Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 27 Update:
Hi anglers, we hope you all enjoyed a fantastic Thanksgiving! Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reported that running up Eastern Bay provided consistent if not red-hot action, with rockfish to 30 inches in 28 to 32 feet of water chasing schools of bait. Sometimes they were marked by birds, other times they could be spotted on the meter and jigged up with white and pink glitter BKDs on one-ounce heads getting the job done. The keeper-sized fish came from jigs worked deep, usually in the 25- to 30-foot range. There were also plenty of trollers working the area who could be seen with bent rods aboard. More stripers (up to 28 inches) also made a brief showing just off the east side of Bloody Point on thanksgiving day, along the sharp drop-off from 10 to 50 feet. We had a couple of reader reports confirming success in the same area, using similar jigging tactics and also with BKDs. He also says the schools of fish from the green one marker down to Franklin Manor have become tougher to locate recently, with schools sporadically popping up often right at dusk in anywhere from 15 to 30 feet of water. Alltackle in Annapolis also identified this area as a hot spot this week.
The AIC also confirms that there are indeed trout at the power plant, but the bite is very focused around the change of the tide (or possibly the noise of the crowd) and he found a 45-minute bite-window was the extent of it. In that same timeframe two puppy drum just under the slot also hit on five-inch white plastics. Keeping the jigs right on bottom in the strong current was key. He also notes that crowds must be expected as there were 16 boats slinging jigs plus a couple drifting live baits when he was there, so if you head here be prepared for the close-quarters fishing that this spot often generates. There was also one boat full of (potentially inebriated?) people yelling very loudly and moving the boat right at pre-planing speed (throwing as large a wake as possible), and another with twin two-strokes maneuvering during the drift. Maybe a quick re-hash of CCNPP etiquette is in order, so everyone who partakes in this fishery can get the most enjoyment out of it:
- Yelling will spook the fish.
- Running a two-stroke in the fishing areas will spook the fish.
- Shifting any outboard in and out of gear in the fishing area will spook the fish.
- Waking all your fellow anglers is considered poor form.
Reader reports from the Severn this week indicate that the bite at the mouth of the river has grown tough, however, some loners can be found inside the river on structure. That’s similar to what Contributor Eric Packard experienced this week on the lower Pax and in Mill Creek, where kayak trolling continues to produce keeper fish up into the low-20s. Those checking in from the Choptank report a fair trolling bite off Sharps Island Flats for mostly throwbacks but plenty of fish into the mid-20s.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 20 Update:
Some BIG fish showed up this week, the first of the monster migrators in the 40-plus inch class, in the Middle Bay. We heard about one in Eastern Bay and three in the Point Lookout zone, all taken by trollers. We also had one reader check in after catching a 36-incher on a jig, south of Chesapeake Beach and north of the Pax. Otherwise, reports remained much the same as last week with fish up into the mid-20s reported from the Bloody Point/mouth of E-Bay area, off the mouth of the West River and Franklin Manor/Herring Bay, the mouth of the Choptank, and the mouth of the Patuxent. The evening bite has often been best, with fish becoming most active in the last two hours or so of daylight. Trollers hitting Cove Point to the Power Plant with umbrellas and tandems also enjoyed fish including some big ones. Sassy shads and spoons attached to umbrellas are common, and 25 to 30 feet of water is a range that is working right now. Angler’s Sport Center and Alltackle in Annapolis corroborated these reports, identifying the same areas as hot for catching right now. They also mentioned large fish near Point Lookout. We also had a reader report of solid action on 20-something fish off Herring Bay after the wind-storms calmed down near dusk, early this week, followed by a difficult bite in the exact same place the very next day at the exact same time.
Contributor Eric Packard spent some time on the kayak in Mill Creek, and let us know that keeper fish have moved down from the upper reaches but haven’t entirely abandoned 10- to 15-foot depths as of yet. He caught several keepers while trolling jigs, despite windy conditions.
Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow says that a couple forays between the green number-one off the South/West rivers and Franklin Manor produced rock from 16 to 26 inches with most of the fish on the shorter end of that scale, last weekend before the breeze picked up. Birds were up and down rapidly and the key to catching fish was often using your meter in the immediate vicinity as opposed to casting at the birds themselves. He also noted that one evening last week there were nice keeper fish swirling on the surface with no birds around, so keeping a sharp eye out is critical. Most of the fish were hitting in 20 to 30 feet of water but at times they chased the bait as shallow as eight feet. He also said five-inch white paddle tails on one-ounce heads remain the top offering.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 13 Update:
Reports from readers fishing up inside both the Severn and South Rivers included keeper fish to 21-inches in the shallows, and just outside the rivers fish to 27 inches with most in the 16- to 24-inch range, under sporadic bird action. The confluence of the South and the West in the vicinity of the Green number-one marker, has been a noted area of activity. As par for the course this year, the fish are up and down very quickly and working bottom with four- and five-inch bare paddletails in the vicinity of where they were working within the past few minutes has been the key to finding keepers. Angler’s and Alltackle in Annapolis both pointed to the bite along the channel edges in these areas and off the Choptank as hot this week. Under birds in that area, most of the rockfish are dinks but fish up into the upper 20s are there too, if you get deep and wade through the smalls. They suggested trolling or jigging — both tactics are bringing in abundant fish. While we’ve seen plenty of schoolies this season, there are some larger fish holding just off bottom. Angler’s had one report of a 28-incher caught this week, and Alltackle of a 27 by an angler jigging. The Tackle Box suggested heading to the Pax if you’re a fan of trolling, where the bite along channel edges has been excellent.
Two readers also reported in from the stretch between Franklin Manor and Chesapeake Beach, reporting rockfish up to 28-inches while jigging. Interesting tidbit: one reported catching throwbacks under birds but had the thought to drop some big bull minnow down to the bottom and drift ‘em along. Net result: keepers up to 27-inches. Food for thought!
Two readers — one jigger and one troller — checked in to let us know that Eastern Bay is holding some decent fish including (just a couple) over the 30-inch mark. White was again noted as the color de jure. We also heard from one angler that there are still weakfish in the False Channel area off the Choptank. Across the Bay at the power plant a couple trout of the other variety (specks) have popped up, but few and far between probably owing to the fact that it’s been so warm. On the flip side of this equation, they still haven’t abandoned the Sound so our angling opportunities there are being extended by this weather.
Crabbing Alert – If you want a last batch of crabs, hurry up! AIC Lenny Rudow says he gave it a shot last Sunday and caught about three dozen keepers in 12 feet of water, but he had to really work for them and a lot of crabs were dropping off the necks long before they came close to the boat.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 6 Update:
Angler-in-Chief Lenny Rudow let us know that just outside the Severn, South, and West rivers there’s still plenty of bird play, but as in recent weeks the birds are up and down very quickly over fast-moving groups of fish and it’s hard to get on them before they move. He noted that some of the pods of fish have combined into larger schools, usually with bigger fish on bottom (mostly in the low to mid 20s with fish to 28 or 29 inches popping up on occasion and one 33-incher this week) under the micro-rock in 15 to 25 feet of water. A five-inch white un-skirted paddle tail remains his favored offering at the moment. Two readers checked in after jigging a bit farther south, one off the Choptank and the other between Chesapeake Beach and North Beach, both with single fish topping 30-inches (31 and 34, respectively) in the box but noting an average size in the teens to low 20s. Anglers and Alltackle in Annapolis confirmed these reports. They let us know that the bulk of what they’re hearing is from guys chasing birds, or cruising the channel edges with a depth finder on and jigging up fish. Anglers also mentioned that there has been a substantial topwater bite going on, and recommended throwing at sun rise and set.
Alltackle mentioned that white perch are still in the rivers, but should begin to move deeper. Shoreline anglers are struggling to get them in the numbers they saw throughout October but white perch are still taking the classics, bloodworms and FishBites, fished on bottom in deeper areas. The AIC confirmed the shift, noting that he snagged three perch while jigging bottom under breaking rockfish in 20 feet of water one evening this week. Speaking of deep: legal-sized (just) weakfish have been confirmed by multiple reader reports outside of the Choptank on the south side, holding near bottom in 35 and 40 feet of water.
Contributor Eric Packard notes that the striper bite in the lower portions of the Pax remains good. Kayak trolling in the river and creeks is producing lots of bites, including from keepers. Check out his new video filmed in these waters while fishing one day this week.