Four Points Persevere Rod S Big Bass Mix
The shallow water striped bass fishery in the middle bay region continues to offer enough nice striped bass over 20" to make getting up before sunrise worthwhile. Topwater lures are best in the grassy areas, to avoid fouling your lure. Old submerged breakwaters, prominent points and shoreline structure in the lower portions of the tidal rivers and the bay shores are the places to target. The rock jetty shoreline of Poplar Island is always a popular place to fish as are the shores of Eastern Bay and the lower Choptank.
Four Points Persevere Rod S Big Bass Mix
Shore bound anglers have been enjoying some striped bass fishing at the Kent Narrows in the evenings when boat traffic subsides and at sun up. Most are casting bucktails and soft plastic jigs up current at an angle and bouncing them along on a tight line. Prominent points and piers can be good places to fish with topwater or crankbait type lures. Those with small boats continue to work favorite spots in the tidal rivers for striped bass. There tends to be a fair proportion of small fish as it is most places but offers fun fishing and enough fish over 20 inches to keep everyone happy.
The shallow water striped bass fishery continues to be good in the early morning and late evening hours near shoreline structure. Sunken breakwaters, prominent points and marsh edges are good places to cast topwater poppers. There tends to be so much grass and algae in these shallow areas that topwater lures are the best way to fish them. Sub-legal fish can dominate the catch at times but larger fish are out there also. White perch abound in the tidal rivers and creeks near piers, rocks and similar sunken structure both deep and shallow.
The shallow water fishery for striped bass in the middle bay region has been offering some exciting fishing this week in the early morning and evening hours. There is a mix of sub-legal and striped bass in the 22' to 26" size range moving about in shallower areas near prominent points, submerged breakwaters and shoreline structure. Topwater lures such as poppers are the best and most fun way to fish for them. June 1, all areas of the tidal rivers and creeks will be open to striped bass fishing. Eastern Bay will be one of the areas being looked forward to since there has been a nice concentration of striped bass in the area for the best part of the month of May.
At Deep Creek Lake smallmouth bass can be found on rocky flats on points, walleye are starting to go deeper as water temperatures warm up but can be found along rocky edges and deep grass lines by drifting minnows. Yellow perch can be found along those deep grass edges also. In the coves there are largemouth bass while northern pike can be found in the deeper parts of the coves. Largemouth bass can also be found near floating docks; flipping soft plastics under those docks is a great way to target them.
Striped bass catches in the upper bay have been slim this week but some fish are being caught for those who wish to fish close to port. There has been some trolling action along channel edges such as Love Point and the Triple Buoys. Most are trolling three to four ounce bucktails dressed with twister tails in tandem or behind umbrella rigs with inline weights. There have been boats anchoring up at Swan, Love and Podickory Points chumming with some success as well as the deeper Bay Bridge piers. Jigging is a good option when fish can be found suspended along channel edges or structure such as the Bay Bridge piers.
Fishing at Deep Creek Lake will be noticeably different this weekend as vacationers begin to descend on the waters of the lake. One of the good things though is that floating docks are being deployed making good habitat for largemouth bass. Targeting docks is a major "go to" tactic for bass fishing on the lake with stick worms and soft plastics. Largemouth bass can also be found in the grassy coves. Smallmouth bass are holding over rocky points in about 6' of water and can be caught on jerkbaits and tubes.
Recent continued late-night enforcement at Fishing Creek Bridge in Dorchester County by the Maryland Natural Resources Police resulted in nine men being charged with illegal fishing and 154 undersized striped bass being seized. Officers charged four men with fishing in a prohibited area, keeping too many striped bass and keeping undersized fish. Fifty-six striped bass were seized. The men are scheduled to appear in Dorchester County District Court. Each charge carries a maximum fine of $1,500. Many thanks to the NRP officers who are out patrolling along the Bay during some very late hours.
Generally speaking, the fishing action for trophy sized striped bass in Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake Bay has been very slow up to this week. If I was ever to place my bets on when to be out trolling, it would be this week. The first full week of May usually offers the best chances and last year there was what might be described as a four day blitz in the middle and lower bay regions. Up to the day of writing this fishing report the action is still being reported as slow. The weekend and beginning of this week was also hampered by small craft warnings so hopefully better conditions will prevail later on this week and into the weekend. They do call it fishing.
Fishing for a mix of yellow perch, walleye and smallmouth bass has been improving along the shorelines of Deep Creek Lake. Minnows on a slip bobber are hard to beat when targeting yellow perch and walleyes. Smallmouth bass can be found near rocky points and targeted with crankbaits and jigs that resemble crayfish. Northern pike and chain pickerel are active and fishermen are urged to look for tags on northern pike as part of ongoing research. Project manager Matt Sell has posted an angler's log describing the program.
Farther down the bay those who persevere are finding striped bass in the channel areas at the mouths of the major tidal rivers and the shipping channels in about 30' of water. The fish are close to the bottom and rather lethargic so slow trolling speeds very close to the bottom are in order. This is also the time of the year when bottom bouncing can really pay off. It can be tiring to one's arms but it does put fish in the boat. Others have some success with jigging but with water temperatures around 45, the action is slowing down.
Water temperatures will most likely begin to dip below the 50 degree mark by next week and striped bass will show decreased activity and will be holding deep. The salinity in the middle bay region is about 18 p.p.t. which is considerably high for this time of the year. We are going on our fourth month with hardly any rain and without freshwater pouring in from the tidal rivers higher salt content water is pushing up the bay with each tide. This is okay for fish but you may find white perch and channel catfish in places you normally don't see them this time of the year. These high salinities are not good for oysters since the diseases that hamper their survival are more prevalent in higher salinity waters.
Deep Creek Lake water levels are down due to draw downs and with water temperatures around 57 fish are very active. Largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch and northern pike are all actively feeding and with boat traffic down to a minimum; this is a wonderful time of the year to fish Deep Creek Lake. Most of the floating docks have been hauled out so natural structure such as grass beds, rocky points and fallen treetops are all good places to target.
Freshwater fishing could hardly be any better this week as most fish species feel the urge to actively feed throughout most of the day due to cool water temperatures. Smallmouth and largemouth bass can be found in Deep Creek Lake near grass beds and rocky points. Yellow perch are active near deep grass. There is good smallmouth bass fishing in the upper Potomac River this week. Water levels are low and clear but the smallmouth bass are active. There is also good fishing for smallmouth bass and walleye in the lower Susquehanna River.
At popular resort areas like Deep Creek Lake the lake will start to become more civilized as summer vacationers begin to haul boats out for long term storage and peace one again returns to the lakes waters. Shoreline waters will show less staining from boat wakes and boat traffic in general will lessen. Smallmouth bass are being found over rocky points and near some of the floating docks over deeper water. Largemouth bass are near grass and shoreline structure such as fallen treetops and floating docks. Yellow perch and walleye are holding near deep grass and northern pike and chain pickerel are in the cove areas.
The shallow water striped bass fishery continues to hold great opportunities for catching some nice fish. There are a fair percentage of smaller fish mixed in but there seems to be plenty of action along prominent points and structure such as old piers, jetties and sunken rock breakwaters. Suspended jerkbaits and swim shads can be very effect lures to use but topwater poppers are by far the most entertaining. A high flood or high ebb tide tends to be one of the better times to fish the shallows and as water temperatures move into the low 80's the action tends to be over as the sun rises above the horizon and starts an hour or so before sunset. Lou Wayson made the effort to get up early and be out on the water before sunrise and was rewarded with this nice Choptank River striped bass.
There tends to be plenty of fishing opportunities this week in the upper bay region as striped bass are found in the lower sections of the region's tidal rivers. The most popular action is of course the chumming fleets that have been setting up on striped bass holding on major channel edges at Swan Point, Love Point and the edge from Sandy Point Light north to the mouth of the Magothy River. There is plenty of action in the early morning and late evening hours in areas such as the Patapsco River/Baltimore Harbor area along shore line structure. Old piers, prominent points, bridge piers and rock structure are all good place to enjoy casting topwater lures for striped bass. These areas also hold white perch for those casting beetle-spins and small spinners or jigs. During brighter daylight hours both striped bass and white perch will be found deeper and jigs will work well for the striped bass and smaller dropper jigs or bottom rigs baited with bloodworms will do the trick for white perch. Allison Lorden and Mary Beth Whalen have plenty to smile about with these two Patapsco River striped bass. 041b061a72