Way North Chesapeake Fishing Report, April 24 Update:
With travel restrictions still limiting fishing opportunities in many areas, we note that if you’re headed out to fish all the regular regs for the season are still in place and social distancing orders are a go, even if you’re on the water, whether you live in Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia. Don’t forget that our Social Distancing While Fishing page has links to all the different state authority webpages with the latest info and updates on when, where, and how fishing is allowed. With many businesses still closed, we’d also like to give a big thanks to all you readers who sent in reports and pictures. Please keep them coming to lenny@fishtalkmag.com.
In the uppermost portions of the Bay, anglers have been slamming catfish and white perch. The cats are scattered throughout the region, with Clyde’s reporting that they’re especially heavy on the Susquehanna Flats. The stretch of the river near the I-95 bridge has also remained a strong bet, though the recent rainfall may muddy things up a bit in the near-term. Bringing them home has required little more than heading out with a bunch of cut chicken livers or menhaden chunks and dropping them on the bottom. If you’re looking to catch white perch, they’re now spreading out through the tribs and hanging around the docks and shorelines. Anglers are slamming ‘em on the traditional grass shrimp or bloodworm on a bottom rig combo.
Way North Chesapeake Fishing Report, April 17 Update:
With travel restrictions still limiting fishing opportunities in many areas, we remind you that if you’re headed out to fish all the regular regs for the season are still in place and social distancing orders are a go, even if you’re on the water, whether you live in Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia. Don’t forget that our Social Distancing While Fishing page has links to all the different state authority webpages with the latest info and updates on when, where, and how fishing is allowed. With many businesses still closed, we’d also like to give a big thanks to all you readers who sent in reports and pictures. Please keep them coming to lenny@fishtalkmag.com.
Most of the reports coming in have been from anglers hitting the white perch and catfish fisheries in hopes of finding dinner. White perch are remaining throughout the tribs, with Clyde’s reporting a strong presence in the North East. Bloodworms on a bottom rig are the ticket to landing a cooler of them, though you may have to pick through large numbers of small males to find the dinner-worthy fish. Just about everywhere else there’s water, there are catfish to be found. In the river around the 95 bridge has been a perpetual hot-spot and is an excellent place to go sustenance fishing. Cut menhaden, chicken breast, and chicken liver have been common bait options. But if you’re stuck inside and need a fishing project to spice up your isolation, we’re seriously wondering if they prefer certain types of cheese after we had an awesome reader report a couple of weeks ago from someone who caught them on old sharp cheddar. Would catfish rather gulp down gruyere? Do they like to munch muenster? Or is their palette’s preference pepper jack? If you decide to bring your charcuterie board and wine to the water, let us know how it goes.
Way North Chesapeake Fishing Report, April 10 Update:
Hey, anglers! With fishing in many parts of our turf limited to sustenance only, we remind you that if you’re headed out to fish all the regular regs for the season are still in place and social distancing orders are a go, even if you’re on the water, whether you live in Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia. Don’t forget that our Social Distancing While Fishing page has links to all the different state authority webpages with the latest info and updates on when, where, and how fishing is allowed. That said, in light of the current circumstances many of our local, well-loved tackle shops have closed their doors for the time being. Every week since FishTalk’s founding they’ve contributed much of the information for this report, which we’re immensely thankful for. As many of them are shuttered for now, we’d like to thank you readers for the reports you sent in via email this week. You’re all helping us keep the reports going during these unprecedented times, and we hope that they help everyone – especially those who have a real need for harvesting their own dinners – hone in on their fishing plans for the weekend. Again, a big thanks to everyone who’s chimed in, and please send future pictures, reports, and updates to lenny@fishtalkmag.com.
Reports coming in right now indicate that white perch dinners can be found throughout the tribs, especially in the North East. Clyde’s recommended heading out early stocked up with bloodworms, grass shrimp, and a bottom rig. Reports from anglers hitting up their local docks and piers have also included healthy numbers of catfish. They’ve been just about everywhere recently, and aren’t shy about biting. Dropping down chicken liver or fresh cut menhaden has been working well. In other news, we had a couple of reader reports this week that snakeheads are in the Gunpowder, being caught on chatter baits. They mentioned that topwater plugs weren’t the ticket to catching them several days this week, and we also had reports come in from anglers fishing from the shoreline using topwater who were coming home skunked. The Gunpowder is also holding some small yellow perch, which were taking grass shrimp.
Way North Chesapeake Fishing Report, April 3 Update:
Fellow FishTalkers: We know you’re all rearing to get out of the house and on the water like we are. We live and breathe fishing, and are quite bummed about the limits placed upon being on the water right now. While it’s tough to keep away from the docks and shorelines, we encourage you all to abide by the regulations put in place by Governor Larry Hogan. If you’re a sustenance angler, remember to abide by social distancing requirements while keeping in mind that all the normal fishing and boating rules and regs are still in effect. With such stringent limits put in place regarding who can be on the water right now, as well as reduced hours and customer contact in most tackle shops, we’d like to forewarn you that the reports are going to be a bit thin this week and probably will remain so until this blows over. We also know there’s been a lot of confusion over exactly what the current regulations are regarding who can and cannot fish. We can’t tell you the regs in this report because they differ by the area and are changing by the day, but visit our Social Distancing While Fishing page, and in the fourth paragraph you’ll find links to the different state and federal agency websites and announcements regarding the legalities.
Clyde’s Sport Shop (which as of their 3/31 announcement was open with limited hours, limited entry, and gun sales by appointment only; call (410) 242-6108 for info) let us know that most of the reports coming in have been centered around the white perch and catfish fisheries. White perch are hanging around the tribs, and seem to remain especially heavy in the North East. Bloodworms fished on a bottom rig has been the best way to tempt ‘em in. On the flats and really throughout the whole region, catfish are running strong. They’ll take just about anything you drop down to them. Cut menhaden, chicken breast, and liver have been common options. We had heard some reports of a few early shad caught prior to the stay-at-home order, however, as fishing for them would be catch and release only (and therefore a violation of the substance-only fishing order), we will not be reporting on this fishery for the time being (same goes for stripers).