Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 26 Update:
C&R striper anglers mostly had a good time during the recent warm-up, with some mid-sized fish reported by jiggers at the Bay Bridges and a few fish among the crowd at the power plant (but catches ranging from zilch, to 20-somethings, to a few big cows… and changing from day to day). Trollers pulling (barb crimped, single hook) tandems are catching some cow-sized fish on the east side from Eastern Bay to the mouth of the Choptank. Alltackle reported some fish being caught last week by anglers getting in some last-minute pullage, since as of April 1 these fish will be entirely off-limits even to catch and release angling. As noted in the Upper Bay report, decent numbers of stripers are also being caught (with catfish mixed in) from the shore at Sandy Point.
On the west side, Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow paid a visit to Jug Bay on the Pax, headed upriver from there during the glorious weather last Sunday, and discovered that gazillions of anglers of all ages and types were out enjoying the angling opportunities. Kayaks, jon boats, center consoles, shoreline, and pier anglers were all out there looking to get in on the perch run, catfish, and bass. Despite cloudy water in the main river catfish were more than willing to bite any sort of cut bait, and while the perch were a bit finickier, it was possible to put together a nice mixed stringer of whites and yellows by heading up the feeder creeks where the water was a bit cleaner. Both species, however, wanted grass shrimp on shad darts fished near bottom in four to eight feet of water… period. Bloodworms and baits offered on bottom rigs went completely ignored in the shallower areas. However, some pier anglers were doing well with night crawlers on bottom rigs cast into the main channel at the park. Go figure.
On the east side, perch-jerkers report good numbers of whites have been in the upper Tuckahoe and Choptank, but the yellows seem to have mostly departed and are outnumbered four or five to one. Grass shrimp have become the bait of choice especially when slowly retrieved along bottom on a shad dart. Many anglers have also been getting into a smattering of pickerel, crappie, and bass while fishing for the perch.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 19 Update:
Although the warm temperatures didn’t stick around for last weekend and were followed by gusty winds, the shoreline of the Eastern Shore yellow perch hotspots have had plenty of foot and boat traffic recently. Reports from Greensboro, Hillsboro, Red Bridges, etc. have been mixed and ranged from empty buckets to filled stringers, with some anglers doing well on minnow and Contributor Eric Packard noting that anglers casting night crawlers on bottom rigs were catching fish. A few pickerel and bass were in the mix for anglers fishing minnow under bobbers or along the bottom on a shad dart. The Tackle Box mentioned that the Pax was seeing a good run of yellow perch recently, too. The first solid reports of white perch came in this week as well (from the Denton area of the Choptank), and it seems that their numbers are on the rise as the yellow perch begin cruising back downriver. The Angler in Chief tried one of the salt ponds (Triton) to see if the whites had moved into those areas yet, but walked out after catching only one embarrassingly small catfish.
We had a first-hand report from the CCNPP this week that there are some stripers willing to give a tug in the warm water, but they aren’t the big cows one would hope to encounter there. Most of the fish were smaller 20-somethings and the largest of the day was a 28-incher. Chartreuse plastics on one-ounce heads were the top offering. If you’re going to run over there and give it a try remember, please, to crimp the barbs on your hooks. Tochterman’s recommending hitting up Port Deposit if you’re willing to make the trip, as there were consistent reports of catch-and-release stripers from that area this week.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 12 Update:
We heard from several readers who probed the Severn looking for pickerel and/or perch last weekend who had a tough time in the chilly conditions, but the warm-up is making a difference — the reports from later in the week included catches of up to eight pickerel on paddle-tails and minnow, and fair catches of a half-dozen or so yellow perch on Beetle Spins and minnow under bobbers. We’re really hoping that this past few days of balmy weather will excite the perch enough to produce a healthy bite.
Pre-season catch-and-release striper anglers are reporting a good amount of success in the Middle Bay, jigging and in a few cases kayak trolling. Most of the fish caught this week weren’t huge with 20- to 30-inch fish being the norm, decent numbers (but no biggies) at the powerplant, and also one report of a 42-incher and a 36-incher from an angler C & R trolling single-hook, crimp-barbed tandems in the vicinity of Chesapeake Beach. Angler’s and Alltackle both had similar catch-and-release reports: not much that’s exceptional, but still a much better tug than any perch will give ya.
On the Eastern side, the perch reports are best described as improving with the warming weather and some banner fishing has taken place in recent days. Many anglers are striking yellow gold while a few are not, and hitting the rivers on a low or outgoing tide seems to be a significant factor leading to success. Minnow fished on shad darts have generally been the best bait, and we haven’t heard of any whites in the mix as of yet. The Marshyhope is another river that woke up from its winter slumber recently, and a reader chimed in to let us know that although he had to sort through numerous blue cats, minnows fished on a hi-lo rig and shad darts produced a subtle but steady yellow perch bite on the outgoing tide.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 5 Update:
The pickerel bite in the Severn is in full spring swing, and we had a reader check in this week to mention that the pickerel he caught (seven in a few hours casting a 3.5-inch paddletail) were full of roe and several had shredded fins, indicating that the spawn is underway. Angler’s and Alltackle in Annapolis both confirmed this, having multiple reports this week from both the tributaries.
The bigger news this week is that yellow perch are also popping up in greater numbers in the tribs. The shops both mentioned that they’re taking small shad darts tipped with a minnow, and bottom rigs with bloodworm. We’re expecting that rising temps in upcoming weeks will give the bite a boost. Still, despite some positive reports coming in, we also had a reader report from the creeks up the South River of slow action and a fruitless perch search, although a few pickerel were willing to bite. It’s never a detriment to have a tackle bag well prepared to switch targets if the fishing gets rough, and since the fish are clustered and on the move some hunting and pecking may be necessary to locate them.
Multiple reports have been flowing in from traditional Eastern Shore spring run hotspots including Hillsboro, Greensboro, Stoney Point, Red Bridges, and Watts Creek, of solid catches. Minnow on shad darts, sometimes cast and retrieved, sometimes under bobbers, and sometimes on bottom rigs, have been the best offering. We also had a report of grass shrimp hooked through the nose on a shad dart and hopped across bottom doing the trick. A reminder: if you’re into the fish hot and heavy, consider releasing the fat females and keeping the skinnier males. There’s no real difference in the amount of meat, and the more females that get to spawn, the better off we’ll all be. Also consider how many you really need to take home, as four or five fish will provide a meal to most families and the legal limit of 10 is more than most folks need for dinner. If you need a how-to refresher for spring perch fishing, check out this video we made last year: