Upper Bay Fishing Reports

Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 20 Update:

The striped bass bite has been red hot as the fish continue to gorge themselves on baitfish to fatten up for the colder months. We had reports of some bird shows just north of the Bay Bridge this week, along with some scattered birds feeding in the Patapsco and Chester Rivers. An angler fishing out of Pasadena last week reported that he found birds and fish working schools of bunker over flats in 16’ to 18’. They caught fish while light tackle jigging with six-inch and 10” BKD and Bust Em’ Baits soft plastics. The fish were active below the birds and even after the birds moved on, they were still able to catch fish while doing long drifts in the area of the action. They landed over 40 slot and over slot rockfish between four anglers. Their largest fish measured around 28”. The rockfish in the Patapsco have been roaming around the middle section of the river, feeding on bait. Some days, there are birds giving away their location, while other days, searching the channel edges with electronics is what it takes to find them. There are also some fish still hanging around nearshore structure, but those fish are starting to thin out as cooling water temperatures are driving fish to deeper waters.

The low tides have been making it difficult to get into the shallower tidal creeks at times. The upper reaches of the Magothy River, Patapsco River, Back Creek, and Stoney Creek are where you can find pickerel during the colder months. Recent reports show that anglers are getting a lot of followers while throwing spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and jerkbaits, but a lot of the fish are turning away when they get close to the boat. One angler reported that throwing minnows on light jigheads under a bobber or on bottom has been working well in the Baltimore area creeks. They caught over a dozen on minnows, but only one on a jerkbait during a recent outing. Anglers who plan to pickerel fish this winter should consider signing up for CCA Maryland’s Pickerel Championship. The contest is open now and runs through the end of February 2026. This is a catch and release tournament where you can compete against other anglers for great prizes and bragging rights!

Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 13 Update:

A handful of reports came in from readers hitting the bridge last weekend, including solid catches of slot-sized fish plus a few unders throwing white skirted baits at the pilings and jigging deep water near pilings and the rockpiles. The upper Western Shore creeks and rivers have also produced solid action recently, with FishTalk’s own Zach Ditmars reporting a mixed bag of pickerel and rockfish in the Baltimore area creeks and a reader hitting the Patapsco, pulling up five pickerel, including one that stretched to the 25” mark. The Magothy River offers excellent pickerel fishing opportunities during the colder months. The tidal creeks in the upper section of the river are where most of the action takes place, near docks, rip-rap, and fallen wood.

A reader checked in last weekend after fishing the mouth of the Magothy and reported that they caught some schoolie stripers on small jigging spoons. They left the river and went to the Bay Bridge, where they caught 10 rockfish up to 23”. They said that the class of fish at the bridge was better than the ones they found in the mouth of the river. As water temperatures are falling, the fish around the bridge have been in depths of 30’ to 70’ feet of water. The rock piles are also excellent structure to fish this time of year for rockfish and perch. Jigging spoons and straight tail soft plastics have been very effective in recent weeks. There has been a good rockfish bite at the mouth of the Patapsco River down to the Brewerton Channel. Schools of fish have been feeding in depths of 20’ to 40’. Schools of white perch have also been thick at times near the Upper Bay shoals. Dropping water temperatures will likely send these fish to deeper water, so anglers should start looking for them along deeper ledges and holes. Bloodworms have been the ticket this fall, so if you really want to get on the perch, it may be best to bite the bullet and pay for them.

Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 7 Update:

The Angler in Chief said the Bay Bridge is holding good numbers of rockfish in the 16” to 26” range, which are hitting jigging spoons in 30’ to 45’, but by most reports, those who can still find spot and liveline are doing more of the catching. Other anglers are reporting that the Bay Bridge rock piles have been holding some fish recently. Metal jigs and spoons have been very effective, though you may get snagged up while jigging over the rocky structure. There was also a report from an angler who said they found a few schools of fish between the bridge pilings in 60 feet of water, suspended halfway down the water column. While there have been fish around, there have also been a lot of boats, so if you can get out during the week, that may be your best bet.

North of the Bay Bridge, there has been good action near the Brewerton channel, and the deeper ledges close to Six and Seven Foot Knoll. White perch have been schooling in depths of 20’ to 40’ and the rockfish have been in these same areas. Bottom fishing with bloodworms has been the most effective method for catching the perch, and boats able to get spot for live lining are reporting quick limits. Inside the Patapsco River, anglers are catching fish along main channel edges and at nearshore structure. Catches have been reported from Fort McHenry out to the mouth. Anglers fishing in the Chester have also reported a decent striped bass bite, with open water bird shows coming up from time to time. As water temperatures continue to drop, the open water fishery should continue to become more consistent. Steep channel edges on main channels will be great places to search for baitfish. Once you find the bait, stripers are likely close by.  

We wanted to mention that the cooler temperatures have also kicked off the pickerel bite, but the low tides have made it extremely difficult to get into the tidal creeks in the Magothy and Baltimore area tribs this week. The bite should get better once we return to a more consistent tide cycle.