8/24/2017 Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report Update:
The Middle Bay has come on strong recently, with a number of tempting options presenting anglers with a lot of choices. Anglers reports that the Middle Bay has provided some good opportunities for fishing this past week, with schools of fish around Hacketts and Thomas Point where live lining and light tackle jigging have been popular options. Somehow - and we do not understand how - there do still seem to be some decent stripers around the Thomas Point lighthouse even though multiple charters and recreational boats have been anchored up there live-lining for weeks. The ships anchored off Annapolis are also holding huge numbers of fish, although the vast majority are throw-backs. That said, catch 40 or 50 and you'll eventually find that keeper; most fo the fish have been holding at or near the bows of the ships, and are taking BKDs. Chartreuse and white BKDs with half-ounce jig heads have produced some good results when jigged off bottom, and some anglers also reported pink has worked for them as well.
Small bluefish have become a problem in the area, and in some areas anglers have reported that live lining has just been “feeding the fishes”, due to the high numbers of spot being stolen. Much of the live-lining taking place is now at the False Channel, where the charter fleet has been doing its business through the week.
AllTackle reports breaking fish at the mouth of the West River, and can be spotted afar from a pair of gyroscopically stabilized binoculars. Most of these fish are small throwbacks, however underneath the little guys there have oftentimes been larger fish on bottom. The West and Chesapeake Beach have been holding large numbers of white perch and croaker, as well. They’re typically being caught on bottom rigs with bloodworm.
Spanish mackerel have made a showing off Chesapeake Beach, and also (to a lesser degree) in Eastern Bay. Catches haven't been huge but we spoke with one local angler who caught two in Eastern Bay while casting to working birds this week. Our source who fished Chesapeake Beach caught four, mixed in with a couple of blues, while fast-trolling spoons.
Watermen have been enjoying abundant crabs in the middle bay, and many are coming home with bushel baskets full. Chicken necks on a trotline have been the method of choice, however some potters have had success as well. There are far more throwbacks and females now in the mix, but enough keeper crabs to get your bushel as you sort through them.
8/20/2017 Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report Update:
A couple of reliable reports of Spanish mackerel showing up in Eastern Bay have filtered in over the weekend. They're mixed in with small blues and stripers, and trolling spoons is the best way to get 'em.
8/18/2017 Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report Update:
Anglers fishing the Middle Bay have excellent opportunities to bring home dinner, with schools of fish located both north and south. Running north to Love Point, Swan Point, or Podickory Point has proven to be reliable for a good day of fishing (see the Upper Bay Report, for more on that option). Schools of fish have gathered around Hacketts, where most anglers are live lining spot or chumming. Alltackle in Annapolis reported that bluefish have invaded the Middle Bay, however, and at times are making using live baits rather difficult, stealing both them and your hooks. Jiggers pulling back half a tail should consider switching to heavy metal or Z-Mans tooth-proof plastics.
Thomas Point Light has had good numbers of decent-sized stripers, however, it's also been flocked with boats both live lining and casting jigs. To the point of ridiculousness.
The mouth of the Choptank is holding fish, with the False Channel being the main hotspot. Unfortunately the pressure there is great and there's often a fleet of tightly-packed boats live lining for the stripers there. Lenny Rudow reminds folks that if they don't want to fight the crowd, a bit farther south along the edge off James there are stacks of fish. Blues are mixed in here, too, so be prepared for them with the appropriate lures. Some Spanish mackerel are also in the same area for those willing to focus on them by trolling a bit faster with planers and small spoons. Read How to Target Spanish Mackerel, for details on going after this species in specific.
Some keeper stripers have also been caught around the Chesapeake Beach area. Most fish have been small, however anglers who have the patience to sort through all the throwbacks should be rewarded with some good fish over 20 inches in length.
Anglers' Sport Center reported that the West is still holding large schools of smaller rockfish, which can be located under birds and caught by jigging soft plastics under them. Crabbing has been good, and most crabbers trot-lining are bringing home crabs. Trotlining has been more popular than potting this season, and chicken necks have been working better than bagged razor clams.
8/14/2017 Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report Update:
While cruising back up the Bay after cobia fishing off Point Lookout (see the Lower Bay report, for the details) Team FishTalk stopped and fished several mid-bay locations. The fleet was pounding on stripers, live-lining at the False Channel. But if you'd rather not be sandwiched in among all the boats, we also discovered that just to the south, at the 18' to 30' drop-off west of James Island near the red #2 buoy, there are piles and piles of fish. It's a mix of stripers and blues, with most but not all of the fish on the smaller side. They responded well to plastics, but with the usual bite-off issues when bluefish are around. Switching to spoons helped. These fish were stacked on bottom and nothing was breaking water (from PLO clear up to Thomas Point we didn't see any surface action, actually), maybe a result of the rising pressure we experienced Sunday. And although we didn't see any solid evidence of Spanish mixed in with these fish we did spot a couple of boats trolling the zone which were targeting them in specific. (Either that or they were trying to brake a plane while trolling - we can't be 100% sure either way).
8/11/2017 Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report Update:
Though earlier this season anglers based in the Middle Bay region were running north to catch rockfish abundant in the Upper Bay region (see the Upper Bay report, for more info) the Middle Bay bite is now keeping anglers closer to home. Our friends at Island Tackle Outfitters report that fish have moved into the mouth of the West River, Thomas Point, and Chesapeake Beach, offering anglers in the Middle Bay region more opportunities to catch fish in the immediate area. Fish are not as highly concentrated as in the Upper Bay, but are still fairly reliable for a good day of fishing. Anglers Sport Center suggested scanning the horizon for breaking birds to locate schools of fish feeding on bunker along the mouth of the West, and casting topwater or jigging under the breaking fish to catch larger fish.
The report from Marty's (which included a trip just last night by intrepid angler David Rudow and co-worker Brad) was much the same, although fishing the ships off Annapolis was also mentioned as a good way to bend your rod. David reported encountering so many fish off the bow of one ship that the meter registered bottom at 15 feet - in 40 feet of water. The vast majority of these fish are throw-backs, but anglers have plucked a few legal fish from the masses during the past week.
White perch fishing in the shallows has stayed good, as well as some catfishing up the tributaries, especially on the Eastern Shore. Bluefish have moved into the middle bay region, disrupting the live lining bite by making short work of the spot. Crabbing in the Middle Bay has stayed good, and many crabbers are coming home with full bushel baskets.
8/3/2017 Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report:
Fishing on the middle bay has been about the same for the past few weeks, with most fish up North of the Bridge. See the Upper Bay report for more info. Anglers, AllTackle, and Bay Country Crabbing Supply all suggested running North to Love Point to bring home rockfish for dinner, however also noted that some schools of smaller fish have gathered at the mouth of the West. Most of the fish in these schools have been smaller in size, however there have been some keeper fish mixed in with the catch. AllTackle suggested looking for birds to fish under when targeting the schools of rockfish at the mouth of the West. Bloody Point and Hacketts have also been good for jigging, and livelining with spot has been a good way to catch large fish north of the bridge and around the Bay Bridge pilings. Spot can now be found on hard bottom at the mouth of the West and on the north-east side of Poplar.
Lenny Rudow reports a strong bite for 16 to 26 inch stripers off the mouth of the West River and on Thomas Point. Birds and dolphin have been giving away their locations on and off in open water, and fish on the point have been around the rockpiles. The lighthouse at Thomas Point is being hit so hard it seems hopeless at times (six to eight boats may be casting there at any given time) but at daybreak and dusk it's still worth casting to and does produce keepers. Some anglers have also been live-lining spot and perch here. The ships have also been holding huge numbers of stripers off their bows. The vast majority are throw-backs, but if you weed through them you'll find keepers here and there. Jigging with BKDs and vertical jigging with metal spoons are both effective around the ships.
Further South, a few red drum are being caught. They have been primarily at the mouth of the Choptank, but some have been slightly further north. Most are being caught trolling spoons. Bluefish have been around Popular Island and the Stone Rock, where spot have gathered as well.
Perch have been plentiful in most local creeks, and are biting bloodworms, as usual. In those same creeks, Bay Country reports that crabbing has been good. Crabs have been in shallow water, and the bait of choice is chicken necks. More and more of the crabs have been undersized.