Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 2020

Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 28 Update:

Fishbones let us know that with stripers out for now, anglers are hitting the water and mostly running south in search of mackerel. They suggested heading to Tolly’s Point or the area between Poplar and Bloody Point. The bite in both of these areas has been good, especially for anglers trolling spoons. Fishbones mentioned that gold is the number one color, with chartreuse coming in a close second. Two readers from the Magothy and one from the Chester checked in to let us know that their rockfish-free move was also to run south to the Bridge, deploy a spread of number-one to number-three planers trailing small spoons, and troll south until the mackerel hit. Number one spoons are working best. In all three cases they said didn’t get far before planers started tripping and working from the bridge to the mouth of the Severn, with catches of four to seven mackerel were in the mix.

angler with a mackerel
Running to the bridge and trolling southbound has been a common plan for Upper Bay anglers ISO Spanish mackerel.

White perch are still available throughout the tribs, and are a great option if you’re looking for a day full of fishing or a quick afternoon run. Small spinners and bottom rigs with blood worms, FishBites, and grass shrimp. Out on the shoals of the main-stem Bay jigging Chesapeake Sabikis on hard bottom does the trick.


Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 21 Update:

Remember folks: targeting striped bass is now illegal in all Maryland portions of the Chesapeake Bay and they will remain off-limits for the remainder of August.

happy anglers with fish
Alexis, Mia, and their dad tried trolling for mackerel for the first time near Hackett’s – and hit it big!

One reader from the Upper Bay read about the mackerel in last week’s Middle Bay report, and said he made the run to the Bridge, deployed spoons behind number-one and number-two planers, and didn’t get half a mile before catching his first mackerel. The total for the day was four (which on the low side of average for the area, from what we’re hearing), plus a number of (very small) rockfish.

With stripers shut down, most anglers have shifted their focus to running south for those mackerel, or locating catfish, or perch. Luckily, the Spanish mackerel are popping up just north of the Bridge and are readily available just south of it. The western side has been best. If you’re considering making the run, trolling spoons behind planers along the channel edges is a great tactic right now. Number One Drones and Clarks spoons are particularly hot.

Catfish are also widely available. Like, everywhere. Dropping down cut bait is enticing them. Tochterman’s let us know that white perch are throughout local tributaries, and are a popular target. Widely available to shoreline and boating anglers, many are headed out with bottom rigs in hand. Baiting them up with FishBites, bloodworms, or grass shrimp is common. Small spinners are also working well. Anglers hitting deeper open Bay spots are sticking with Chesapeake Sabikis, jigged over shoals and oyster bars in 10 to 20 feet of water.


Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 13 Update:

Hey, folks! Please remember that as of Sunday the 16th of August stripers are off-limits in Maryland waters. The season officially opens back up September 1, and we’ll be reporting on them again at that time. If you can get out before the closure, Tochterman’s let us know that the storm last week seems to have mixed up where the stripers are, spreading them throughout the Upper Bay. With this in mind, they recommended trolling the channel edges to cover as much water as possible if you’re planning on searching for them before they close out on the 16th. Trolling with bucktails and gold Drone or Clark spoons has been a top option, partially because bluefish have moved up north. Tochterman’s reported that they’ve been chewing up soft plastics, prompting the switch to more durable options. They also reported a few bluefish catches around the Bay Bridge pilings.

chester river catfish
Bryan and his brood hooked this big blue cat, while fishing in the Chester.

Additionally, Angler-in-Chief Lenny Rudow reported running up the Magothy over the weekend and while the water was muddy and skunked after all the rain, he still found some small rock around some piers. Using dark (pumpkinseed green-brown) jigs was the ticket. There were small spot and perch observed being caught right at the river’s mouth, just outside the channel. There was also a boat for just about every piling on the Bay Bridge, and he observed several live-lining catches made along the huge cement ones near the rockpiles. They looked small but at least one of the fish appeared to be a keeper.

The white perch catch has been exceptional recently. We expect that with stripers shutting down they’ll be getting some more attention from shoreline and boating anglers. They’re widely available in creeks and the tribs and will take small spinners, bloodworms and FishBites on bottom rigs, and Chesapeake sabikis.


Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, August 7 Update:

Attention FishTalk Readers: Due to the impact of the storm Isaias on our region, we want to caution that regardless of whether you fish freshwater, the Bay, or the ocean, the fishing deck has been shuffled. Much of the intel we received this week was gathered prior to the storm so we have to question its efficacy. While we did also get some info in on Wednesday evening and through Thursday, we’d note that this week our reports may not be as helpful as usual in forming effective game-plans for the weekend’s fishing.

upper bay angler with a catfish
Vickie got this fat cat on the line at Snake Reef – nice one!

While poor weather kept anglers off the water for much of this week, those who managed to slip out before the big storm and those that followed occasionally were able to get into pockets of keeper stripers. Live-line action was the method of choice throughout the Upper Bay, with spot readily available at the mouth of the Magothy. Even with some keepers caught this week, readers reported that the striper bite has become more scattered through the Upper Bay shoals, ranging from the mouth of the Patapsco to Six Foot Knoll down to Belvidere. Readers said they found a few keeper fish plus some throwbacks while live-lining, they didn’t have to fish in a fleet to do it and were able to enjoy some more peaceful time on the water than in past weeks. Tochterman’s let us know that the bite around the Bay Bridge pilings also seems to be faltering a bit. The primary catch off the pilings this week was undersized, and concentrated during early morning hours.

On the upside, white perch are still easy to find throughout the tribs and into the Bay. Going after them with bloodworms on a bottom rig or a Sabiki rig is the method of choice, although small spinners work as well when fishing shallower areas. If bloodworms aren’t available, many anglers have been turning to FishBites as a substitute.

REMEMBER: Maryland waters are closed for stripers from August 16 (next Sunday) to August 31. If you catch a rockfish, handle it with care and try to unhook the fish in the water to reduce stress on them.