Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 7/27/2018 Update:
Notice: Due to the torrential downpours and high winds, the fishing report may be a bit abbreviated this week. It was difficult to locate many people who were able to fish, much less those who have caught, within the past five days.
With poor water quality and worse weather, stripers have all but disappeared from the waters of the Middle Bay – or at the very least, anglers who have found them since the deluge began have more or less disappeared. Anglers reported that a few boats have been hitting Podickory Point and finding some success finding school sized stripers, however the vast majority of people who made it out on the water between downpours and storms are coming home empty-handed. Marty’s Sport Shop suggested heading into the West or South with cut bait to target catfish, which are thriving in dirty water. Some nice channel cats have been reported on cut bait and mixed with white perch, when bloodworms are fished on bottom rigs. Slightly farther south, just before the monsoons some spot were being caught in the Choptank, then live-lined at The Diamonds and in Eastern Bay… but no one we could find has had success since the clouds parted.
Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reports that during a day of boat-testing on the South River yesterday, the water was chocolate-brown from the bridge out to the mouth. Where the river met the Bay there were swirls of mud mixed in with Bay water showing poor but fishable clarity, and out farther near Thomas Point Light the water all looked at least fishable, if not great. However, debris on the Middle Bay should be expected in the near future, as it works its way down from up north.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 7/19/2018 Update:
Angler’s Sports Center says chumming is still the ticket to catching the most fish, and the best class of fish. Angler’s stresses that fishermen should use a bigger circle hooks (7/0 to 9/0 and above) in order to reduce the number of gut-hooks in fish you may be releasing. With high temperatures in the Chesapeake rockfish become more stressed and it’s important to handle them with care. (Read Dos and Don’ts of Catch and Release Fishing for a refresher on how to properly handle the fish, if need be). As far as location goes there are some stripers in the mouth of the Choptank and in Eastern Bay, but the largest concentrations of fish are still up north. (Read the Upper Bay report, for more details).
The Bay Bridge was also mentioned and there are reports of numerous fish being jigged up off the eastern side rock piles as well as the pilings with crossbars. Jigging with a ¾ ounce jighead followed by something like a six-inch BKD is perfect in this scenario. White and chartreuse seem to hold as the best colored plastics to use this season. The fish are also taking peeler crab. Marty’s added that while the rock-fishing has seemed more consistent along with the perch bite recently, unfortunately both croaker and spot are few and far between in the northern sections of the Middle Bay. Slightly to the south, from the Choptank down, there are enough spot around to make a go of live-lining though it is touch and go and the spot are still rather difficult to locate with any sort of reliability. Those that have found them are saying the spot and some croaker mixed in are best fished for using bloodworms or soft crab bits, on a bottom rig.
Fortunately, we finally got some better news regarding crustaceans after talking to Bay Country. The crabbing is slowly improving after a mediocre couple of weeks, and from six to 10 feet of water crabbers all over the rivers have been seeing greater numbers. Razor Clams are out-doing any other bait, if you don’t feel the need to spend the time and money with clams and bags, chicken necks will also produce good numbers of crab.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 7/13/2018:
Moving into mid-July, less action is taking place throughout the Middle Bay than in previous years — although hotspots such as Thomas Point and near Tilghman’s Point in Eastern Bay continue to produce fish, many anglers are heading north to Upper Bay locations where fish have been far more plentiful. Angler's Sport Center reported that the 16 to 25 foot ledge just north of the Bay Bridge has been a hotspot, providing plenty of fish for anglers chumming and trolling alike. In addition, they noted those willing to make the long run have been heading to Pools Island, which has had the most consistent bite in the area, and is holding what seems to be the largest population of keeper fish. Chumming has been universally accepted as the best method to land fish, and keeping a bait in the back of your chum slick has been a great tactic to land keeper fish who laze on bottom, at the recommendation of Alltackle in Annapolis.
Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reports that just prior to leaving town for the ICAST show in Florida, there were some small stripers and at least one unlucky keeper in the South River, holding in about 12 feet of water near structure. There were also channel cats and perch to be had for those dropping bloodworms, though the perch were very tough to find at times and were not in the expected locations. Reader reports also indicated channel cats were being caught in the Rhode and West Rivers.
Island Tackle Outfitters also suggested chumming for anglers close to home, particularly during the early morning bite. There are some spot down towards the Choptank, but finding the right sizes and numbers for live-lining with spot is not yet exactly easy. They also noted that Eastern Bay is now holding one of the better populations of crabs in the area, and recreational crabbers are enjoying coming home with their limit, as long as they’re willing to get up early and put in the work. Nine to 12 feet of water seems to be the sweet spot right now, however some are holding deeper, as water temperatures have been right around 82 degrees.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 7/6/2018:
Anglers says most of their customers are still heading north of the bridge, with Podickory, Love, and Swan Points being the main destinations. They mentioned that dropping a chunk or two of soft crab along with your alewife baits is sometimes the key to success. Island Tackle Outfitters mentioned that there is a bite going on in Eastern Bay, particularly off the mouth of Cox Creek and up near the fish reef. Chummers seem to be doing the best, except for those who can locate some tempting spot to offer the fish. Spot are around in good number in the Choptank, but are spotty to the north, though this could change any day now and live-lining with spot could really take off. Clyde’s also mentioned Eastern Bay as a good destination for Middle Bay anglers, and added that chunking and chumming is king right now. Trollers have had their best luck with hoses pulled deep.
The guys at Alltackle reverted back to the Upper Bay bite, and suggested running north if you want reliable action. There are also fish at Thomas Point, but they’ve been on the lighthouse and on weekends it’s very difficult to fish there due to all the boats, some of which have been moving in close and anchoring up – it’s best to hit it at daybreak, or at dusk. Many of the fish here have also had sores, unfortunately.
We also heard a few rumors of red drum popping up in the Middle Bay already, including in the area of the Choptank. It seems strange since southern areas haven’t had exactly had a stellar bite thus far this year, but stranger things have certainly happened.
Crabbing seems to be picking up. Several reader reports from Severn down to the Rhode indicate that both crabbing with trot-lines and using traps produces an average of about three-quarters of a bushel for those who work at it and most of the crabs have been nice, big jimmies.