Middle Bay Fishing Reports

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 12 Update:

The Angler in Chief says the rockfish were finicky in many Middle Bay areas recently as unsettled weather continued, and the overall bite in the South River has been fair to poor. There was better action early in the day and in cloudy conditions at Poplar Island, when red/white Game On topwater plugs produced some bites from rockfish up to 26”. He also noted that strong numbers of small spot and croaker have moved into the area and there seems to be a banner amount of baby bunker both in the creeks and out in the open water. There have also been swarms of tiny young-of-year bunker in the Stone Rock area and near Tilghman Reef. There are still some rockfish being caught at the Bay bridge by live liners and pilings on both the East and West sides appear to be holding fish. There are also good reports of spot and small croaker (with a few keepers here and there) around Sandy Point and the mouths of the tidal rivers. Depths of five to 15 feet appear to be the zone where the most action is taking place. Bottom rigs with Fishbites or bloodworms is the ticket for success.

Reports editor Dillon Waters ventured out on the West River at the beginning of the week in search of perch, but says he was skunked. He fished from the mouth of the river up into the smaller creeks, stopping at docks, rip-rap, and bulkheads along the way. Live minnows under a bobber and small perch spinners failed to produce any bites. The lackluster perch bite seems to be widespread as other readers fishing at Holland Point in Herring Bay also reported striking out this week. Holland Point is usually a perch fishing hotspot in late spring and early summer, but they have yet to show up in any numbers. Trollers are still finding bluefish around the mouth of the Choptank in the vicinity of Sharp’s Island Light. The schools of blues have been at depths of 20 to 40 feet and have been sporadically popping up on the surface chasing bait. The gear that has proven effective includes rubber hoses trolled behind inline sinkers and umbrella rigs outfitted with spoons. One reader said the “spoonbrella” rigs have been out catching other trolling gear on recent trips. Most of these blues are between two and five pounds, but some up to 10 pounds have been in the mix.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 5 Update:

Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow says the rockfish have been biting fairly well along piers and shoreline structure in the shallows at times, with some slot fish and a surprising number of under-slots. Four- and five-inch paddletails in gray and brown/white on half-ounce heads have been doing the trick and bouncing them along bottom has been more effective than a steady or mid-column retrieve. However, it’s been hit or miss, and he says that on a couple of trips bites were very hard to come by. He also mentioned that a return trip to the powerplant for black drum was a big, fat ray-fest. Cownose rays were also reported to be thick around the western shore tidal rivers, the mouth of the Choptank, and around Poplar Island. One reader also mentioned seeing several pods of dolphins at the Choptank last weekend.

A reader hitting the West River in the early morning hours reported catching rockfish plus a surprise snakehead, one on the South said the bite had been tough inside the river, but he did pick up a slot fish and a throwback casting paddletails. From the Choptank, an angler (who we know to be very good) said he ran all over the place early this week and barely managed to scratch out a single throwback rockfish in the shallows while hitting spots that had produced just days earlier. Another pair of anglers fishing just outside the Severn River wrote in to let us know they found some slot rockfish while casting chartreuse paddletails. Hallocks-Grace Charters let us know they found some slot rockfish while live lining spot at Poplar this week. Another reader also sent in a picture of a slot fish caught on topwater just to the north of Poplar. There doesn’t seem to be a hot zone for rockfish right now, so covering water and trying several different zones is a good idea with Middle Bay areas producing inconsistent results day to day.

The white perch fishing in the Middle Bay has been slow to get going this year. Below average water temperatures and muddy water may be to blame, but hopefully better numbers move into the tidal rivers soon. Reports Editor Dillon Waters was fishing the Rhode River this week on his kayak and reported catching a half dozen under-slot rockfish and one slot fish while casting three-inch pearl paddletails on quarter-ounce jigheads. He also caught two big white perch on the same lure that were over 11 inches. Another reader fishing in the West River says perch fishing has been terrible this year, but an afterwork trip this week provided his first good trip of the year. He found a school of perch that were willing to bite cast after cast and put about 20 on a stringer to take home.