Justin Lynch was fishing in the lower Chesapeake Bay recently when he caught and released this large red drum. Photo courtesy of Justin Lynch
Fair skies abound this week as the recent Nor’easter is just a memory. There is plenty of good fishing to be found this week as mild temperatures and sunny weather have moved in across the state.
Forecast Summary: October 15 – 21:
Expect sunny and cool weather with relatively stable conditions for fishing in Chesapeake Bay waters all week. There is a chance of rain on Monday. As reported by the NOAA buoys, main Bay surface water temperatures are currently in the upper 60s but continue to slowly cool. River temperatures are slightly cooler and holding around 60.
Salinities are above normal for most Maryland waters this time of year. Oxygen conditions throughout the main Bay and Maryland’s tributaries are suitable to the bottom.
Expect average water clarity for Maryland’s streams, rivers, and main Bay waters. 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 Friday through Tuesday as a result of the new moon on October 21.
The Conowingo Dam is on an irregular schedule of late night/early morning power generation. There are striped bass in the dam pool and taking long casts with light surf rods is the best way to get to the turbine wash. Blue catfish and flathead catfish can be found in the dam pool and just below the dam pool in the Susquehanna River. The mouth of the Susquehanna is one of the better locations for large blue catfish. The lower Elk and Northeast rivers also provide good fishing for blue catfish.
The grass beds of the Susquehanna Flats will begin to diminish due to a shorter photo period – the amount of sunlight in a day – and largemouth bass and Chesapeake Channa will begin to lose the cover they inhabit. The striped bass that work the edges of the grass beds looking for baitfish will start to originate towards the steeper channel edges looking for baitfish being swept along in the currents.
There has been good striped bass action around Pooles Island and the Love Point rocks for anglers live-lining spot or eels or those casting topwater lures and paddletails during the morning hours. The docks, piers, and rocks within Baltimore Harbor are also a good place to cast lures during the morning. As water temperatures in the upper Bay dip to the mid 60, spot are moving out and heading south.
Baitfish in the form of juvenile menhaden and bay anchovies are also feeling the urge to move out of the region’s tidal rivers and head down the Bay. Striped bass are beginning to suspend along steep channel edges to intercept them. Jigging and trolling umbrella rigs are steadily coming into their own as the typical fall pattern develops. White perch can be found on the various knolls and shoals out in the Bay.
The Bay Bridge piers continue to be a worthwhile stop for anglers in the area. Drifting live spot or eels back to the pier bases, where the striped bass are holding close, is a good way to make a catch. Other anglers are casting soft plastic jigs at the pier bases and enjoying good action. As always, a moving tide is very important to success.
Striped bass and bluefish can be found in numerous locations in the middle Bay and steep channel edges are often the key. The channel edge from Bloody Point past Buoy 83 and south to the False Channel has been an excellent place to troll with umbrella rigs for a mix of striped bass and bluefish.
Water temperatures in the tidal rivers are dipping into the lower 60s, which is causing juvenile menhaden and bay anchovies to exit. Striped bass are beginning to suspend along steep channel edges in the lower Choptank River and main channel edges in the Bay. Jigging and trolling with umbrella rigs will be a major focus for anglers and at times the striped bass will push bait to the surface where gulls will join in. Spot are also feeling the urge to move out of the region as water temperatures cool.
Anglers are still finding some fun shallow-water fishing by casting topwater lures, jerkbaits, and paddletails. The Poplar Island rocks, Eastern Bay, Thomas Point, the lower Choptank, and the mouth of the Little Choptank are just a few locations that show promise. The lower sections of the tidal rivers are becoming good places to look for white perch that are schooling up on oyster reef lumps.
Lower Bay
Photo by Eric Packard
Bluefish remain a major focus for anglers in the lower Bay, where the waters around the Target Ship and the main channel edges in the Bay and lower Potomac River are providing good fishing. Soon the bluefish will be a memory since it will not take much convincing for them to head south. Trolling along channel edges with umbrella rigs is a popular way to fish for them and jigging when breaking fish can be found is always fun.
The shallow-water fishing for a mix of striped bass, sea trout, red drum and bluefish is good this week in the lower Potomac and Patuxent rivers, Tangier Sound and near Hoopers Island. Casting poppers and paddletails has been a good choice and when fishing over grass in the Tangier Sound area, a popping cork, and trailing plastic shrimp is a good tactic for speckled trout and red drum. Large red drum are being found in the shallow waters this week on the eastern side of the Bay.
Fishing for spot and croakers remains good this week but the fishery is showing signs of thinning out. Fishing for blue catfish remains very good this week in the tidal Potomac, Patuxent and Nanticoke rivers.
Blue Crabs
Lou Wayson holds up a nice pair of late season crabs from the Kent Island waters. Photo by Rich Watts
The last diehard recreational crabbers are still running trotlines and traps this week. Many are reporting better crabbing in the shallows around midday; the theory is that the sun is warming up the water. Others are finding them deep along edges. Most crabbers are just trying to get one more bushel or part of one to close their season out.
The fall stocking program continues this week in put-and-take trout management waters and delayed harvest management waters. Water flows in some of the smaller streams and creeks are still low so biologists and crews from the hatcheries are making some adjustments. Anglers are encouraged to check the DNR trout stocking website to see which areas have been stocked.
The upper Potomac River continues to experience low flow conditions this week, so anglers are making stealthy approaches and long casts for the best results when fishing for smallmouth bass. The grass beds along the river are starting to break up and smallmouth bass will be feeding on crayfish that are headed to deeper water in search of cover.
Fishing for largemouth bass is excellent this week in the many ponds, reservoirs, and tidal rivers in Maryland. The shallow grass beds are beginning to break up, and baitfish and crayfish will be on the move to deeper cover. This creates a favorable feeding situation for largemouth bass that are aggressively feeding to build up body stores for the winter months. Spinnerbaits, paddletails, jerkbaits, small crankbaits and craw jigs are all good lures to use in open water situations.
The Ocean City area is in the process of recovering from the recent Nor’easter this past week, so the ocean and bay waters will still be stirred up. The ocean is calming down so boats should be able to clear port for offshore fishing by the weekend. The bay waters will take some time to clear up.
In less than two weeks there have been two new state records set in the offshore waters of the Ocean City area. Marc Spagnola set the new state record for longfin albacore with an impressive 78-pound catch. James L. Frazetti Jr. set a new state record for pompano dolphin and also achieved FishMaryland Master Angler status in the same week. Surf conditions are calming down, and anglers can expect some action with bluefish and catch and release opportunities with large red drum that are migrating south along the beaches. There are flounder in the surf and the occasional black drum.
At the inlet fishing for sheepshead has been excellent and anglers are catching them on fiddler crabs, pieces of green crab or sand fleas, tautog are also in the mix. Striped bass and bluefish are also being caught. Flounder are starting to leave the back bay areas, so the inlet is a passageway for them as are the channels leading to the inlet. Larger baits of live spot, finger mullet or Gulp baits will often account for larger flounder.
The black sea bass season is open, as is the tautog season so anglers headed out to the wreck and reef sites should experience good fishing. The fall flounder migration is underway so targeting flounder at lumps, and wreck and reef sites is a good tactic to intercept flounder headed out to the offshore waters.
The fishing at the canyons should show promise as yellowfin tuna, longfin albacore and bigeye tuna move south from more northern waters. Time will tell to see what changes the Nor’easter brought to the offshore waters.
“There comes a time in every man’s life when he is either going to go fishing or do something worse.” – Havilah Babcock, 1947
Maryland Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Click Before You Cast 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.
