Anglers are enjoying a wide variety of fishing opportunities this week from freshwater streams and ponds to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds Maryland recreational anglers that targeting striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries is prohibited from August 1 through August 31 to protect the species. This month is an ideal time to fish for Maryland’s multitude of other species, especially Chesapeake Channa and blue catfish.
Anglers chosen in the lottery for free blue catfish fishing charters in DNR’s first-ever Reel in the Blues Bonanza are enjoying fun fishing adventures and reaping a harvest of blue catfish and taking home delicious fillets.
Forecast Summary: August 5 – August 11
Main Bay surface and river mouth water temperatures are holding in the low 80s and will likely continue to remain stable all week. Temperatures in smaller rivers and streams are holding in the upper 70s. With recent storms, bottom oxygen levels should continue to improve throughout the week. Currently there is adequate oxygen in most Bay bottom waters except near Indian Head to the Colonial Beach (Potomac River) and in the Bay from the Sassafras River down to the Patapasco River area.
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 Sunday through Tuesday because of the new moon on August 13.
As always, the best fishing areas could be further refined by intersecting them with underwater points, hard bottom, drop-offs, and large schools of baitfish. 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 August striped bass closure offers anglers the opportunity to focus their fishing efforts on blue catfish that can be found throughout the region’s tidal rivers. Some may be encountered in the Bay, but most have moved up the tidal rivers for the summer months, seeking cooler waters in the deep channels. The lower Susquehanna River and Chester River are two of the best places to fish for blue catfish, but they can be found in all the region’s tidal rivers. Channel catfish will be in the mix and in the Conowingo Dam pool, flathead catfish are also available.
A variety of baits will work when fishing for blue catfish. Oily baits in the form of gizzard shad and menhaden are at the top of the list for natural baits. Chicken meat soaked in garlic powder juice works well as chicken livers. One insider’s favorite cheap hot dogs cut to the appropriate bait size and placed in a plastic bag with cherry or strawberry gelatin powder and garlic powder.
Fishing for white perch can offer a light tackle diversion for anglers, but during the summer months it is usually an early morning or late evening affair. It is no secret that white perch populations are down, so it takes a little extra effort to have success fishing for them. Looking for structure and a moving tide are important, as are good bait choices. Old piers, submerged rocks, deep water shorelines, and points are a few good locations. Fresh grass shrimp is hard to beat as a tempting bait for white perch and if you catch the grass shrimp yourself, the price is right. Small minnows fished under a slip bobber or bloodworms on a bottom rig will work.
Drifting along promising looking shorelines during the early morning and late evening hours and casting a variety of small lures is hard to beat for light tackle fun. The fun can also be had in areas where shoreline access is available for shore bound anglers. Small spinnerbaits, spinners, and small jigs are favorites. Small lipless crankbaits work well but can be expensive if lost on submerged snags.
Chesapeake Channa, or northern snakeheads, can be found in the upper sections of the upper bay region’s tidal rivers this month. They usually can be found in the grass flats in the rivers and the Susquehanna Flats. Chatterbaits, buzzbaits, and soft-bodied frogs are effective lures when working grass beds. Paddletails are a good choice when working the edges of the grass beds in more open water.
Spot can provide some fun bottom fishing, and they can be found in several areas. The larger spot can be found in deeper waters, small ones in shallower water. The Chester River is a good place to fish for them as is the mouth of the Magothy River and Podickory Point.
Middle Bay
Anglers in the middle Bay are fortunate to have bluefish in the region to take up the slack during the striped bass closure. With a little time and luck Spanish mackerel may also be in the mix. Trolling will be the most popular way to fish for the bluefish. Surge tube lures in a variety of colors with red and green being the most popular. They will be pulled behind inline weights. It is a good idea to place a few Drone spoons in a trolling spread on a single line or behind a spoon umbrella rig as a trailer.
Drone spoons and gold Clark spoons will be the lures to use if Spanish mackerel show up. Both need to be pulled behind inline weights. The single Drone spoons can also be pulled behind planers to get them deep, so all levels of the water column are covered. Trolling speeds tend to be a little faster, usually about 7 knots or so.
Although the population numbers are what anglers would like, there are still white perch to be caught. The early morning and late evening hours tend to offer the best fishing from docks, piers, oyster beds and shorelines that have submerged structure. Drifting along shorelines and casting small spinnerbaits, spinners, and jigs is always a fun way to target the larger white perch.
Blue catfish can be found in the middle to upper sections of the region’s tidal rivers this month. The upper Choptank near the town of Denton offers some of the most consistent fishing for blue catfish. A variety of fresh and smelly baits work well when fishing the channel waters. Channel catfish will often be part of the mix.
Lower Bay
A mix of bluefish, Spanish mackerel, speckled trout, red drum, cobia, spot, blue catfish, and white perch will help keep anglers in the lower bay region busy fishing during the striped bass closure in the lower bay and Potomac River.
Bluefish can be found throughout the lower Bay. They range from a pound to 10 pounds or more. The smaller ones are usually found in shallower waters and in the tidal rivers and the larger ones out in the Bay. Trolling and casting have been popular ways to catch them, since anglers have stopped live lining and drifting cut baits for striped bass. Surge tube lures in a variety of colors pulled behind inline weights or planers are common. Drone spoons pulled behind inline weights and planers are usually part of everyone’s trolling spread, targeting bluefish and Spanish mackerel.
Spanish mackerel are becoming more common in the lower bay this week near the mouth of the Potomac River and along channel edges in the Bay. Trolling small Drone spoons and gold Clark spoons behind inline weights and planers at slightly faster speeds. Anglers may start to see Spanish mackerel mixing it up with bluefish as they attack schools of bay anchovies. Casting metal jigs and retrieving them quickly is a fun way to catch them.
Anglers fishing along the shorelines of the bay and the tidal rivers are catching a mix of speckled trout and small bluefish. Casting paddletails is one of the most popular ways to fish. Anglers are urged to release any striped bass caught by accident to release them while immersed in the water.
Large red drum are providing exciting catch and release action in the lower bay this month. Anglers are finding them by spotting slicks, churned up water, or on depth finders. Most anglers are jigging with large soft plastics or dropping soft crab baits to them. Trolling with large chrome spoons behind inline weights are accounting for some and are commonly part of a trolling spread when trolling for bluefish and cobia. Anglers are also having success by fishing with cut bait from the shores of the bay.
Cobia are still providing fishing action near the Target Ship, the Middle Grounds, Smith Point, and Point Lookout. Most anglers are setting up chum slicks and fishing a live eel at the back of their chum slick on the bottom. On windless days, sight fishing and casting live eels or soft plastic jigs will work. Most of the cobia are falling a little short of 43-inch minimum.
Spot and croakers can be found throughout the lower bay region this month and are providing fun fishing for young and old. They are a wonderful species to introduce new anglers to. The eastern side of the Bay from the Taylors Island region, past Hoopers Island down to the Tangier and Pocomoke sounds are providing excellent fishing opportunities. On the western side of the bay, the lower Patuxent River, Point Lookout, and Cornfield Harbor up past Cobb Island are all providing good fishing for spot and croakers. Pieces of bloodworms, lug worms, and artificial bloodworm baits work for spot, and croakers will also bite on peeler crab.
Blue catfish can be found in the tidal Potomac River, Patuxent, and Nanticoke rivers in great numbers. It does not take a lot of sophisticated gear to fish for them. Just anchor up in a channel area and fish on the bottom with a bottom rig and some type of cut bait or scented bait.
White perch can be found in the region’s tidal creeks and rivers. Anglers are enjoying the best luck during the early morning and late evening hours. Fishing with grass shrimp near submerged structure is a good way to fish for them during a moving current. Casting small spinnerbaits, spinners, and soft plastic jigs along promising looking shorelines with submerged structure and moving current is a fun and productive way to fish.
Blue Crabs
Recreational crabbers are enjoying good catches in the middle and lower Bay and fair to good catches in the upper Bay. Recreational crabbers report finding crabs in depths from 12-20 feet, with the largest ones coming from deeper waters. Strong tides are causing larger crabs to fall off trotlines when retrieved from deeper waters. The quality of crabs has been very good; most are heavy with meat.
Freshwater Fishing
Vacationing anglers at Deep Creek Lake are finding a mix of largemouth and smallmouth bass along shoreline structure and rocky points during the early morning and late evening hours. Topwater lures crankbaits are good choices for lures to cast. As the day wears on the bass will be found seeking shade under floating docks, overhanging brush and moored boats. Flipping wacky rigged plastics under or near shady spots is a good tactic to entice them to pick up a bait. Other anglers are enjoying fishing for bluegill sunfish.
The western region trout stream flows received a little relief from recent rain events, but water temperatures are still elevated so catch-and-release trout anglers should be careful to lessen stress on released trout. The upper Potomac River is also running low, clear with warm water temperatures. Fishing for smallmouth bass is generally good, especially during the early morning hours. Small spin jigs with dark soft plastics, tubes and small crankbaits are all good lures to use when fishing the deeper waters of the river near current breaks and boulders.
The many reservoirs across all of Maryland are offering good fishing for a variety of freshwater fish. Largemouth bass are usually at the top of the list for most anglers. Loch Raven Reservoir is a popular fishing location, and they have a boat rental facility for anglers.
The bass are holding to a typical summer pattern of behavior of feeding during the cooler evenings along the shallower waters and hunkering down under cool shade during the heat of the day. Topwater lures offer some of the more exciting surface strikes when fishing the shallows. During the day dunking wacky rigged soft plastic through floating grass mats or flipping the under docks or overhanging brush is a good way to target them during the day. When fishing grass beds in the bay’s tidal rivers, Chesapeake Channa, commonly known as northern snakeheads, can be part of the mix and exhibit explosive strikes.
Fishing for crappie is good this month in tidal and nontidal waters. Focusing on submerged structure is often the key to finding them. Fallen treetops, submerged rocks and wood, bridge piers and marina docks are all good places to look for them. A small minnow under a slip bobber is a very popular way to fish for them. Casting small lures and marabou jigs can also work well.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
It will be a busy week in Ocean City with the White Marlin Open running this week. Anglers should be vigilant for large offshore powerboats moving through waterways around the inlet.
Surf anglers are enjoying a summer mix of kingfish, spot, and croaker in the surf. The best fishing tends to be during the morning and evening hours. Bloodworms are the preferred bait for kingfish and spot; croakers will also bite on peeler crab. Casting soft plastic jigs tipped with squid is a good way to catch flounder in the surf. Anglers fishing with finger mullet are catching bluefish and those using larger cut bait are catching and releasing large red drum, cownose rays, and a mix of inshore sharks.
At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, anglers are catching a mix of striped bass and bluefish early in the morning and late evening when boat traffic is diminished. Casting soft plastic jigs or drifting cut bait has been popular. Anglers fishing with live sand fleas on a light tog jig or hook setup are catching large sheepshead and tautog.
The back bay waters have been cloudy due to rain and wind and can best be fished close to the inlet on a flood tide. Conditions may improve later this week. Be very careful of boat traffic when fishing the channels leading towards the inlet.
Fishing outside the inlet at the inshore and offshore wreck and reef sites has been producing excellent catches of large flounder and some black sea bass and triggerfish. Small dolphin are also entertaining anglers and can be caught by casting small pieces of squid and a jig with spinning gear.
The boats heading out to the 20 and 30 Fathom Line sites such as the Jackspot are finding good action with bluefin tuna. The boats headed to the canyons and beyond are finding a mix of bigeye tuna, white marlin, small dolphin, and a few yellowfin tuna. Deep drop fishing is producing good catches of blueline and golden tilefish.
“Civilization is a harsh fact, but with a little imagination we dreamers can deal with it. As long as the fish don’t know that the rumble is a truck or a train, not thunder, I can pretend as well; the choice between the dream and the reality is still an easy one.” – Gene Hill
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 .