Way North Fishing Report, June 28 Update:
Up on the Flats, schoolie-sized rockfish have been the staple of anglers hitting the water. Throwing BKDs and Gulp! lures in chartreuse and purple has been crushing fish. Herbs noted that the topwater bite has been killer as the sun rises, with plugs providing exciting action as fish break water to smack them from below. The flats have also had some decent perch fishing for anglers dropping bottom rigs with bloodworms near the channel edges. Double hookups have been common in some areas once you get into a school. Where they can be found holding shallower, Perch Pounders and Beetle Spins retrieved just below the surface are doing the trick.
A commonality through the whole northern Bay? Catfish, of course. Put a chicken breast on your lure? Catch a catfish. A gizzard? Catfish. Cut menhaden? Catfish. Oh, you wanted to catch a rockfish on that bucktail? Nope, you’re gonna catch a catfish... If catfish aren’t your first choice to pull out of the water, here’s the good news: anglers have been reporting fish up to 30 pounds absolutely walloping their baits. These guys have been everywhere salinity is low, which is pretty much the entire Bay. If you’re having one of those days where you just want to head out, throw some lines, and catch fish after fish, put some random coordinates in the GPS and take a cruise - wherever you end up, there’s a good chance that’s where the cats are biting.
Crabbing Report: If you don’t wanna pay for a bushel right now we don’t blame you, but it’s going be a long haul south. The best crabbing has been south of the Patuxent, though there are a few crabs in the West and South.
Way North Fishing Report, June 21 Update:
Herbs Bait and Tackle reports some surprisingly large rockfish up in the Susquehanna, and anglers are catching them by live-lining white perch. They also told us catfish, perch, and snakehead fishing has continued to be good alternative ways of fishing up in the Susquehanna, with snakeheads present in large numbers. Although they look like something you'd never dream about putting on a dinner plate, these slimy suckers taste just as good as they fight. Herbs also came in with some key information about the dam, saying people are using bucktails for stripers and are slamming some really good sized catfish.
Out on the flats it’s been mostly smaller stripers on jigs, though there’s a topwater bite at daybreak and sunset. Snakeheads have been in the mix here as well. Other spots that produced a mix of mostly catfish and white perch for anglers soaking bait on bottom rigs have included Turkey Point, and the C & D Canal.
Way North Fishing Report, June 14 Update:
Anglers: we apologize for the technical difficulties experienced last week. Unfortunately it caused our website to crash multiple times over multiple days, but the computer wizards assure us that it’s now completely fixed. We sure hope they’re right!
A few fish have held up north on the Susquehanna Flats, and are primarily in the 14- to 22-inch range. Most anglers fishing for them have been going around dusk and throwing topwater, however, the going is slow and the majority of fish are throwbacks. Many anglers have been headed south to hit Upper Bay hotspots and they’ve been finding more keepers. The chumming bite is hot right now, for both rockfish and catfish. Sarge’s suggested that anglers who chum remember to bring plenty of bait. Catfish are also swarming in the C&D. Bunker chunks or chicken parts set on bottom are the ticket.
In the rivers, white perch are easily accessible and eager to take bloodworms or grass shrimp on bottom rigs. Both shoreline and boat anglers have been catching around docks and other structure. We’ve also had a handful of snakehead reports from the northern rivers and the Flats, and by now most folks have probably heard that the DNR announced that 81 – yes, 81 – snakes were caught in the fish ladder at Conowingo this year. That’s a slightly higher number than in the past… one was caught in 2017 and 2018.
Moving into June our brackish Bay has remained unusually fresh, making conditions for rockfish less than ideal while catfish are thriving. Sarge’s reported that the Susquehanna Flats are holding some rockfish, however, they are not in great abundance and seem to be on the smaller side. The majority of fish reported have been in the 14 to 22-inch range. Most anglers have been fishing with purple or other dark colored soft plastics, due to poor water quality from high levels of runoff as a result of the past few weeks stormy conditions. Trying to escape a sub-par rockfish bite in the Bay’s northernmost waters, running south to Love Point, Podickory Point, and the Bay Bridge Pilings have been popular options. Fishing the channel edges in these areas has been productive for anglers bait-fishing and using lures. Trolling the channel edges with spoons, umbrellas, large bucktails, and tandems has been common. Herb’s noted that guys fishing the Bay Bridge Pilings are having luck using six-inch white, pearl, and chartreuse BKD lures and plastics. Anglers chumming these areas are catching, however, still need to be conscious of the pesky catfish that are eager to gobble up chum slicks and baits. Crowds have also become something of an issue around the bridge pilings.
Anglers fishing in northern tributaries have been also been encountering catfish, plus some catfish and even a catfish now and again. A bit more surprising, however, is the steady stream of snakehead reports that have been flowing in. Back River seems like a consistent hotspot, and several readers sent in reports and photos of snakes caught on a mix of minnow and topwater including buzz-baits.