Upper Bay Fishing Reports
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 21 Update:
The Upper Bay is offering a solid mix of croaker, spot, white perch, bluefish, and catfish while anglers wait for striped bass season to reopen in September. Keeper croaker and spot are producing bites around reef structure, while white perch can be found around docks and shoreline structure in the tidal rivers. Bluefish are also available around the Bay Bridge, Love Point, and southern Upper Bay ledges.
There’s a solid bite for keeper-sized croaker plus spot in the Magothy. A subscriber checked in to let us know he caught some fat ones while dropping Fishbites bloodworms on bottom rigs at the reef balls in the lower sections of river, particularly off Ulmstead Point. If you’re not familiar with their location, be sure to check Magothy River Reefs on our website and scroll down to the map. He also mentioned that upriver, docks from Cypress to Beechwood were holding some white perch. It takes some work to find them, but when you do, they’ve been stacked up thick. A subscriber checked in after finding some white perch near the Sewer Pipe this week. Grass shrimp and bloodworms on bottom rigs were the ticket. The perch ranged from nine to 12 inches, and they also caught several small bluefish. Another hot area for white perch this summer has been around the White Rocks heading into the mouth of the Patapsco River. Bottom fishing this time of year can produce a variety of species, including some seasonal visitors like small flounder, little bluefish, weakfish, pufferfish, and several others.
There are some bluefish roaming around the main shipping channel and other ledges throughout the southern portion of the Upper Bay. The bluefish can be found as far north as the Patapsco and Tolchester, but they don’t really make it much further north than that. The best chance for keeper bluefish will be from around the Bay Bridge up to the mouth of the Magothy and over to Love Point. There's an off chance of finding a Spanish mackerel around too, as some have been caught just south of the Bay Bridge. Trolling drone or Clark spoons behind number one and number two planers is a great way to target the blues and macks. Another popular rig is a spoonbrella rig. Think of your traditional umbrella rig for rockfish trolling but replace the sassy shads with metal spoons. It is very effective for bluefish and mackerel.
Channel catfish and blue catfish can be found in the tidal rivers of the Upper Bay and at the lumps near Pooles Island. Channel catfish are more abundant in the upper Patapsco River, Gunpowder River, and Bush River, while blue catfish are spread throughout the tributary with hotspots on the Chester River and main stem of the Bay north of Hart Miller Island. The rockfish are still off limits until September first, but when the season opens back up, the fish should still be in their summer patterns hanging around traditional areas like the shipping docks in the Patapsco, in the channels near the former Key Bridge, the lumps near Pooles Island and Tolchester, Love Point, and the Bay Bridge. There has been a lot of bait around, including menhaden and glass minnows, so if it sticks around, the fall bite should shape up nicely.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 14 Update:
The striped bass closure has anglers turning to a diverse summer fishery, with white perch, bluefish, spot, croaker, and catfish all providing opportunities. Perch remain difficult to pattern in some traditional areas but are showing around tidal-river docks, oyster bottom, and shoreline structure, while jumbo spot and mixed-size croaker are providing excellent bottom-fishing action on the Upper Bay shoals. Blue and channel catfish are also available around the Patapsco, Chester River, and Pooles Island, giving anglers plenty of alternatives until rockfish season returns.
Since the striped bass closure is still in effect, anglers will have to shift their fishing efforts to target other species. The good news is that August is arguably the month when there is the most diversity of species in the Upper Bay. The perch fishing is still below average in certain areas of this region, but it is picking up in other areas. We had a report from a reader who spent a day fishing around the Bay Bridge piling looking for perch in areas where they are usually plentiful this time of year. Despite trying for several hours, they did not find any perch, only a few spot and toadfish. Perch have been hard to pattern in recent years and are growing increasingly harder to find in some of their historic hotspots. We have had some reports from anglers fishing in the tidal rivers who are finding some perch. Docks and open water bottom structures in the Magothy have been noted as productive. They are also present around white rocks near the mouth of the Patapsco, near the Craighill Channel lighthouses, in the tidal creeks of the Chester River, and some good reports have also come in from the Bush River. While fishing shoreline structures such as docks and fallen wood, perch spinners and jigs are working well. While fishing over reef structure or oyster bottom, bits of peeler crab or bloodworms tipped on bottom rigs is a sure way to get the perch biting if there are schools in the area.
The bluefish bite south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge has been very good in mid-Bay waters, and there are some small bluefish that are hanging around the Bay Bridge, Love Point, and even up into the Magothy River. A reader reported that he encountered some small bluefish in the 10-inch range while perch fishing near docks in the Magothy. If you try to target some bluefish elsewhere in the Upper Bay, be mindful of the striped bass closure, and if you catch a striper or two, make sure to move areas because the “no target” closure is strictly enforced.
Another great opportunity this month is to go out for an action-packed day of bottom fishing at the various shoals and oyster beds scattered throughout the Upper Bay. Jumbo spot and mixed sizes of croaker are present and willing to bite bloodworms, bloodworm flavored fishbites, and lugworms.
Catfish are another popular target for Upper Bay anglers. There are several areas to find them, but recent hotspots have been the upper reaches of the Patapsco River, upper Chester River, and the lumps between Tolchester and Pooles island. Blue catfish, channel catfish, and the occasional white catfish are the three species you are most likely to encounter. Catfish rigs baited with fresh cut bunker, spot, eel, and peeler crab will get you into the game. An angler fishing near Pooles Island this week said they caught a few channel catfish and blue catfish while dropping chunks of spot around the lumps in 15 to 25 feet of water. Another fishing at the lumps off Pooles caught a whopping 22 channel catfish, yet somehow didn't get any blues on their lines. All of these opportunities should continue to put smiles on anglers' faces until we can once again target the most popular fish on the Chesapeake.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 7 Update:
White perch, spot, croaker, and snakehead are keeping Upper Bay anglers busy while striped bass season remains closed. Jumbo spot and keeper croaker are becoming more common around the Bay Bridge and Upper Bay shoals, while perch are biting around oyster bottom and shaded structure in the tidal creeks. Snakehead fishing is also in peak summer form, with topwater frogs producing around thick grass and marsh vegetation.
With rockfish out, it’s good to hear that the perch have been biting, and that’s exactly what we heard this week from subscribers. They’re hitting bloodworms and Fishbites bloodworm flavor fished on bottom rigs and Chesapeake Sabikis. Reports of success came in from oyster bottom near Belvidere Shoals, Snake Reef, Seven Foot Knoll, and White Rocks. Perch should also be biting in the tidal creeks of the Magothy River, Patapsco River, and Chester River. Fishing in low light conditions in the early mornings will give you the best chance at finding fish feeding in open water areas of creeks and coves. Once the sun gets up, they often retreat to shaded shorelines, docks, and riprap. Small spinners can be very effective when casting to fallen trees and other structures in the tidal creeks. If you are fishing around docks, small twisty tail grubs and marabou jigs rigged in tandem can work very well. If the perch are being finnicky, tipping lures with bait can help increase your number of bites. Tipping spinners with small bits of bloodworms and jigs with grass shrimp should help when the bite is tough.
It’s that time of year when jumbo spot are starting to show up around the Bay Bridge and other Upper Bay shoal areas. There are plenty of three-to-five-inch spot around, but jumbos in the eight to 10-inch range are becoming more common. There is also croaker in the mix, but these two species don’t tend to mingle very often. Usually, if you find a school of spot, there won’t be many croaker in the same area, and vice versa. Catching them is pretty easy once you locate them. A traditional bottom rig or Chesapeake sabiki rig paired with size four or six hooks works very well. Bloodworms are arguably the best bait, but they are expensive and currently sell for around 20 to 30 dollars per dozen, which can get worked through quickly when the bite is hot. Alternative baits that work well include lug worms, red worms, and bloodworm-flavored Fishbites. Bottom fishing is the perfect type of fishing for kids, new anglers, or those wanting to enjoy a steady bite.
Snakehead fishing is in peak summer form with fish relating to grass beds and other aquatic vegetation. They can be found in the upper reaches of the Patapsco River, Middle River, Gunpowder River, Bush River, Chester River, and pretty much any tidal creek in the Upper Bay. While they are spread out all over the watershed, there are definitely concentrations in areas with more vegetation and marsh areas. Topwater frog lures are still the best bait to throw in thick cover, while chatterbaits and swimbaits are great for casting on open water or along the edges of grass beds.
