Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 2020

Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 31 Update:

Tochterman’s let us know that (mostly small) croakers are starting to come in around the Bay Bridge Pilings. They also had a new report, with photographic evidence, of another sea bass caught at the Bridge. They’re also hearing reports from liveliners and trollers who are catching rock around the Bay Bridge pilings, to as far north as Love Point. Most of the fish in these areas have been undersized, however, although a few keepers are in the mix. A bonus: the pilings and Upper Bay shoals are holding plenty of perch if you're looking to catch some different species. Dropping down bottom rigs armed with bloodworm, grass shrimp, or FishBites is working. Throughout the tribs and around the Bridge, we've been hearing some reports of hefty perch. Readers let us know that further north, seven-foot knoll is producing lots of undersized stripers. This week their favorite baits were live spot, peeler crab, and bunker chunks. Keepers were reported from around the Poole's Island lumps and the mouth of the Patapsco. If you're headed out in search of striped bass, please keep in mind that high surface temps are tough on the fish. If you hook up on one that isn't a keeper, best practice is to unhook them while they're in the water. If that isn't possible, please try to minimize the amount of time they spend in the air.

white perch caught in the bay
White perch are around in good numbers on the Upper Bay shoals, providing a great back-up plan when the stripers aren't cooperative.

We also had another photo-confirmed report of a sea bass caught at Bay Bridge! Crazy, right?! With the waters so warm, we're seeing multiple quirky species in the Chesapeake this year. If you hadn’t heard yet, there was a tarpon caught near the target ship (on video no less) and dolphin have been spotted as far north as Pooles Island. We also heard of the first ribbon fish caught in the Patuxent this week. Next thing you know, Upper Bay anglers might just be targeting redfish…


Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 24 Update:

With crazy heat this week, the striper bite has largely been subdued. Most of the Upper Bay seems to be in a lockjaw on the striper front once the ball of fire is high in the sky, as boats that don’t get the early bite often strike out. Angler-in-Chief Lenny Rudow headed out this week on the Big Worm for an afternoon trip ride-along, and reports that despite hitting four different spots north and east of Bodkin Creek, it was tough to find stripers that were willing to bite live spot – after in the morning, a limit had hit the Big Worm's decks. Perch provided a great back-up plan, however, with strong numbers on hard-bottom shoals in 12 to 15 feet of water. We’re also hearing that the Hodges Bar bite has slumped a bit this week, with multiple readers reporting that trips to the area have resulted in no or few fish. Most of the fish right now are undersized, as well. Due to high surface temperatures, if you do choose to head out for striper please be sure to release them in the water to reduce the amount of stress put on the fish.

lots of white perch
When the stripers are playing hard to get, white perch are a good alternative. Anglers on the Big Worm loaded a cooler in minutes, over oyster bar bottom.

Despite the heat, white perch are still active throughout the Upper Bay. Tailored Tackle reported catching them off Sandy Point State Park, the mouth of the Magothy, and up the Severn. Using FishBites has become standard operation, due to the ongoing bloodworm shortage.


Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 17 Update:

Thank you to anglers who responded to our call last week to count the number of dead stripers they see floating around the fleet in the Hodges/Tolchester/Rock Hall area, the ratio of keeper vs throwback size, and the number of hours they were out on the water. Many readers reported seeing large numbers of dead catfish, shad, and carp as well, so we’d like to add to this list and ask you to also count the number of other species you see and email your reports to [email protected]. From the reports we received last week, anglers saw an average of six dead fish per hour, with a 50-50 split between throwback and keeper size. The highest single report was of 63 dead fish (mixed species, mostly rock) in a six-hour timeframe. One reader also reported seeing “tons” of dead fish on the beach at Downs Park.

lots of rockfish caught
The Annapolis Anglers club climbed aboard the Bay Hunter and the Reel Attitude, and ran up to the Hodges/Tolchester zone to fill the fishbox. Photo courtesy of Kevin McMenamin

With plenty of stripers hanging around the Upper Bay, action has been endless the past week with the epicenter remaining in the Hodges/Tolchester zone. However, the action goes beyond this bite; Tochterman’s let us know that shoreline anglers fishing the Inner Harbor near Boston Street are also keeping busy catching small stripers. The Harbor is holding tons of schoolies and their influx into the area is drawing quite a bit of attention, with light tackle anglers and fly fishers hitting the harbor. The fly-guys reporting to Tochterman’s suggested using Lefty Kreh Deceivers or Clousers, both of which are producing incredibly well. Light tackle guys are showing up with live baits and poppers. Both are bringing in fish, but the live baits are generating the bulk of keeper hits. Outside the Inner Harbor, the fleet is hitting the Key Bridge and Love Point. Guys headed to these areas cleared Tochterman’s shelves of small tandems, spoons, GI jigs with tails, and plugs, before they headed out. Many who returned reported positive results.

A slew of our readers successfully fished Hodges Bar to the Swan Point area this week, too. A huge fleet of boats remains anchored up there, livelining, chumming, and jigging. Livelining and chumming seemed to be the standard mode of operation, with fewer jiggers and a few trollers meandering through the crowd. Keeping last week’s tune, the fish in these areas seem to be on or off. Some days people report limiting in minutes, but some others, it seems like the massive school of fish there has total lockjaw. We also have a couple of reader reports from the bridge, with mass catches of undersized fish being reported on chum and livelining. In other words… chumming at the bridge may not be the best idea right now, assuming you don’t like the idea of hooking a zillion 15-inch fish in a never-ending quest to find a keeper or two.

RED ALERT: We also heard multiple reports from readers this week of boats, specifically charter boats, using treble hooks while livelining at Hodges. Seriously people? Seriously? We hope that any charter or guide using trebles realizes that they are forfeiting their status as “professional” and honestly should be ashamed of themselves—however one might try to rationalize it, that’s against the law and everyone knows it. Period.


Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 10 Update:

Attention Maryland Rockfish Anglers: We are getting multiple reports of numerous striped bass floaters drifting downstream from the fleets of boats fishing the Tolchester area. Unfortunately, no governmental or scientific agency seems to be investigating or documenting the issue. Please help us try to gain an understanding of just how significant this is, by performing a count of how many dead rockfish you see floating if you go fishing in this area. We’d like to know:

  • The date you went fishing
  • How many dead fish you see
  • How many hours you were in the area
  • How many of the dead fish appear to be keeper size versus how many appear to be undersized

Please keep track the next time you go fishing, and report your observations to [email protected]. THANK YOU for your help, FishTalkers!

anglers with rockfish
David and his crew ran up to the Hodges Bar area, and made short work of the one-fish limit.

Whether you’re talking with the folks at Clyde’s Sport Shop, Alltackle, Anglers, or FishTalk’s own readers, one thing is for sure: once again the Upper Bay has stolen the show when it comes to summer striper fishing. The Swan Point/Tolchester/Hodges area is supporting huge schools of fish and huge fleets of fishing boats to match (hence, the above paragraph). Charters are running from as far south as Deale to get in on the Upper Bay bite, which has evolved into mostly live-lining with spot. Some boats are trolling and a few are jigging as well. Some days the pressure doesn’t seem to matter and others it does; we had multiple reader reports of a red-hot morning there last Saturday with limits filled in a matter of minutes, and then multiple reader reports from Sunday of a quiet fleet with slow action.

Other areas we heard of limited live-lined striper action this week include Love Point and the Bay Bridge, and one reader jigging the bridge checked in to let us know he caught a couple keeper sized fish tossing skirted white BKDs at the pilings, then ran into the Magothy and had great action from big perch on Perch Pounders while casting at the docks on the south side of the river. A pier owner with a dock light confirmed that perch are around and says that at night, big perch are moving into the light in significant numbers.

Crabbing Report: We still haven’t had anyone confirm solid trot-line action north of the Bridge (though that certainly doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened), but we did hear from two waterfront owners on the Magothy that they’ve been getting them in their dock pots a few at a time.


Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, July 3 Update:

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP - Attention Anglers: Everyone should be aware that there's currently a bit of a bloodworm shortage, and you may have trouble locating this uber-expensive but uber-effective bait. Anglers around the dial are reporting that Fishbites Bloodworm flavor has been the next best thing. So if you call around and come up blank on the bloodies, reach for the Fishbites. We now return you to our regularly scheduled fishing report. - BEEP-BEEP-BEEP

stripers on the boat
Scott Mcauley had a great day fishing with iFishMD.com, in the Upper Bay.

Happy Fourth, anglers! As in past years, we’re sure the water is going to be PACKED this weekend as everyone heads out to celebrate the holiday. If you’re headed out, remember to abide by social distancing regulations. This weekend is a time to celebrate the birth of our nation, and if you’re anything like us, you’re paying your respects to our forefathers by catching as many fish as possible. While you’re sporting the red, white, and blue, consider hitting up the Rock Hall area and the bars running north from there up around Hodges and Tolchester. The fleet is gathered up in the area, taking advantage of a bite providing for live-liners, trollers, and jiggers. Several of our readers, corroborated by Clyde’s Sport Shop, reported that the live-lining bite is killer. Multiple readers even let us know that limit catches have been occurring in a matter of minutes. Clyde’s also let us know that although the trolling bite is good, they’d seriously stay away from it over the weekend unless you’re willing to do a lot of weaving or are headed out later in the week. Nothing ruins a nice day like a big ‘ole tangle. However, if you’re planning on beating out the fleet, pulling umbrellas and sassy shad in white or pearl is the ticket.

Due to the high number of boats expected up north, note that Love Point, Podickory Point, and Swan Point have all been producing some bites for trollers on the channel edges. Keep lures between 20 and 30 feet for best results. Our fellow jigging enthusiasts are working through slow but steady days at the Bay Bridge Pilings, rock piles, and Love Point. While the jigging bite isn’t the hottest, an Angler’s staff member let us know that they caught a couple of fish over 25 inches fishing the rock piles this week.

The white perch bite continues to gain steam in the Magothy: anglers are enjoying a steady bite with bloodworms (when they can be found), Bloodworm Fishbites, and grass shrimp on the bottom. Spot and white perch are both popping up outside of Sandy Point State Park. We’re hoping the action keeps up during the holiday weekend, when the area is sure to be packed.

The Maryland DNR Striped Bass Advisory Forecast reminds us that as the surface temp is heating up, anglers should be mindful of reducing the stress on undersized fish once they’re brought to the surface. Always unhook the fish in the water if possible, and if not limit the amount of time fish spend out of the water.