom at depths of 15’ to 25’. Bottom rigs tipped with bloodworms are very effective this time of year. When the fishing is really good, small metal jigs or tandem-rigged twisty tails can also work.

Pickerel fishing should be picking up across the Upper Bay tributaries as November's cooler water temperatures get these toothy predators feeding more consistently. The upper Magothy River is a great place to start, particularly Mill Creek, Cypress Creek, and the coves and tributaries around Dividing Creek, where anglers should work shorelines with fallen timber, docks, and shallow flats bordering deeper creek channels. Around Baltimore, Bodkin Creek, Rock Creek, Stoney Creek, Nabbs Creek, and the smaller creeks branching off the Patapsco are all worth exploring. The Patapsco itself can produce good pickerel fishing in its quieter upper tributaries and protected coves, especially around submerged wood, riprap, and marina structures. Pickerel are ambush predators, so focus on casting tight to cover and working lures along the edges of structure rather than simply retrieving through open water. Small spinnerbaits, inline spinners, micro chatterbaits, and three- to four-inch paddletails are excellent search baits, while suspending jerkbaits can be especially effective when fish are following but refusing faster presentations. Slow down the retrieve as water temperatures fall, adding pauses to jerkbaits and allowing soft plastics to work near the bottom. Live minnows fished beneath a bobber are another excellent option when fish become reluctant to chase artificials. November and December are prime months for this fishery, and anglers willing to move around and cover several creek arms until they locate concentrations of fish should find plenty of action. An angler fishing in the Patapsco this week reported catching half a dozen fish up to 18 inches, so they are definitely biting.

Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 6 Update:

Blue catfish are stealing some of the spotlight in the Upper Bay, with some impressive fish coming from the lower-salinity waters around Pooles Island and nearby tributaries. Rockfish action remains productive in several areas, including the Patapsco and Chester rivers, while white perch are providing a steady bottom-fishing option around the Bay Bridge and mouth of the Patapsco.

While rockfish might get all the attention, there are some fish swimming around in the Upper Bay that are bigger than any of the stripers around. A reader fishing north of Pooles enjoyed some blue cat action including this monster fish, and anglers eeling or fishing cut baits are coming up with an unexpectedly big bend in the rod on a regular basis. Salinity levels north of Hart Miller Island are much lower than around the Bay Bridge, so blue catfish are much more abundant in that zone. The Gunpowder River, Bush River, and lumps on the main stem of the Bay around Pooles Island are prime locations to catch blue catfish. This time of year, depths of 20 to 40 feet are the general zone that blue catfish will be patrolling. Holes and channel ledges are good places to check, and you may come across some rockfish as well.

Anglers fishing in the Patapsco River reported a slower rockfish bite this week. There were still some decent reports, but a few anglers also struck out. Light tackle boats found some fish along riprap shoreline and near docks during early mornings and late evenings. One angler reported catching half a dozen fish on topwater, most of which were in the slot. When the sun got up, shallow diving jerkbaits were the ticket. Trollers working the main channel ledges in 20’ to 30’ are pulling in some slot and overslot fish using umbrella rigs and tandem-rigged sassy shads. There has also been some bird action in the main stem of the river, but it is still sporadic. Over on the Chester River, anglers working marsh creeks and shoreline points are still catching fish in the shallows. Deeper ledges near the mouth of the river are where some open water action has kicked off as baitfish schools are moving to deeper water. Birds have given away the location of feeding stripers some days, but electronics have been a big key when covering water.

Reports Editor Dillon Waters took a trip up to the Bay Bridge late last week to see what was biting. He got on the water before sunrise and started casting jigs to bridge pilings and around the rock islands. After fishing several pilings and both islands without a bite, he moved to some pilings on the east side of the westbound span in 30’ of water and caught two slot fish, both around 22”. There were several charter boats working the bridge and there didn’t seem to be many fish being caught. After boxing one of the rockfish, he moved over to oyster bottom near Sandy Point in around 20 feet of water to try for white perch. Bottom rigs tipped with bloodworms provided a steady bite for white perch in the seven to 10” range for about an hour until the incoming tide died out. During that time, he boxed 15 eater-sized white perch. We also got a report from Hallocks-Grace Charters that they also found some white perch around the Bay Bridge. They started their trip by catching a limit of rockfish by live-lining spot at some of the bridge pilings, then they moved to oyster bottom north of the bridge and found a steady, but not on fire, perch bite. Bottom rigs tipped with bloodworms were again the ticket for perch. We have also heard several reports that the perch bite has been good at the mouth of the Patapsco River. Charter boats and recreational boats are catching them in around 20’ of water between Fort Smallwood Park and Hickory Point. As we get later in the season, the perch will move to slightly deeper water, but this bite should last for several more weeks.

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