Middle Bay Fishing Reports

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 9 Update:

We are one week away from the opening of striped bass season on the Chesapeake Bay and anglers are eager to get out and chase them. Since they have been off limits since March, we don’t have much intel on where they are being caught, but popular Middle Bay locations such as the Bay Bridge, Poplar Island, and the remnants of James Island should be holding fish. Luckily, some other species are starting to show up for us to chase while the stripers are still off limits. The Angler in Chief says WOOHOO—there are some black drum in the Middle Bay!! An afternoon spent speck-hunting in the vicinity of the Choptank produced only accidental stripers (between 16” and 24”) while casting small speck-sized paddletails. But after visiting several shallow water spots then shifting deeper, Reports Editor Dillon Waters got a serious bend in his rod while jigging 20’ down. After a long battle on light gear, he brought a 31” black drum up to the boat. The AIC also claimed to have hooked one that came unbuttoned, though we have our doubts…

We had a photo-verified report of the white perch moving into the creeks, with one angler in the Pax reporting a half-dozen up to 12.5”. All were caught on Beetle Spins, and he noted that the fish were way back in the coves. The Tackle Box is also reporting that white perch, spot, and croaker are now being caught on the lower Pax near Solomons. FishTalk contributor Eric Packard reports that he has not encountered any speckled trout or red drum in Mill Creek on the Lower Pax, but there are plenty of schoolie striped bass that he has accidentally encountered as bycatch. Packard also reports that small spot and croaker have moved into Mill Creek, and he caught both using small bits of Fishbites. There have been some additional hearsay reports of speckled trout showing up in the middle Bay shallows, but we have yet to have a reader check in with any verified catches. We did have confirmation of two 20 inchers showing up in a pound net near Deale, so there are some moving up the Bay.

Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, May 2 Update:

Readers making an early run on the white perch in creeks off the South River reported no joy as of yet. The perch should start showing up in their summer haunts this month, which will include the shallows in all the tidal tributaries, areas with oyster bottom, and any of the artificial reef sites in the Middle Bay. Small spinners, artificial jigs, minnows, and grass shrimp are some of their preferred baits. The catfish bite on the main stem of the Bay has not been reliable this year, but the tidal rivers have provided better results. Anglers are catching blue catfish in the upper portions of the Patuxent and Choptank rivers with cut bait such as fresh gizzard shad working well. There are also plenty of channel catfish in these same areas that will be providing plenty of opportunities for the remainder of the spring as well.

We have reports from the local netters that they are starting to see spot and small croaker showing up in their pound nets. This is good news for striped bass anglers as there should be plenty of spot around to catch for live lining endeavors. Bottom rigs or Chesapeake sabiki rigs baited with small pieces of bloodworms (very expensive) or pieces of Fishbites (more affordable) should do the trick. The striped bass sum/fall season will open this month on May 16th. The regulations are the same as last year with a slot of 19-24” and a creel limit of one fish per person per day. Only certain areas will be open to harvest starting May 16th, while other areas will be either catch and release only or still no targeting. Anglers can view the Maryland DNR striped bass regulation map to see when and where they can target striped bass.

Crabbing Report: Yes, a crabbing report at the very start of May! The Angler in Chief says that this past weekend he managed to scrape up eight keeper crabs running a shortie 600’ trot line in the South River, after prospecting four different areas. Four to six feet of water over muddy bottom was the ticket to these early-early season Jimmies. FishTalk’s Zach Ditmars did even better last week, catching a grand total of 17 when the sun was shining and the crabs started moving around a bit.