Lower Bay Fishing Reports

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 20 Update:

The spring runs are moving right along as the yellow perch run winds down, others are starting up. Contributor Eric Packard paid a visit to Mason Springs looking for shad, but only found a few mostly small male yellow perch. Other anglers on-site reported the same, with small fish present but only a couple of keeper-sized fish showing up. The water was high and muddy from the rain early this week, but it should have settled out by the weekend. The first few shad of the year were caught at Fletchers Cove this week, though it was only a few fish despite the efforts of several anglers. There are better shad reports coming in from the James River and Rappahannock River this week. Anglers near Richmond are starting to catch some hickory shad, and the same is being seen near Fredericksburg. Water quality across the upper reaches of the Lower Bay tidal rivers is still muddy from recent rainfall, but they should clear up over the next week or so. Improved water clarity will also help the shad bite as they rely heavily on sight. When choosing a spot for shad fishing, focus on areas where you can identify a seam in the current. These seams act as natural gathering points and are often the best visual cue for where fish will be staging. Shad will hit small spoons and shad darts, but their preferences can shift quickly. To cover your bases, many experienced anglers use a tandem rig with two very different offerings. Once you start getting bites, you can fine-tune your setup to match what the fish want.

There was a new fish record set for blue catfish in D.C. recently. Angler Thaddeus Eck caught a 37-pound blue catfish while fishing with his dad Josh Eck on the Potomac River near Georgetown. When Josh and Thaddeus first landed the fish, the initial weight they measured was just over 40 pounds, but the blue catfish coughed up two hickory shad while in transport. This is a perfect example of the predatory nature of these fish, showing that they forage heavily on other species in our rivers. It also gives us a clue that the shad run is starting. This fish qualifies as the youth record for the blue catfish category in the recreational angling records program. Congrats to Thaddeus on an amazing catch, and we hope that he and his dad can continue to break more records. Captain Chad Koenig from Dog Days Fishing has already run a few trips on the upper Potomac for trophy catfish this spring, and he reports that the big ones are already active. On each of his trips so far this month, his anglers have boated fish over 40 and 50 pounds. The big fish are also biting in the Rappahannock, York, and James Rivers. As water temperatures warm and more anadromous species arrive, flathead catfish will also start feeding heavily. The population of these fish in the Lower Bay rivers continues to increase each year. These invasives are very predatory, often preferring live bait or lures over cut bait. They are a lot of fun to catch on light tackle, and you can use the same gear you use to target striped bass. The two hotspots in this region are the upper Potomac near Fletchers Cove and the James River in Richmond.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 12 Update:

The Upper Potomac seems to be fishing well, and we had a group of anglers check in after fishing the area of Oxon Cove for crappie. They had a spider rig setup and were floating live minnows. This is a very effective spring method for crappie fishing. Their crew caught several pre-spawn crappie in the 12-to-14-inch range and had a few bycatch largemouth bass. A reader fishing the tidal basin reported catching a few early-season largemouth while throwing a glidebait during the big warmup earlier in the week. Reports Editor Dillon Waters visited the Virginia side of the Potomac River last weekend to kayak fish for striped bass. He fished in an unspecified area but said that some striped bass were in shallow tidal areas in three to 10 feet of water. Despite marking plenty on his side scan, he only caught three fish all day. One fish was a schoolie and two others were in the 40-inch range, all on jerkbaits. He also talked to two other anglers who said they also struggled to get bites in the shallows despite marking big schools of fish. Another reader checked in after fishing a lower Potomac Virginia tributary for striped bass last weekend but said he did not catch any fish during an afternoon trip.

The yellow perch are spawning in the shallow creeks of the Lower Bay. FishTalk contributor Eric Packard visited the upper Mattawoman last weekend and reports that the yellows have pushed up to Mason Springs. There was more pressure in the area early this week, but several anglers reported pulling some fish from the area. Packard also visited Allens Fresh in search of yellow perch this week but did not find any. Instead, he only caught blue catfish, which seems to be a recurring theme in the past few years. A reader reported finding water temps into the mid-60s at sun-warmed flats in creeks off the Rappahannock, and that triggered good action from a nice mix of crappie (up to 13.5") and blue catfish plus a yellow perch.  The fish hit minnows and night crawlers. Another angler fishing similar areas with a jig caught some largemouth. The big catfish are also becoming active in the Lower Bay tidal rivers. Captain Chad Koenig of Dog Days Fishing has taken a few trips on the upper Potomac in D.C. for trophy blue catfish. Each of his recent trips has produced blue catfish in the 40-to-50-pound range. This time of year is an excellent time to catch the big fish. Other anglers fishing on the Rappahannock, York, and James Rivers are also finding that the blue catfish are more active. Fresh gizzard shad is the bait of choice. When the river herring and shad start to show up, catfish will be feeding hard as they take advantage of the abundant food sources provided by the spring spawning runs.

Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, March 6 Update:

We heard the first peepers of the year this week as the first signs of spring start to reveal themselves. FishTalk contributor Eric Packard visited Mason Springs on the upper Mattawoman this week. Eric caught a bunch of yellow perch and a few sunfish while bouncing around small panfish jigs. He said that about half the perch were keeper size while the others were small males. The yellow perch bite should pick up as we head into next week. Small panfish jigs are effective for catching several species of fish in these small creeks, but tipping your jig with minnows or grass shrimp is the most effective method to catch fish during the perch runs. As water temperatures climb, yellow and white perch will be making their way up the Lower Bay tidal rivers. On the striped bass front, we had a report from an angler who said they have been catching big migratory striped bass at the mouth of the Potomac River over the past few weeks. These fish are hanging around channel ledges but will also move onto shallow flats to take advantage of slightly warmer water during warm fronts. Anglers should remember that as of March 1st, there are many areas within Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay that are closed to targeting striped bass. This includes all the tributaries off the main stem of the Potomac on the Maryland side of the River. The Virginia tributaries are still open for catch and release fishing, as is the D.C. portion of the river.

The D.C. Department of Health lifted the recreational advisory for the Potomac River on Monday, March 2nd. Testing has shown that bacteria levels have stabilized to a normal threshold over the past few weeks, so recreational activities can resume on the river. We are just a few weeks away from the start of the shad run, which typically kicks off during the end of March, so hopefully all the contaminated water has been flushed out of the river by now. Fletcher’s Cove is one of the best shad fishing locations on the East Coast, offering excellent opportunities for hickory shad and American shad during the spring. These fish will also be running up the Rappahannock to Fredericksburg, on the York River to West Point, where they will split into the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers, and on the James up to Richmond. These rivers should be on all shad anglers’ radars in the coming weeks as we have reports of fish running up the tributaries in North Carolina, so our migratory fish should be here soon. Hickory shad are the first to show up and American shad usually arrive a few weeks later. American shad are less numerous but grow much larger than hickories. Both species look very similar, but the tell-tale way to identify them is that hickory shad have an underbite jaw while American shad have an even jaw.