Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 30 Update:
As far as fishing the Bay goes, we haven’t heard of too many fish coming off of the Bay Bridge pilings (though you know there are still some fish there) or anything very consistent and encouraging in the Magothy. It is worth noting that although the yellow perch bite has slowed in the area, Angler’s Sport Center did have a few reports of guys catching there this week, although the bite was slow.
The quiet fishing has been forcing many anglers out of the area, prompting a pilgrimage. Eastern shore spots have been providing far more panfish for anglers, with crappie and yellow perch the stars. The Blackwater, Pocomoke, and Tuckahoe are sporting healthy populations of yellow perch. Angler’s Sport Center suggested hitting up these areas because they’ve had a healthy ongoing bite, which isn’t showing signs of slowing in the near future. They also noted anglers dropping minnow under a bobber in these areas have a fair chance of catching pickerel, bass, and bluegill, although yellow perch seem to be the dominant species from the reports. Most are coming from areas near shore and structure.
Loch Raven and Liberty Reservoir have also been crappie hotspots, with Tochterman’s and Clyde’s letting us know they’re good bets. Both areas are thoroughly ice free, so consider tossing a minnow underneath a bobber into pockets or drop-offs. The fish have been schooling up near structure and can be difficult to locate at times, but once found, remain steady. Report this week indicated that pink, orange, yellow, and chartreuse shad darts are the best crappie lures right now, although anglers are having luck with small jigs with twister tails, Panfish Assassins, Bobby Garlands, and similar plastics. In both of these areas, Bass Assassins and imitation crawfish are luring in bass near drop-offs.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 24 Update:
Anglers in the Upper Bay have had to be willing to travel to get in on action throughout the Chesapeake this week, with Tochterman’s letting us know that there are currently plenty of great options available. If you aren’t looking to travel too far from home, they suggested going fresh and hitting up Loch Raven, Liberty Reservoir, and the tributaries where the crappie fishing has been hot. Pink, orange, yellow, and chartreuse shad darts have been popular, oftentimes fished in tandem with small jigs with twister tails, Panfish Assassins, Bobby Garlands, and similar plastics. With the water so cold the fish have been a bit lethargic, but these guys seem to be waking them up once you’re into them and eastern shore hotspots like the Tuckahoe and Blackwater where the water's a bit warmer generally have faster action. Most of the aforementioned soft plastics are little guys, and will grab the attention of everything from the itty-bitty crappie that you’ll hardly even know are there to the ones you’re ready to serve up in the frying pan. Tochterman’s suggested using larger minnow suspended by a bobber if you’re looking to avoid the little guys. They also mentioned that anglers looking to avoid the minnow hassle should consider using the Gulp! One-inch minnow lures. They’ve been working really well, and you don’t have to reach into icy water to get them.
We didn’t hear much on the yellow perch front this week, a subtle hint that the bite in the Magothy might have temporarily dropped off, though Beechwood should be a solid bet in that area. If you’ve got pictures or info, shoot us an email!
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 17 Update:
What a fantastic weekend on the water we had last week – unseasonably warm weather made the temptation to drop everything and go fishing absolutely irresistible. And, for many anglers across the Bay, this weekend produced. While many of the past weeks watering holes required a fair bit of travel for anglers, anglers on the tribs are reporting that yellow perch have been a bit difficult to nail down at times, but once you get into them, the bite is happening. Most guys fished with minnows suspended by a bobber and are adjust how much line follows the bobber as needed. The little adjustments have been well worth it, and are making the difference as to whether you’re landing fish or coming up empty.
Local anglers are reporting a healthy catch and release striper bite while casting and jigging BKD soft plastics on jigs at the Bay Bridge rock piles. They’re coming up between eighteen and 25 inches. If you’re headed to the area, a quick stop through the Magothy and Severn would be a wise move if you’re hoping to land some pickerel and perch. The pickerel fishing has been inconsistent, but fish are still coming up.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 10 Update:
Wintry weather isn’t keeping anglers off of the water – the yellow perch and pickerel bites have been providing plenty of action. Although plenty of boats are being towed to the Eastern Shore mill ponds, anglers on the Western shore are enjoying great action close to home. The Magothy has been providing a fairly consistent yellow perch bite throughout the creeks and in deep waters. Fishbones noted that sometimes it has been difficult to locate the yellows, which recently has meant finding clear water, but once anglers get into a good pocket of them, they’re usually set. Dropping down small feathers or shad darts tipped with grass shrimp has been bringing up the most dinners, but some anglers are insisting that minnow will do the trick just as well. Beechwood has been another great area to target yellow perch, with the bite often on throughout the day.
Pickerel have been throughout the area, but the fishing is hit or miss. If you’re fishing the CCA Maryland Pickerel Championship, you might consider trying your luck in the Magothy – in addition to the yellow perch reports, scattered success stories are coming out of the area. Tochterman’s suggested anglers looking for a larger variety of panfish for dinner should consider heading to Loch Raven, where the bite has been great around the Nicodemus bridge. Shad darts tipped with a minnow have been the best way to land multiple species including the crappie that love to hang mid-depth around the bridge.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, January 3 Update:
Welcome to 2020, anglers! We at FishTalk would like to wish everyone a happy new year and we hope you have some fabulous fishing adventures as a new season dawns. In the Upper Bay you can start them off with one of two options: hitting the tribs for yellow perch and pickerel, or running out to the Bridge and catching a mix of stripers (catch and release is still legal, as of this report going live) and white perch. We had a couple photo-confirmed reader reports of rockfish hitting at the bridge and Anglers Sport Center reports that plastics jigged by the pilings and rockpiles are drawing some strikes.
In the Magothy there were yellows being caught with moderate success reported from the shoreline at Beechwood, however, there’s also been a winter algae bloom that’s turned the water coffee-brown in some areas. According to the Maryland Department of the Environment the algae isn’t toxic (it’s the same stuff that causes mahogany tide in the spring, possibly triggered by a turn-over in the water from the rapid freeze/thaw events of recent weeks) but it reduces visibility down to nada. A mix of yellow perch and pickerel are coming from farther up-river and up the creeks, mostly on minnow fished on darts suspended under bobbers. By all accounts, finding clean water is the first step to turn the fishing into catching.
The folks at Alltackle also mentioned that some area anglers are also heading to the beach with their boats in tow, where big stripers have been chewing hard, but more on that in the Coastal reports.