Middle Bay Fishing Reports
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 18 Update:
Rockfish action has become challenging across much of the Middle Bay, though anglers fishing the Choptank River are still finding success during low-light periods with topwater lures. White perch remain scattered, but spot and croaker are becoming more common throughout the region as summer patterns develop. Meanwhile, crabbing has been excellent, with many anglers reporting strong catches of quality-sized crabs.
The AIC says fishing for rock on the west side between Annapolis and Herring Bay has gone stale recently. There are a few fish at Thomas Point Light but more boats than fish half the time, and they often have lockjaw. Fishing in the South River and the bayfront piers has ranged between slow and utterly dead in the afternoons and evenings. The few hits that have come have been on white five-inch paddletails on half-ounce heads. He also mentioned that the weather may have been tamping down the fish’s activity, as one line or riprap just below the Rt. 2 bridge produced a bunch of short strikes but only one hookup. On the bright side, a few more perch are turning up, though still not in the numbers we’d hope for. A bright spot seems to be the Choptank, where rockfish ranging from under-slots to slightly over-slots are still hitting in the shallows. Daybreak and dusk are best, with topwater proving most effective. A reader report also came in of success on slot rockfish in Broad Creek (off the Choptank).
The Bay Bridge was a hot spot in May, but the bite has become a lot tougher in recent weeks. Reports editor Dillon Waters took a trip to the bridge last weekend with contributor Adam Greenberg. They got on the water before sunrise and fished pilings on both the west side and east side of the bridge for about two hours without a bite. They also mentioned not seeing any charter boats fishing at the bridge either, which is odd for a summer weekend. After striking out at the bridge, they tried fishing the shallows and creeks around Whitehall Bay and the docks spanning from Sandy Point up to the mouth of the Magothy River. These areas also proved fruitless. Another subscriber checked in after striking out at the Bay Bridge last weekend. They also struck out fishing around the Rhode River with topwater lures. Their luck turned around when they found some fish in Kent Narrows and around the old bridge during the incoming tide. Slot rockfish were willing to bite live spot and white skirted BKDs on two-ounce jigheads. FishTalk contributor Adam Greenberg checked in after fishing the Choptank River early in the week. Adam said he caught rockfish on topwater almost every cast for an hour or so. Poppers were best and out fished paddletails. As soon as the sun came up, the bite shut off like a light switch. The fish he caught were a mix of slot fish down to some under slot fish in the low teens range.
Crabbing Report: The AIC says the crabbing in the South River remains magnificent, with a huge ratio of jumbos to smalls and zero trouble filling the bushel basket last weekend. Necks on a trot line in eight feet of water did the trick. He notes that visibility has dropped but is still pretty good, and even as he had no trouble scooping plenty of crabs, he watched almost as many drop the baits early and swim away.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 11 Update:
Fishing conditions in the Middle Bay have become more challenging, but anglers are still finding striped bass around the Bay Bridge, Choptank River, and other traditional summer hotspots. Snapper bluefish are becoming increasingly common, while spot and croaker are beginning to arrive in greater numbers throughout the region. White perch remain somewhat scattered, but some increased activity suggests summer fishing patterns are beginning to take shape.
There are still plenty of reports of rockfish at the Bay Bridge, but we did hear from a couple of readers who struck out there over last weekend. Whether it was the weather or the crowds we can’t say, however, note that reports of tough bites came in from other areas as well. The Angler in Chief says whether it’s the weather, unusually high tides, or just fish being finicky, he had a much tougher time catching rockfish in and around the South River in the past week than earlier this spring. Stripers on the mainstem Bay were similarly slow to eat at times and on one evening at Bloody Point Light he watched four different upper-slot-ish fish follow his lure back to the boat without ever taking a swipe. A different morning, he hit the south side of Poplar with topwater at daybreak, to no avail. Fortunately, it looks like good numbers of snapper blues are now around, and casting chartreuse tooth-proof plastics produced eight or 10 in the 12” to 16” range.
White perch remain difficult to locate, and a reader fishing Glebe Creek reported just one bite when casting small spinners along the shoreline. But a few (small) croaker have worked their way up the Bay and are now biting for those dropping grass shrimp, bloodworms, or Fishbites bloodworm flavor. Spot are also showing up at the mouths of the tidal rivers and over the oyster bars in the Middle Bay. Catches at Sandy Point are also picking up, so anglers looking to live line should have an easier time getting live spot moving forward. Another angler fishing at the Bay Bridge reported a slow pick for white perch during a trip this week. They managed to catch six in the 10-to-11-inch range while using fresh grass shrimp.
A subscriber fishing the Choptank said a key to success recently has been staying away from the rays, which are mucking up the water in some areas. Sticking with zones of clear water where the rays haven’t messed things up has been critical in shallow water hotspots, which have been most productive at dawn and/or at dusk, especially when periods of low light coincide with high water. He also noted that the rockfish have mostly been on the larger side, 22” to 28”. Another angler hitting the Choptank last weekend had the inverse experience, saying he located good numbers of rockfish where there was fallen timber, but all were small fish under the slot. A “tater green” paddletail had them biting. He also tried the power plant but said it was a no-go there, not only with the jigs, but also while setting out live spot.
Crabbing Report: The AIC says the crabs are now happening in the South River, and reports from the other Middle Bay rivers match up. He said last weekend he stretched a short line (600’) with necks in 8’ of water in Selbey and had over three dozen in the basket in about two hours. He also said they were top-quality critters, bigs and jumbos that didn’t need measuring, and he only saw one female and three or four undersized crabs.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, June 4 Update:
Striped bass remain the headline attraction in the Middle Bay, with the Bay Bridge producing steady catches and Poplar Island offering scattered topwater action. Black drum and bluefish are still available in select areas, while croaker and spot are beginning to show in better numbers around Solomons and the lower Patuxent River. As summer approaches, fishing opportunities will continue to improve across much of the region.
The Angler in Chief says he was stuck in Florida for a few days recently (where pelagics were short to come by, but the reef fish were biting) and then when he flew home Sunday afternoon, boat traffic in the South River was so heavy it was virtually impossible to fish the river, which was as rough as when small craft warnings are posted. Later in the week, the AIC reported that there are still some black drum to be caught, willing to eat fresh blue crab chunks. Midweek the fish at the Stone Rock were northwest of the lighthouse in 18' to 22' right along the drop-off. At the powerplant they were closer into the discharge than usual, just 100 yards or so back, in 23' and 24' of water and in the strong currents. A few rays were sighted but, surprisingly, they didn't hit the baits and weren't nearly as problematic as feared. The powerplant also produced some very nice bluefish, including one 31-incher and another only slightly smaller. They were hitting chartreuse and white paddletails on one-ounce heads and tossing bite-proof plastics was a must.
The Bay Bridge continues to be a standout in the reports coming in from subscribers, with multiple different areas producing fish under, in, and slightly over the slot. There was also a wide range in methods reported as successful, including casting BKDs on white bucktails, paddletails on ¾ and one-ounce heads, and livelining spot. One noted that spot aren’t around in huge numbers but on the west side, you can catch enough in 10’ to 20’ to make a go of it. Another said there was a good concentration of fish along the deeper pilings where bait was also visible. He also mentioned that bluefish had probably made their way this far north because, multiple times, he pulled back plastics with the tails removed.
The bite at Poplar Island has been hit or miss depending on the day. The area is starting to get more crowded with boats, so there is more competition to deal with as we head into summer. Reports Editor Dillon Waters spent an evening with his wife fishing around the island and only found a few interested fish despite working the west, south, and east sides of the island. The only action came on the east side, but it was in a very small area. Dillon had a few non-committal fish swirl on his topwater lure but didn’t commit, and his wife Layla caught the only fish of the day, a 23-inch striper that hit a red and white Yo-Zuri topwater. Another pair of subscribers fishing the island had slightly better success another day this week. Their action came on the north end of the island, but again along a very small section of shoreline. They caught four stripers on topwater spooks and also landed a 16-inch bluefish. While landing the bluefish, they said that several others followed the fish to the boat before turning off.
We do not have any white perch reports from the Middle Bay yet, though we did hear from an angler who went looking for them around Poplar Island and couldn’t find any. We heard the same about an angler fishing in the West River, where the only taker was a 20" rockfish. However, the bottom fishing bite is picking up around the mouth of the Patuxent. Anglers fishing in the vicinity of Solomons have reported that croaker and some spot have arrived in the river. The reports are mixed, with some anglers saying they are catching dozens of sub-legal fish, while other anglers are reporting running into schools of nine-to-11-inch fish. We are still a long way away from the days of jumbo croaker fishing, but based on recent trends, we may be in for a better year with more keepers in the mix. The croaker should be at depths of 20 to 40 feet over areas with oyster bottom. As water temperatures warm up, the fish will move onto shallower bars in the eight-to-20-foot range.
