Way North Fishing Reports

Way North Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 13 Update:

The wind machine continues to be a nuisance as we move through November. A few reports came in from the area of the Susquehanna Flats this week. One angler reported catching a few striped bass in the 20” range while fishing the shallow edges of the flats. They were using a swimbait and had a heavy incoming tide when the fish were biting. Another reader fishing north of Garrett Island caught a few smallmouth last weekend. Earlier in the week, we had a report from an angler who said they caught a few largemouth and striped bass on the flats. We also had a report from a boat that trolled the flats this week but got skunked. Anglers should be aware that duck season opens this weekend, and the Susquehanna Flats are a popular duck hunting location, so look out for hunters if you are out on the flats over the next two weeks.

Yellow perch are a favorite cold weather species for anglers to target, and the Way North region has plenty to fish for throughout the fall and winter. An angler reported catching several near the Havre De Grace docks on a recent trip. The yellow perch will school up along ledges and the deeper holes surrounding the Susquehanna Flats. They can be caught on the lower Susquehanna and Elk River throughout the coming months. The blue catfish bite continues to be impressive from the Conowingo Dam down to the flats and surrounding tidal tributaries. Several big blue catfish were landed at the dam this week, and the Susky has been producing 20- to 40-pounders for most of the fall. The deeper channels and holes will start to see blue catfish congregate around them as water temperatures continue to drop. A hotspot in the colder months is the stretch of the Susquehanna from Port Deposit down to Perryville.

Way North Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 7 Update:

The blue catfish bite is going strong in the Way North region of the Chesapeake Bay. Now is a great time to get out on the water and target them, as they are feeding heavily to fatten up for winter. The big blues will be prowling the deeper channels and holes in the lower Susquehanna River and other surrounding tidal tributaries. There has been a hot bite at the Conowingo Dam this fall, and we saw some excellent reports from there this week. The water has been flowing low and slow thanks to the lack of rainfall, and thus not much water is being released from the dam. This makes it a lot easier to fish without getting your rigs snagged on the rocky bottom. One angler fishing there this week caught several blue catfish in the 20-pound range, with a few over 30.

There should still be some striped bass, smallmouth bass, and walleye around the dam. When the water is flowing slowly, anglers can usually get away with two ounces for casting into the wash. When more gates are open, it often requires four to eight ounces of weight to effectively cast and retrieve lures in the wash. A three-way rig or drop shot style setup is popular for this style of fishing. In the Northeast River, Elk River, and Bohemia River, largemouth bass will be holding close to fallen wood and docks this time of year. The grasses have mostly broken up on the Susquehanna Flats, so the bass will be retreating to hard cover.