Warmer weather has been inviting anglers to enjoy fishing across Maryland. Trout stockings are providing good trout fishing in the waters that are open for fishing, yellow perch are beginning their spawning runs, and many species of freshwater fish are becoming active.
Forecast Summary: March 11– March 17:
Signs of spring are everywhere – peepers are peeping, trees are budding, and the crocuses are blooming. As the days grow longer and increasingly warmer, Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay waters will continue to slowly warm up for gamefish moving up to spawn. As reported from the buoys, main Bay surface water temperatures are holding in the mid 40s. River temperatures are holding in the low 50s. However, smaller streams and downwind areas on a sunny day will warm faster and will often hold water temperatures closer to the 50s. Such areas in low salinity areas will be prime areas to look for yellow perch as they move up from their wintering areas in the downstream portion of rivers and prepare to spawn in the next couple of weeks in Maryland waters.
Expect average flows for most Maryland rivers and streams. Expect average clarity for most Maryland portions of the Bay and rivers. To see the latest water clarity conditions on NOAA satellite maps, check Eyes on the Bay Satellite Maps. There will be above average tidal currents conditions Sunday through Tuesday as a result of the upcoming new moon on March 18.
For more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area of the bay, be sure to check out Eyes on the Bay’s Click Before You Cast.
Upper Chesapeake Bay
The lower Susquehanna River continues to be stained this week, and water temperatures are about 44 degrees. Anglers wishing to enjoy the warm weather are fishing in the deeper waters of the river for yellow perch and blue catfish. The yellow perch are being targeted with dropper rigs baited with small minnows and just enough lead sinker to hold bottom. An ice mass off the entrance to the North East River has melted away and anglers are fishing in those shallower waters with lip-hooked minnows close to the bottom. A lip-hooked minnow cast with a suitable weight spit shot in front and worked slowly across the bottom is an excellent way to target yellow perch. A dropper rig and sinker works well in deeper waters.
Anchoring up over some of the deeper holes in the lower Susquehanna is an excellent way to target blue catfish. The Conowingo Dam pool is also getting the attention of blue catfish anglers casting baits into the pool with surf rods. A sliding sinker rig with a circle hook in the 8/0 range and fresh cut bait of scented baits is a good rig to use. A standard J-style hook and a sinker will work also. Every tidal river in the upper Bay contains blue catfish, but the lower Susquehanna and Chester rivers hold the greatest concentration.
Yellow perch are now moving into the upper sections of several of the region’s tidal rivers. The North East, Bush, Sassafras, Chester, and Magothy rivers are just a few. In shallower, more confined waters, lip-hooked minnows, Beetle-spins, small jigs, and shad darts tipped with grass shrimp or a small minnow or piece of a minnow will work well when worked slowly close to the bottom. Deeper waters will require bottom rigs baited with lip-hooked minnows or grass shrimp.
Middle Bay
Anglers in the middle Bay are mostly focused on the tidal rivers this week. Yellow perch are moving into the upper reaches of the spawning rivers. Water temperatures are in the low 40s; the yellow perch will begin to spawn when water temperatures in the spawning areas reach the upper 40s. That will likely happen before the weekend due to the warmer air temperatures. The Hillsboro area of the Tuckahoe and the Greensboro section of the Choptank hold great promise for yellow perch anglers this week.
Lip-hooked small minnows with a small weight to get them down to the bottom are a very popular way to fish for yellow perch. Deep areas near the outside of river bends, channels, and fallen treetops in deep water are good places to drop a minnow if you’re in a kayak, canoe, or Jon boat. If fishing from shore, casting a lip-hooked minnow with a slit shot about a foot or so in front is a great way to fish close to the bottom. Other anglers will cast out bottom rigs or cast Beetle-spin blade jigs and small jigs and shad darts tipped with a favorite fish attractant scent. Anglers should consider releasing females full of roe to help conserve the fishery for the future. The daily creel limit for yellow perch is five fish per day and a minimum of 9 inches in total length.
Warming water temperatures will help blue catfish become more active in the channel areas. Anglers are catching them in the deeper channels, and the action will only get better with warmer water temperatures. Although blue catfish can be found in every tidal river in the middle Bay, the Choptank River system holds the greatest population. The areas from the town of Choptank to above Denton are good places to fish for blue catfish. Any cut bait is a good choice, but scented baits and chicken liver will work well also.
The large female striped bass are entering the Choptank River this week and anglers are reminded that the Choptank River is currently off-limits to catch-and-release fishing for striped bass, as are several other tidal rivers in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The DNR website includes a map that outlines areas closed to striped bass fishing.
Lower Bay
Anglers looking for some striped bass catch-and-release action have some of the best opportunities in the lower Bay and the main stem of the Potomac River. Stiped bass are moving along the steeper channel edges and moving up the Potomac River. Jigging with heavy tackle and large soft plastic jigs is a popular way to fish for them this week. The warm water discharge at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant is always a draw for striped bass and anglers during March. The Department of Natural Resources recently released an article on catch-and-release practices that can help conserve the species.
Yellow perch are moving up the Patuxent River this week and most likely reach the Route 4 area by the end of the week. The upper sections of Mattawoman Creek are seeing yellow perch this week. On the Eastern Shore, the Nanticoke and Wicomico rivers also have strong yellow perch spawning runs. The Wicomico on the western shore, which is a tributary of the Potomac, has had good spawning runs of yellow perch at a location called “Alan’s Fresh” in the past. We’ve not heard much information from this stretch of water lately, but it might be worth checking out.
The tidal Potomac River abounds with blue catfish and warming waters will push them to be more active this month. The channels will be the best places to target, the deep channels off Fort Washington are noted for producing some of the largest blue catfish. The Nanticoke River near Sharptown and the Marshyhope are an excellent place to fish for blue catfish.
Freshwater Fishing
Trout fishing areas designated as Closure 1 put-and-take waters are now closed to trout fishing until 6:30 a.m. on March 28. Crews will be busy stocking the Closure 1 waters for the big event, and all will be stocked for opening day. In the meantime, put-and-take trout anglers can fish the 0 Closure trout waters, and many have been stocked recently. For anglers under the age of 16, the youth-only trout fishing day is set for March 21 from 6:30 a.m. until 10 p.m.in all closure 1 trout waters, with a two-trout creel limit.
The delayed harvest trout management waters are also open to fishing if keeping trout is less of a priority for you. All trout caught in delayed harvest waters must be released until June 1, after which anglers are allowed to keep five trout until September 30. From October 1 until May 31 all trout caught in delayed harvest areas must be released. The latest trout stocking information can be found on the trout stocking website.
The upper Potomac River is still running strong this week, but flows have decreased slightly. Anglers who are properly prepared are enjoying good fishing for walleye, smallmouth bass, and muskellunge. Various soft plastic jigs, tubes and swimbaits are working well for the walleye and smallmouth bass. Anglers are reminded that there is a 15-20-inch slot size for walleye in the upper Potomac through April 15, in the mainstream of the river approximately a half-mile upriver of the chain bridge to the spillway at Cumberland.
Warming water temperatures have several species of fish becoming more active. Crappie are schooling up near structure in the form of sunken brush, fallen treetops, and marina docks. Small minnows or marabou jigs under a slip bobber is a good way to target them. Chain pickerel are active and can be found holding near sunken wood or similar structure. Largemouth bass are on the prowl to build up body stores lost over the winter months. They can be found in transition areas of moderate depth.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
The waters around Ocean City are still cold, as inshore ocean temperatures barely reach 40 degrees this week. There is little doubt that some anglers will be casting a mix of bucktails and soft plastic jigs around the inlet for striped bass and they most likely will catch a few.
Most of the fishing action will be for tautog at the offshore wreck and reef sites. Catches are very good with solid fish coming over the rails of party boats, some in the double-digit category. The creel limit through May 15 is four fish per day at a minimum of 16 inches
“There are two distinct kinds of visits to tackle-shops, the visit to buy tackle and the visit which may be described as Platonic when, being for some reason unable to fish, we look for an excuse to go in and waste a tackle dealer’s time.” – Arthur Ransome, 1929
Maryland Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The Forecast Summary is written by Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment Director Tom Parham.
A reminder to all Maryland anglers, please participate in DNR’s Volunteer Angler Surveys. This allows citizen scientists to contribute valuable data to the monitoring and management of several important fish species.