Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 8/31/2018 Update:
Editor’s Note: Mollie Rudow, our intrepid fishing report compiler, started at St. Mary’s College of Maryland last week. As a new student she has prioritized her studies and will no longer be working on our FishTalk fishing reports every week. Moving forward, Parker Martin, our former FishTalk intern who has filled in for Mollie in the past, will be gathering the intel and writing up the reports. Please join us in welcoming Parker to the reports!
In other news, we had conflicting reports about the spot and croaker bite in the Upper Bay, so expect some outliers here and there when targeting these species. By most accounts, hard bottom in the 15 foot range is the best area to try.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 8/23/2018 Update:
As has been true for months, the Upper Bay is chock-full of stripers. (Floating logs, too - it's not as bad as it was a few weeks ago, but keep your guard up). That said, they do seem to have spread out a bit from their earlier concentrations. Spots including Love Point and Podickory were particularly good for chumming this past week, although many anglers have been beginning their day at the mouth of the Magothy, or on the western shore near the Bridge, in 10 or 12 feet of water catching spot and then live-lining them. Bloodworm bits fished on a regular bottom rig with #6 hooks has been the best way to fill the livewell.
The Bay Bridges have also taken off recently. Anglers are catching stripers at the rockpiles while jigging and live-lining, with many finding that spot hooked just in front of the dorsal and drifted along the sides of the western rockpile is producing good catches. The pilings closer in to shore on the western side have also been productive. The bulk of the fish are in the 16 to 24 inch range, but larger ones are popping up now and again. We had several readers email this week to let us know that they did find quality fish in the area of the bridge.
Perch anglers report a good bite in open water on hard bottom, again with bloodworms being the best bait. Catfish are often mixed in and have also been a common bycatch for the chummers. One very unusual bycatch we heard about lately: black drum. Two sizable drum were caught recently by anglers chumming for stripers off Podickory.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 8/16/2018 Update:
Water quality has returned to reasonable in the Upper Bay, and Fishbone’s reported Swan Point, Podickory Point, and Love Point have returned to being hotspots, providing reliable fishing for anglers. Light tackle jigging, live lining spot, and chumming have been the most common and dependable methods for targeting rockfish. Some anglers returned to trolling red hoses and Tsunamis, however the trolling bite has seen a significant drop off compared to these other techniques. A majority of fish that were caught in the Upper Bay this week have been undersized, but there are larger fish in the mix. Live lining has been the best bet for targeting the bigger ones, and lets hope that doesn't change because we’re starting to hear about blues moving north. That could disrupt the productivity of this bite if they keep heading up the Bay and begin stealing baits.
Some decent fish are also being caught at the bridges, both at the pilings and the rockpiles, by live liners and jiggers. Tochterman’s also reports that spot have moved north of the bridge, primarily on the western side and in the mouths of the Chester and Magothy rivers. White perch have also been holding at the Bay Bridge Pilings, in addition to catfish, which Tochtermans reported have become a problematic by-catch for chummers.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 8/9/2018 Update:
As debris have moved out of the area, fishing in the upper bay has began to take off again, offering a number of locations for anglers to venture out and find fish. We still encourage boats cruising to keep a look out for floating logs, as a few have been spotted recently. Fishbones and Tochterman’s both told us that Love Point, Podickory Point, and Swan Point are productive hotspots. Although live lining hasn’t been the quickest way to bring fish in the boat by any means, many anglers have found some success in catching 25 to 28 inch fish while live ling spot. For those willing to sort through piles of throw-backs to get to their keepers, chumming has been the method of choice. Some catfish are mixed in with the chumming catch, as well. The Bay Bridge pilings and rockpiles have both been holding fish but are on-again, off-again much of the time, possibly due to constant pressure.
Spot have moved into the Magothy and the Chester rivers as well as shell bottom at Belvidere Shoals and Snake Rip bar, and white perch fishing has stayed good close to shore and on the shoals. Grass shrimp and bloodworms have been the best bait. Crabbing has been fair in most local rivers.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 8/2/2018 Update:
Notice: before digging into the report, such as it is, we have to add the same cautionary information as last week. Due to exceptionally poor water conditions resulting from the Monsoons of 2018, it's still difficult to find people who have been fishing, much less successfully. The Maryland DNR is still recommending that boaters use extreme caution in the northern sections of the Bay. Reports of massive rafts of garbage, floating logs, and tires are common. See Chesapeake Bay Boating Alert: Yes, it IS Bad Out There, (updated today) for the latest information.
Clydes Sport Shop let us know that the few anglers they've heard of having success went chumming at Podickory, Love, or Swan Points. Unfortunately, however, they also heard that the water's been bad and that hasn't helped the bite. We heard a similar report form Tochterman's, though they also said that most of the fish they have heard about from these areas have been small and the biggest talked about at the tackle shop this week was a 27-incher.
The guys at Fishbones had exactly the same thing to say, with Podickory, Love, and Swan being the points that produced mostly small fish for chummers. They also noted that trolling is all but impossible due to all the junk in the water. On a brighter note, despite the skunky water anglers are catching white perch in the rivers and creeks. Bloodworm and grass shrimp are the top baits and small spinners and Beetle Spins are working, too.