Upper Bay Fishing Reports
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, November 6 Update:
Blue catfish are stealing some of the spotlight in the Upper Bay, with some impressive fish coming from the lower-salinity waters around Pooles Island and nearby tributaries. Rockfish action remains productive in several areas, including the Patapsco and Chester rivers, while white perch are providing a steady bottom-fishing option around the Bay Bridge and mouth of the Patapsco.
While rockfish might get all the attention, there are some fish swimming around in the Upper Bay that are bigger than any of the stripers around. A reader fishing north of Pooles enjoyed some blue cat action including this monster fish, and anglers eeling or fishing cut baits are coming up with an unexpectedly big bend in the rod on a regular basis. Salinity levels north of Hart Miller Island are much lower than around the Bay Bridge, so blue catfish are much more abundant in that zone. The Gunpowder River, Bush River, and lumps on the main stem of the Bay around Pooles Island are prime locations to catch blue catfish. This time of year, depths of 20 to 40 feet are the general zone that blue catfish will be patrolling. Holes and channel ledges are good places to check, and you may come across some rockfish as well.
Anglers fishing in the Patapsco River reported a slower rockfish bite this week. There were still some decent reports, but a few anglers also struck out. Light tackle boats found some fish along riprap shoreline and near docks during early mornings and late evenings. One angler reported catching half a dozen fish on topwater, most of which were in the slot. When the sun got up, shallow diving jerkbaits were the ticket. Trollers working the main channel ledges in 20’ to 30’ are pulling in some slot and overslot fish using umbrella rigs and tandem-rigged sassy shads. There has also been some bird action in the main stem of the river, but it is still sporadic. Over on the Chester River, anglers working marsh creeks and shoreline points are still catching fish in the shallows. Deeper ledges near the mouth of the river are where some open water action has kicked off as baitfish schools are moving to deeper water. Birds have given away the location of feeding stripers some days, but electronics have been a big key when covering water.
Reports Editor Dillon Waters took a trip up to the Bay Bridge late last week to see what was biting. He got on the water before sunrise and started casting jigs to bridge pilings and around the rock islands. After fishing several pilings and both islands without a bite, he moved to some pilings on the east side of the westbound span in 30’ of water and caught two slot fish, both around 22”. There were several charter boats working the bridge and there didn’t seem to be many fish being caught. After boxing one of the rockfish, he moved over to oyster bottom near Sandy Point in around 20 feet of water to try for white perch. Bottom rigs tipped with bloodworms provided a steady bite for white perch in the seven to 10” range for about an hour until the incoming tide died out. During that time, he boxed 15 eater-sized white perch. We also got a report from Hallocks-Grace Charters that they also found some white perch around the Bay Bridge. They started their trip by catching a limit of rockfish by live-lining spot at some of the bridge pilings, then they moved to oyster bottom north of the bridge and found a steady, but not on fire, perch bite. Bottom rigs tipped with bloodworms were again the ticket for perch. We have also heard several reports that the perch bite has been good at the mouth of the Patapsco River. Charter boats and recreational boats are catching them in around 20’ of water between Fort Smallwood Park and Hickory Point. As we get later in the season, the perch will move to slightly deeper water, but this bite should last for several more weeks.
