6/30/2017 Update:
Anglers let us know that rockfishing on the middle bay has been steadily good this week, and many anglers successfully filled their boxes with fish. Most guys who have limited out have been chumming around or just south of the bay bridge. Hackett’s is holding some larger fish, and many fish being caught are over 28 inches. Anglers fishing Hackett’s have also been trolling red hoses, and jigging off bottom. Fishing around the bay bridge pilings is definitely producing fish, however many have been smaller in size than those being caught at Hacket’s, or at Love Point up north. The folks at Marty's also mentioned Hacketts, as well as the mouth of Eastern Bay producing decent catches particularly for trollers. Again, red hoses have become a popular choice. Light-tackle trollers in the rivers have found some keeper fish, especially in the South, pulling white bucktails dressed with twisters.
Those focused on jigging have discovered hordes of fish under the ships at anchor off Annapolis, but the vast majority are under 18 inches. There are also good numbers of fish off Thomas Point but again, many are undersized.
Perch have been in deeper water during the day, and moving into shallows near shore in the morning and at night. Grass shrimp has been a favorite bait for anglers looking to catch a perch dinner, however blood worms are working just as well.
Crabbing has been steadily good in the South and Magothy Rivers. Trotliners have had significantly more success than watermen pulling pots.
6/23/2017 Update:
Many fish formerly residing in the middle bay have moved up into the Upper Bay, particularly by Love Point and the Triple Buoys. There are exceptions, but most fish being caught from the bridge down to the south are smaller schoolie rock, and are far from keeper size. There have been hordes of fish on the ships at anchor and along the rocks of Poplar, but the vast majority of them are 18 inches and under. Same goes for the fish found at Thomas Point, which have already moved shallow and can be found along the rockpiles in three to five feet of water. The lighthouse rocks are holding a few slightly larger fish, but just a few. North of the bridge, most of the guys catching decent fish are trolling red hoses and Tsunamis, or chumming cut bunker.
Despite the rockfish scarcity, rivers are full of perch. Most are biting blood worms on bottom rigs. A few croaker are also popping up in the catch, but not yet enough to really target them and fill a cooler. Spot are still few and far between but have finally begun to show up here and there. With a little luck they'll soon be around in large enough numbers to target for live-lining.
Crabbing has been hit or miss— some locals have reported catching bushels while others have caught nothing under the same conditions. Last weekend the time of day made a huge difference, with early morning crabbers doing well while afternoon and evening crabbers had a tough time of it. Ten to 12 feet of water was a hot depth.
6/16/2017 Update:
Josh at Island Tackle Outfitters let us know that many large fish seem to have moved north a bit and are being caught between the sewer pipe and mouth of the Chester River. Most of the larger fish are being caught on five to seven inch soft plastics, typically in chartreuse and white. Trolling Tsunamis has also produced some larger fish, as well as chumming bunker.
Chumming in Eastern Bay, near Thomas Point, and at Hackett's has also produced fish, as well as trolling in the open bay between these areas, but not in the same numbers or sizes seen in the recent past. Lots of smaller fish are also being caught up the Choptank River on topwater lures. The rocks of Poplar Island are also holding good numbers of fish, but again, mostly throw-backs. Casting soft plastics like BKDs in white and chartreuse on half-ounce jig heads are accounting for most of these fish. And the report is the same from Tolly Point, schools of intermittently breaking fish off North Beach, and the ships: there are plenty of fish, but the vast majority are small, small, small.
Perch fishing has picked up in most rivers, and many are being caught around docks and other structure. Blood worms, shad darts, and grass shrimp are always good perch bait. Max Rudow reported a stellar white perch bite on shad darts tipped with grass shrimp in Ramsey Lake, providing dinner two nights of the week (and still throwing back lots of fish).
Crabbing has steadily been good, with most crabs being caught in the South and West Rivers. Trotliners have been doing better than potters, because fewer crabs are in the cooler bay waters at the moment.
6/9/2017 Update:
If you’re reading this, we sincerely hope you’re about to hop on your boat or walk to the closest pier, and grab your rod - because the fish are out there waiting for you. The Bay is chock-full of rockfish hitting top water lures, and chartreuse Bust ‘em Baits and BKDs. Anglers who have been jigging have been particularly successful, and hot colors right now are pink, chartreuse, and white. For those who troll, red hoses and one, two, and three ounce baits on rubber skirts and parachutes in chartreuse with glitter are all effective. Fish are being caught in abundance at Chesapeake Beach, although some anglers are reporting catching smaller fish in that area versus larger ones farther North. On the eastern side, there have been some fish in the mid-20s showing up at The Hill for both trollers and jiggers, especially along the western edge drop-off from 26' to 35'. These fish have been in small, scattered schools, and angler need to hunt for them. Once found, however, the fish are usually willing to bite.
Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reports probing for black drum at the Stone Rock without success late last weekend, even though they were around the week before. They should show back up at any time in the next week or two, but if you don't locate any after a few passes, it may not be worth a major time-investment to stay in the area. He also noted that the vast majority of the stripers they found breaking water near North Beach were dinks, but casting topwater in and around fish near the surface definitely did better than jigs. A Yo-Zuri Pencil was the top producer with a surface chugger close behind, followed by chartreuse BKDs.
This has been a particularly strong season for perch, and it’s not letting up. Rivers up and down the Bay are full of them. Most are being caught in shallower water and around structure on blood worms, shad darts, neon moon jigs and grass shrimp. Bay Country Crabbing Supply let us know that some new species have shown up with blue fish and even some sea trout being caught around Thomas Point, Bloody Point, and in eastern bay. They are biting fast moving, shiny lures and don’t seem to have a favorite at this point.
Crabbing is picking up in 5 to 10 feet of water. Razor clams are working better than chicken necks, and Bay Country suggested crabbing on a hard benthos, rather than a muddy one. This week should also bring about a large shed, producing many soft shelled crabs.
6/2/2017 Update:
Anglers’ Sport Center reports that many people are having luck on stripers with light tackle jigging, chumming, and trolling downsized lures such as six to nine inch tandem Tsunami shads. Trollers have done best focusing on the open waters of the middle Bay in 35 to 45 feet of water, while chummers and jiggers have been working on more tightly-schooled fish, in closer to the 30 foot contour. Most areas from Chesapeake Beach up to Thomas Point Fish have also seen sporadic schools of breaking fish. They often go down fast, so you need to be prepared to keep tabs on the school with your fishfinder to keep the action going. Casting chartreuse and white BKDs has been drawing strikes when the fish are down, but when they start breaking, topwater chuggers have been attracting the best action (and bigger fish—a continuation of what we saw in last week’s reports).
Perch fishing continues be on a run for those using bloodworms, small jigs, and grass shrimp. Bottom fishermen have also provided a few reports of croaker, for those using bloodworm, soft-shells, or razor clams fished on the bottom.
Bay Country notes that crabbing has kicked off, and trot-lines are now doing the job. Potting has started to slow, and it should be about two weeks until we see a better quality crab from the shed. They also mentioned that the first sightings of bluefish have occurred.
The folks at Island Tackle Outfitters are excited that black drum have come in at the Stone Rock and are eating soft crab. Most caught thus far have been relatively "small" (we’re using that word loosely, folks) in the 20 to 40 pound range, but larger fish are sure to show up any day. Be sure to check out How to Target Black Drum, to get the skinny on targeting these beasts. PLEASE REMEMBER that drum over 30 pounds commonly have worms in their meat and are not very good to eat. We hope that everyone will choose to release the big blacks in good health so they can spawn, and create more 10 and 20 pounders—for the dinner plate, should you so desire.
