Middle Bay Fishing Reports

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 20 Update:

The Angler in Chief says the bird action has blown up big time in the Middle Bay, with multiple small flocks forming off the mouth of the West River, clear down to Chesapeake Beach, and on the east side in Eastern Bay. Off the Choptank, a few miles south of Sharp’s Island Light, the flocks have been larger but so has the fleet. The Choptank was packed with boats last weekend, but the fish remained active even after boats chased the birds off, and drifting through areas where they had been working 10 to 15 minutes earlier was very productive on mostly slot and some over-slot fish. Four- and five-inch chartreuse and white paddletails on one-ounce heads got pounded. He also saw a burst of action to the southwest of Poplar. However, a reader hitting the Choptank yesterday reported that the birds had gone MIA and he had better luck up near Poplar where loons gave away the fish's location. 

In many cases on the west side, the schools of rockfish under the birds have been relatively small, and at times it’s taken some work to locate the rockfish amongst the bait. The AIC also said he encountered more undersized fish on the west side this week, but fish up to 26” are mixed in with them. Early last week many of the schools were prowling in 25' to 35' of water, but by Thursday most of the fish were in 35' to 40' of water. Reader reports of bird play have also come in from Chesapeake Beach, North Beach, Eastern Bay, and the mouth of the Severn and South. A reader fishing near the ships off the Severn said there were hordes of birds in the area late in the week but it was tough to get bites from the fish under them.

The Tackle Box let us know that the white perch have moved into their wintering holes on the lower Patuxent. The hotspot has been around the Solomons Bridge. They had one report from a boater who found them and landed 176 perch from eight to 13 inches, in a couple of hours with help from his first mate.  Sabiki rigs and metal jigs tipped with bits of bloodworm proved irresistible to the perch.  There have also been rockfish mixed in with the perch.

Late-late-late Season Crabbing Report: The AIC says it’s become very slow and very tough to catch crabs but there’s still a prayer if you’re jonesing for a final batch. Last weekend he stretched a 800’ line in a 16’ to 18’ creek mouth channel in the South and averaged slightly better than 0.5 crabs a run. The final catch was an even dozen after about three hours.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 13 Update:

The Angler in Chief says that last weekend the rockfish were so turned on that the bite was reminiscent of the good ‘ol days. Fish from 17” to 24” were slapping white paddletails on half-ounce heads retrieved above the structure at Tilghman reef on the east side, and some slot and under-slots were also hitting over structure in eight to 10’ on the west side near the mouth of the West River. Late in the afternoon, bird shows began popping up off the mouth of the West as well. Reports Editor Dillon Waters joined the fleet in the Choptank last weekend and reported that big bird shows and fish feeding on the surface made for a hot bite. Anglers casting to fish on the surface appeared to be catching more fish than those jigging on bottom. Contributor Adam Greenberg also made it out on the Choptank and reported that the bird shows and fish were still fired up at the beginning of the week.

Readers reported more bird shows in the mouth of the Severn (but mostly undersized fish), Eastern Bay (where there were lots of boats), and the mouth of the Choptank (where there were LOTS AND LOTS of boats). In the Patuxent near Solomons, contributor Eric Packard reported that fish moved deep after the unsettled weather moved through but were still biting, and he picked up a mix of stripers and fat white perch to 11” jigging G-Eye Rain Minnow in 60’ to 80’ near the bridge. He also noted that anglers fishing bottom rigs were doing well on the perch. White perch usually winter near Point Patience on the Patuxent, and anglers usually catch them on the ledges between 60’ and 75’. Small jigging spoons can be very effective this time of year for both perch and rockfish on the lower Patuxent.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 7 Update:

The Angler in Chief says small, intermittent bird shows continue popping up in several Middle Bay locations, including the mouth of the Severn, South, and West, as well as inside Eastern Bay, but they’re generally small, brief, and mostly happening in the final minutes of daylight. The Bay Bridge is holding good numbers of rockfish in the 16” to 26” range, which are hitting jigging spoons in 30’ to 45’, but by most reports, those who can still find spot and liveline are doing more of the catching. He also says the very low water we had last weekend seemed to mess up the bulk of the shallow water spots. A large number of readers reported better bird action in the mouth of the Choptank, with hot bites popping off very early in the day, on the last hour of a changing tide, and at last light. However, a couple also noted that there were rather huge fleets of boats working the area at times.

The Tackle Box reports that stripers in the Patuxent are taking umbrella rigs as well as tandems, single bucktails, and spoons.  One angler that checks in with them regularly said trolling white Tony number 18 sized spoons did very well in the Sea Breeze area of the Patuxent.  Jiggers using metal jigs and shad lures found willing fish under birds and surface feeders. While the bite has been good at times, they did mention that the bite at the beginning of the week was tough. Most of the reports from trollers were skunks or just a few bites. It seems that the outgoing tide in the late afternoons has been best. We had another report from a boat fishing in the Choptank that caught a three-man limit of stripers last weekend. Now that it is November, we should start to see more consistent bird shows in the Middle Bay. Historically, the areas between the South River and the Choptank can be very productive this time of year. We just need the weather to cooperate and the wind to calm down.

Crabbing Report: Yes, we have a November crabbing report! The Angler in Chief says he tried laying the trot line in 16' to 18" in the South River late this week, and although it wasn't red-hot action, went home with three dozen crabs after about two and a half hours. He said laying in a channel at a creek mouth did the trick, and there were only a few females or undersized crabs with mostly large rust-bellies and a few true jumbos chewing on the necks. The incoming cold snap could shut this action down abruptly so if you were hoping for a last shot at the crabs get out there this weekend!