Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 12/28/2018 Update:
Hey there FishTalkers, and welcome to the final fishing report of 2018! Don't worry - despite the chilly weather and difficult conditions the next few months will hold, we'll keep bringing you current reports right through the winter. They may be shorter at times and the options may be a bit more limited, but we know there are plenty of die-hard anglers out there who will want to wet a line whenever the opportunity presents itself. Come rain, sleet, or snow, let's keep on casting!
It has officially become tougher to find good reports for the region, but luckily, not all the fish have decided to shut down for the rest of the year. White perch are still schooled up in deep water, including around the bridge rockpiles. They’re loving the tandem rigs and bloodworms (if you can find ‘em) right now. However, they’re also beginning to show back up in creeks and tribs, so those schools may be beginning to break up and head for shallower areas. We’ve heard scattered reports of success from Back, Middle, and the Magothy rivers on a mix of perch and pickerel, but nothing that sounded spectacular. If you’re travelling up into some of the creeks, dropper fly rigs will be deadly on the yellow perch that are enjoying the colder weather. If you stay shallow enough (three to five feet) reports indicate that on the Eastern side Worton and Fairlee Creeks have been producing some pickerel making their rounds in the chilly water. Notable lures would be Mepps spinners and three- to five-inch stickbaits in black or purple fleck, but as usual, big bull minnow are hard to best.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 12/21/2018 Update:
Merry Fishmas, Upper Bay anglers - but that said, we don't have a ton of intel for you at the moment. Between the shut-down of rockfish and the ever-pouring rains, fishing in the Upper Bay zone is difficult. We're now mostly limited to white perch in the Bay proper, and they are hanging near the Bay Bridge rockpiles and in some of the tributary channels. Most are in water over 30 feet and will snap at worms or tandems tied with streamers or two-inch tubes up top. A few pickerel are being reported from the upper tribs, but this weekend's rains may re-cloud those waters. When decent conditions can be found, large bull minnow are the top bait. Pickerel are also being reported from Worton and Fairlee Creeks, on Mepps. If you want to try some catch and release striper fishing it's probably do-able; we do have Middle Bay reports of a surprisingly decent bite in the Severn.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 12/14/2018 Update:
Rockfish season in the Bay is coming to a close, which is a shame since there are still a few outlets to get your angling fix before Christmas hits. Surface and subsurface temps are moving their way down to the low 40’s at the moment, so stripers are sticking to deep portions of those channel ledges. Trolling with umbrella rigs haven’t been helping many anglers at the moment due to the conditions of where the fish holding. Dropping some single or tandem shads in the five to six inch range range in pearl and chartreuse has been plunking a few down near the bottom, and so have the heavy white bucktails bouncing off of the hard oyster beds.
Jigging at the Bay Bridge has been one of the only spots for light tackle action, but at times it’s difficult to turn marks on the meter into fish on the line. Soft plastics like BKD’s in purple fleck have been one of only things the stripers have been acting on, with live eels often being a better option. The rockpiles have been a good destination. As a reminder, white perch are in the same spots as well, down near the bottom, so dropping a tandem rig with a streamer or a bottom rig with bloodworms has been a good move. The Francis Scott Key Bridge has also been a great spot for perch recently, so try it out during your penultimate fishing trip of the season!
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 12/7/2018:
The Christmas lights are going up, and water temperatures are going the opposite direction. Unfortunately, we’ve still got slim pickings as we approach the home stretch of rockfish season here in the bay. However, there are a few tricks to get into a bit more action before the year closes out. Trolling has been producing some fish recently along channel edges in deep water, which has been their clear favorite the past few weeks and nothing’s changed since then. Parachutes and umbrellas loaded with chartreuse, white, or pearl shads will be a great way to hit them while they’re snoozing down there. Bouncing a heavy bucktail or Sassy Shad paired with an inline weight has also had good results. Whatever you pull, make sure you get some lines down deep as the fish are staying 30-plus feet down in the water column.
For jiggers, the Bay Bridge has been one of the best spots to hit this week. The rock piles, water discharges, and the pilings have all been targets to throw a few soft plastics around. The general consensus has been if the water is too murky or cold, change it up. Many anglers are spotting fish on the meter but having a tough time getting them to bite, and those who figure out how to tempt the fish are ones filling the box; though overall it’s best described as slow for most folks, some nice 30-plus-inch fish have come from the Bridges in the past week, too.
The perch are out and about right now. You’ll be able to find schools of perch lit up on the fishfinder holding on at the bottom in 30 or more feet, including around the bridge. They’re gonna be biting bloodworms, as well as various small spoons and the like. In the tidal rivers (read: Patapsco and Magothy) the yellow perch are finding their own spots to hole up in for the winter and prepare for spring. Dropper fly rigs have been top-notch at getting them to bite. Small spinnerbaits during the mid-day outgoing tide have been stirring up some action as well.