Upper Bay Fishing Reports

Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 5 Update:

The Bay has been busy with anglers getting out for rockfish now that the season is open in all Maryland waters. The few charter boats fishing at the Bay Bridge this week said that the bite was inconsistent, with some days producing limits and other days producing only a few under slot fish. The rock piles have been a productive area with fish holding down deep close to bottom. Pilings have also been holding fish, but not all of them. It often takes checking a few before locating some fish willing to bite. Live lining spot has been the most popular method, but jigging is also producing fish. Contributor Adam Greenberg wrote in to let us know he and another angler had some luck fishing in the Magothy and jigging the Bay Bridge pilings last weekend. Four-inch paddletails on one-ounce jigheads were the ticket at the bridge, and the same tails paired with underspins on lighter jigheads were the key in the river. They both caught several slot and over-slot fish at the bridge, but the fish in the river were mostly unders. The rockfish bite has also been hot in the Patapsco River since the season opened last weekend. Boats are catching fish in the mid-section main stem of the river with a concentration of fish hanging around the former Key Bridge. Paddletails and straight tails on one-ounce jigheads are working well, and some anglers have even jigged up some blue catfish and channel catfish while searching for stripers. Anglers should know that the recent rains caused a large sewage spill in the river last week and there was an oil spill near the inner harbor this week, so water quality in the river is something to keep a close eye on.

Reports of snakeheads haven’t entirely shut down for the spawn yet, and while the volume of reader reports of snakeheads wasn’t great this week, we did hear about a couple of serious dragons. A 34.5” 13.5-pounder came from a creek off Middle River on a #3 Mepps, and a 33” came out of a Pasadena waterway. Anglers fishing with topwater frogs in areas with thick vegetation are still finding good success. Some mating pairs have been spotted, but no fry balls as of yet this early in the season. There is an upcoming snakehead tournament courtesy of Maryland DNR. The Snakes on the Dundee, fishing tournament is scheduled for June 7th at Gunpowder Falls State Park. We also encourage anglers to participate in CCA Maryland’s Great Chesapeake Invasives Count. Anglers can log their invasive species catches to be entered for a chance to win monthly drawings. The data collected also helps fisheries managers track the spread of invasive fish in our waters.