Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 12/29/2017 Update:
Despite the season’s end, at least until the rugged temperatures hit these last few days many anglers were continuing to catch rockfish in the mid-20s to upper-30s in the lower bay. The channel edge in the Potomac has continued to be a hotspot, with anglers trolling parachutes and bucktails, according to J&W. Most fish have been in around 40 feet of water, however some have been slightly deeper. Keeping your lures close to bottom has been a good tactic for hooking up. The same was true for jiggers, who experienced some decent catch-and-release action in the Point Lookout area by finding fish on the meter, and working their offerings down low in the water column.
Reports also indicate that white perch are still running strong in the rivers, in deeper water. No word yet on winter yellow perch in the creeks, but that action should start at any time.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 12/22/2017 Update:
Happy holidays, Mid-Atlantic anglers! With stripers done for the year there aren't a ton of options on the Lower Bay right now, but you can still get a bend in your rod. The only place the Tackle Box and J&W recommended going to was the mouth of the Potomac, however they also said that fishing has been spotty, unreliable, and uncharacteristically slow in the Lower Bay during the past week. That said, the waters off point Lookout have produced more fish in the 20" to 35" range than most other areas of the Bay lately and catch and release anglers can still get in on some action both jigging and trolling. Trollers have been doing better lately, especially with white tandems and umbrellas.
Anglers looking for dinner can search for the white perch being caught in deep holes in the lower Patuxent, the Potomac, and on the other side of the bay, in the mouth of the Wicomico. Most of these fish are in 30-plus feet of water over hard bottom. Bloodworms and grass shrimp on bottom rigs will get them biting, but can be tough to find this time of year. Dropping a tandem rig or a bottom rig with one-inch GULP minnow on the hooks is a good back-up. Catfish are the other option, and are responding to cut bait sitting on bottom farther up these rivers. The most reliable area is the upper Potomac, from Indian Head up to DC, for blue catfish. Look for channel edges and holes with structure.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 12/15/2017 Update:
Despite the high winds putting a crimp in the fishing, rockfish have been abundant in the Lower Bay, allowing some anglers who braved the conditions to limit out shortly after leaving the dock. According to The Tackle Box fishing on the Potomac has been particularly good, especially between buoys three and seven on the Virginia side, where trolling has produced fish upwards of 40 inches. Meanwhile, J&W reports that 51A and 49A have been hotspots as well. Trollers finding success in these areas were using Stretch 25s, tandem rigs, and Storm baits.
Jigging has been a popular tactic as well, and the Tackle Box reports 10-inch BKDs have been catching the most fish, especially in chartreuse and pearl. The run shouldn't be necessary for anglers departing Maryland ports, but just in case the situation abruptly changes note that the Virginia areas just to the south have also been providing excellent action, which we cover in the Way South & VA report.
Although few anglers braved the weather to target them this week, white perch should still be available in 40 to 50 feet of water over hard bottom, in the river mouths.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 12/8/2017 Update:
The Tackle Box reported that trolling has been the best way to catch fish in the Lower Bay, and there are now some true trophies to be caught. Trolling outside the Patuxent, off Cove Point, and around Point Lookout has reportedly been good fishing, and anglers have been using umbrellas, umbrellas with spoons, and tandems. Fish have been close to bottom, with J & W reporting that the majority are in 35 to 45 feet of water. Because of this, rigs need to be thoroughly weighted down to stick close on bottom. White has continued to be a top color choice and white/chartreuse combinations on the tandems and umbrella hook-baits has been catching.
Jiggers have also been finding some fish by locating birds and then working the area with the fishfinder until good marks are found. The mouth of the Potomac near Point Lookout in depths of 40-plus-feet remains a good bet. There were also some birds reported to the south near the Virginia line in the mouth of the Potomac in the Virmar Beach and Smith Point areas early this week, as well. With the arrival of some trophy-sized fish many light tackle anglers have changed over to larger lures (nine- to 10-inch plastics on an ounce or more lead-head) and find they’re catching better numbers of fish. As usually happens when the temperatures get into the lower range of their liking, the stripers now seem reluctant to chase smaller meals and want a bigger bang for their buck.
White perch have been abundant in the Patuxent, but have moved away from shore and are now holding in deeper (40-plus feet) water.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report 12/1/2017:
As has been true much of the fall, the Potomac seems to have been the place to be this past week. Multiple reports of rockfish over 30 inches have been coming in to J&W and the Tackle Box. J&W reported that trolling the Potomac has been the option producing the largest fish, however anglers have had to search for them, as their depth and location seems to have been varying slightly. The productive zone ranges from St. George’s Island down to Point Lookout, in depths of 30 feet or more. There have also been some schools on the Virginia side, with birds working and smaller fish up top but some bigger fish hanging deeper beneath the schools.
Out in the open Bay the eastern side channel edges are also producing, again mostly for trollers. As in northern areas of the bay, red hoses along with spoons and bucktails seem to have been the best lures this past week. But most of the fish are now holding a bit deeper and are often at or on bottom in 30 to 40 feet of water, so adding some weight is a good move. Ocean-run fish have still not showed up and since only a few are being reported along the coast (see the Way South and VA reports, and the Coastal reports, to learn more) we shouldn’t expect them to make their presence known any time soon.
Yellow perch have begun showing up in deep river waters, along with white perch and catfish. The Patuxent has been a good bet for perch anglers dropping bloodworms (when they can be found) or weighted jigging rigs with appropriately-sized plastics, shad darts, or streamers.