We are experiencing some gorgeous weather this week, and we hope you can find time to enjoy the wonderful fishing opportunities this week. Maryland Department of Natural Resources trout hatchery crews and biologists are busy stocking trout in many of the trout management waters. Perhaps one trout that usually lights up a smile on a trout angler is the golden rainbow trout.
Forecast Summary: April 15 – April 21:
As reported from the buoys, main Chesapeake Bay surface and river mouth water temperatures have risen to the low 60s. Smaller rivers and streams temperatures have risen to the low to mid 60s. However, smaller streams and downwind areas on a sunny day will warm faster and will often hold water temperatures near low 60s. Such areas in low salinity areas will continue to be prime areas to look for white perch (optimum spawning temperatures between 54 degrees and 57 degrees) and hickory shad (about 55 degrees to 65 degrees) as they move up to the downstream portion of rivers and prepare to spawn in the next couple of weeks in Maryland waters. Striped bass are moving to spawning areas and spawning (about 57 degrees to 66 degrees) in low salinity (0 to 2ppt) portions of the Bay and tidal rivers.
Expect average flows for most Maryland rivers and streams. Expect average clarity for most Maryland portions of the Bay and rivers. However, expect reduced water clarity from algal blooms on the Potomac River from Fort Washington down to Quantico. 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 all week as a result of the April 17 new moon.
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
Anglers are enjoying fun catch-and-release fishing for hickory shad in the lower Susquehanna River at the Conowingo Dam pool, the mouth of Deer Creek, numerous shoreline access areas, and Octoraro Creek. Various brightly colored sinking flies, shad darts and flashy spoons are popular, and preferred colors can change due to water clarity and sunshine.
White perch should be arriving in the lower Susquehanna River, and warmer tidal rivers are now seeing post-spawn white perch. The Magothy, Chester, Gunpowder, Bush, Patapsco and Sassafras are all good tidal rivers to look for white perch. Small jig heads tipped with grass shrimp are popular baits.
Blue catfish are active and can be found in the lower portions of the region’s tidal rivers. The lower Susquehanna, Chester, Gunpowder, Patapsco and Magothy rivers are excellent places to fish for them. Many of the blue catfish being caught in these areas are quite large. Any oily cut bait or scented baits make good baits for blue catfish. Anglers are urged to use circle hooks when fishing for blue catfish since there is a chance a striped bass may be accidentally caught.
Anglers are fishing for striped bass as catch-and-release season continues this week. The northern boundary of the catch-and-release area is a line drawn from Abby Point to Worton Point. Trolling lures with barbless hooks is popular as is jigging with large soft plastic jigs.
Middle Bay
Catch-and-release fishing for striped bass has been going well this month and this week’s warm temperatures make fishing out on the Bay much more comfortable. Trolling and jigging along the main channel edges is a popular way to fish for striped bass moving up the bay. Striped bass have been spawning for the last two weeks in the upper Choptank, so anglers may encounter post spawn fish heading out of the river. In all cases anglers should practice the best catch and release techniques. The DNR website has tips on handling fish as little and quickly as possible.
White perch can still be found in the upper sections of the Choptank River and Tuckahoe this week. Anglers will encounter post-spawn white perch as the perch head downriver from the spawning reaches. A 1/16-ounce or 1/8-ounce jig head tipped with grass shrimp or a piece of minnow or bloodworm is a popular offering. In deeper waters a bottom rig baited with the above baits will also catch white perch.
There are plenty of blue catfish in the Choptank River this week and many of them can be found in the Dover Bridge area up to Denton. The deeper channel edges on the outside of river bends and deep shelves alongside the channels are a good place to look for them. Most of the blue catfish in the Choptank are less than 30 pounds so they’re perfect size for table fare. Cut bait of gizzard shad, menhaden, or white perch work well as do scented baits. Please use an 8/0 or 9/0 non-offset circle hook when fishing in the Choptank River since striped bass are present.
Lower Bay
Striped bass catch-and-release anglers are reporting post-spawn striped bass moving down the Potomac River and out into the bay this week. There is still quite a bit of spawning going on in the Patuxent and Nanticoke rivers but fish that spawned earlier this month will be making their way out into the lower bay region. Schools of menhaden that are being seen along steep channel edges will surely attract the striped bass.
Trolling large barbless bucktails dressed with chartreuse or white sassy shads will be a very popular way to catch and release striped bass. Jigging with large soft plastic jigs will be equally popular with light tackle anglers. Light-tackle anglers are also catching and releasing striped bass in the shallower shorelines of the bay. The DNR website contains maps to identify where striped bass can be fished legally.
Catch-and-release fishing for hickory and American shad is good this week in the Potomac River below the Chain Bridge in the District of Columbia. Water flows are low and water temperatures relatively warm. The shad are responding to flashy spoons, shad darts and brightly colored sinking flies. The Mason Branch of Mattawoman Creek is also a great place to catch hickory shad.
Fishing for blue catfish this week is very good along the edges of the main channels in several of the tidal rivers in the lower Bay. The Potomac River above the Route 301 Bridge to the Wilson Bridge is loaded with blue catfish eager to take a bait. The Patuxent River from Benedict through Jug Bay and the Nanticoke near Sharptown are all good places to fish for blue catfish. Cut bait of gizzard shad, menhaden, white perch, or live bluegill sunfish will be attractive to the blue catfish. Scented baits, chicken liver, cheese, and even such things as Spam and hot dogs can work.
White perch are finishing their spawning and are on their way back down to the lower sections of the region’s tidal rivers. They have a way to go yet so they can be intercepted in sections of the rivers below the spawning reaches. The Potomac, Patuxent, Nanticoke, Pocomoke and Wicomico are all holding white perch. Casting light jig heads tipped with grass shrimp, minnow or pieces of bloodworm work well in confined waters; bottom rigs do best in deeper waters.
Freshwater Fishing
Fishing in the put-and-take trout management waters of the central and western regions is at the top of the list for many freshwater anglers this week. Along with the usual trout being stocked, the hatchery crews are stocking large breeders that can exceed 26 inches in length. Be sure to check the trout stocking website which is updated as stocking occurs; email subscribers get daily notification of these locations.
Water flows in the upper Potomac River are steady but seasonally low this week. The waters are clear and anglers are making long casts to current breaks, boulders and submerged ledges with swimbaits, crankbaits, and tubes for smallmouth bass.
Deep Creek Lake is warming up, and anglers are finding largemouth bass and smallmouth bass near structure in the form of rocky points, sunken wood, and emerging grass beds. Northern pike can be found at the mouths of coves and yellow perch along steep shorelines.
In many areas of Maryland, largemouth bass are entering their pre-spawn mode of behavior. The larger female largemouth bass are holding in transition waters outside of the shallower waters and are aggressively feeding. The smaller males are being seen in the shallower areas, and some have started to create spawning beds to attract females. A wide variety of lures will entice the female largemouth bass to strike.
Warming water temperatures are causing Chesapeake Channa (snakeheads) to become more active this week. Look for them on the sunny side of creeks during the afternoon hours. White paddletails, chatterbaits and large minnows rigged under a popping cork or bobber are good baits to use near shoreline brush and similar structure.
Anglers are urged to think of our youngest anglers this month and the opportunities that exist for them to be introduced to fishing at youth fishing rodeos. Youth fishing rodeos are a great way to introduce a child to fishing – even if you have never been fishing yourself. Fishing rodeos are typically held at small ponds or lakes and are aimed at helping beginners successfully catch a fish. Check the fishing rodeo schedule on the DNR website to find a fishing rodeo near you.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf anglers are reporting increasing numbers of black drum along the beaches of Assateague this week. Sand fleas and peeler crab have been the most popular baits. At the Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, anglers are catching tautog, flounder and striped bass. The tautog are being caught on sand fleas and pieces of crab, flounder on Gulp baits and squid strips. The striped bass are mostly a catch-and-release fishery, since most fail to measure more than 28 inches.
Increasing numbers of flounder are being caught this week, the ebbing tide tends to produce the best results. The channels leading from the inlet are the most popular place to fish. Striped bass are producing a lot of fun catch and release fishing at the Route 90 and Verrazzano bridges. Casting soft plastic jigs and paddletails are the favored lures. Most fish being caught are too small to keep, but now and then one will fall into the 28- to 31-inch slot.
Tautog are being found on the inshore and offshore wreck and reef sites. Catches have been good for anglers using pieces of crab for bait. Flounder can also be part of the catch for those who target them.
“The most indispensable item in any fisherman’s equipment is his hat. This ancient relic, with its battered crown and well-frayed band, preserves not only the memory of every trout he caught, but also the smell.” – Corey Ford, 1952
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.