Middle Bay Fishing Reports

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 1 Update:

The Angler in Chief says the birds disappeared, hopefully just temporarily, from some east side areas they were prevalent including south of Poplar Island, but were working hard from Franklin Manor down to Chesapeake Beach recently. As has been the case all fall the approach of a boat usually breaks them up quickly, and it’s necessary to putt around the area until spotting fish on the meter or side-scan. White skirts over avocado BKDs on one- and 1.5-ounce heads have been working well, and with the fish and birds moving around so quickly, trollers are often out-catching light tackle anglers. He noted that the grade of fish has also improved recently, with only one or two throwbacks among the 20- to 26-inchers caught on his latest trip.

Contributor Eric Packard enjoyed similar striped bass action in the Patuxent in 15’ to 20’ of water in the vicinity of Sheridan Point using a Bass Assassin eel and BKDs. Both Packard and Rudow noted a large number of loons are around, and that at times, birds were working but no rockfish were present as the loons appeared to be pushing bait to the surface.

Black sea bass are still snapping up jigging spoons tipped with Fishbites crab flavor and a trip last weekend proved pink shrimp flavor works just fine, too. However, the AIC mentioned that recently they seem to have become a bit more finicky regarding the tide, and when it’s pushing hard the action has been slow.