Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 26 Update:
The big talk on the Bay has been the arrival of migratory striped bass with a lot of trophy fish in the mix. The epicenter of the action seems to be south of the Upper Bay, but there have been big fish landed north of the Bay Bridge. Trollers pulling umbrella rigs with five-to-seven-inch sassy shads along channel edges are getting bites. Another popular striped bass fishing location in this region is the Sewer Pipe near Love Point. The outflow can attract stripers and is known to hold fish at times in the winter. If you have never fished it, you can read all about it in our article Flush With Opportunity: Fishing The Sewer Pipe. In the Patapsco, resident striped bass are holding in deeper depths of 40' to 60' and are being caught using swimbaits and metal jigs. White perch have also been abundant with reports showing small metal jigs working well to get them to bite. The perch are holding in the deepest holes of the river and an angler fishing this week reported catching several up to 13 inches.
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The Baltimore area creeks are producing a solid pickerel bite, with a reader reporting numerous fish up to a whopping 25”. Five-inch paddletails continue to be effective, though as water temps drop, we’d expect minnow to take over as the best offering at any time. The cold weather recently put some ice on the smaller creeks and coves in upper Bay tidal tributaries, but the weather is forecasted to warm up a little in the coming days, so pickerel opportunities should be plentiful. The Magothy is fishing well in the upper reaches with pickerel hanging around near docks, rip-rap shorelines, and fallen wood along the bank. As water temperatures continue to drop, slower bait presentations may be required to entice pickerel to bite. Slow twitching jerkbaits and slow rolling spinners can be effective. We encourage anglers to consider signing up for the CCA Pickerel Championship to compete for some great prizes. The tournament runs through the end of February 2025.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 20 Update:
Christmas is next week, and many anglers are trying to get in a few final fishing trips before the start of the new year. Although the season is closed, striped bass anglers should be excited to hear about the arrival of some migratory fish that are offering catch and release opportunities. The first report of a trophy-sized Upper Bay rock, this one a 50”, came in from a reader trolling in 48’ near the Dumping Grounds. The winning lure was a homemade bucktail/Clark Spoon combination. There were also reports of trophy striped bass action around the Bay Bridge, with trollers picking up several trophy sized fish from Matapeake up to Love Point. Umbrella rigs with five-inch skirted sassy shads in chartreuse and white produced several bites.
If the pattern holds similar to last year, more migratory fish should continue to show up and hopefully stick around through the winter. Birds have been a major indicator for finding these fish and when the birds aren’t working, it has been much more difficult to locate them. If birds aren’t lending a helping hand, working major ledges along channels will be good areas to search. We have heard reports of fish being caught in depths anywhere from 30 feet all the way to 80 feet.
The pickerel bite is still going strong in Upper Bay tributaries and FishTalk contributor Eric Packard had an excellent day fishing Stoney Creek this week. Packard reported catching 14 pickerel while casting a Berkley Fishing PowerBait Cullshad and a VMC quarter ounce hybrid swimbait jig dressed with a Rapala “The Mayor” four-inch plastic. His fish were caught in six to eight feet of water and several were caught fishing close to docks.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 13 Update:
The striped bass season has closed for the year and we have moved into catch and release only. The bite still isn’t great, but there have been pockets of fish offering decent action at times. The Patapsco River typically has a good number of resident striped bass that can be targeted throughout the year, even in the winter months. Captain Sean Gonketchum was out earlier in the week and reported that blade baits had schoolies fired up in 30’ of water. Other anglers on the river reported a slower bite for both stripers and white perch. The perch seem to be hanging along the main channel of the river in 35’ to 55’ of water. Blade baits and metal jigs have been working well for them when they can be located. On the main stem, scattered schools of striped bass can be found in depths of 30’ to 50’ along the shipping channel, and some white perch are schooled up near the Bay Bridge rockpiles. Blue catfish are another target to keep in mind as they can be found in just about all the tidal rivers. Fresh cut bait works best to get them biting.
FishTalk’s Zach Ditmars hit the upper Magothy last weekend and reports a fair pickerel bite, with a half-dozen fish up to 22” coming to the net. One reader reported several pickerel plus a couple of yellow perch, and another landed one pickerel, also while fishing the Magothy. Inline spinners with 4” paddle tails and minnow on shad darts were producers. Pickerel fishing is a great option for when the striper bite is done or the wind is blowing too much to get out on the big water. There are several creeks in the Magothy and Patapsco/Baltimore area that hold good numbers of pickerel in the winter months as well. Anglers planning to fish for pickerel should consider signing up for the CCA Pickerel Championship. The tournament runs until the end of February 2025 and there are several divisions to compete in for great prizes.
Upper Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 6 Update:
Striped bass season has less than a week to go in Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay and will officially close after December 10th. Catch and release fishing will still be allowed after the season closes. Unfortunately, the bite has not been as good as we had hoped for this fall, but there are pockets of fish that can still be targeted. The Patapsco River has been one of the hotspots and there are still fish being caught this week. An angler trolling umbrella rigs along the main river channel edge says that his recent bites have come in 45’ of water. Deep channels in the Patapsco have also been holding schools of white perch with most of them being found in the 40’ to-50’ range. One angler reported that blade baits have been the hot lure on recent trips. He has caught a few striped bass and several perch all of which were holding close to bottom. Other areas that can produce fish this time of year are the rock piles at the Bay Bridge and the ledges along the shipping channel on the main stem of the Bay.
Off the main stem of the Bay, action in the tribs for pickerel has been much better, with anglers in the Magothy reporting a good bite with the colder temperatures. Fish seem to be hanging out around docks in the upper reaches of creeks and along shorelines with fallen trees and other structure. The pickerel bite seems to be the most consistent option right now and will remain a great opportunity throughout the winter fishing season. Anglers planning to fish for pickerel should consider signing up for the CCA Pickerel Championship. The tournament runs until the end of February 2025 and there are several divisions to compete in for great prizes.