Upper Bay Region:

Fishermen continue to report good catch and release fishing for hickory shad at Deer Creek and in the Susquehanna River up to the Conowingo Dam. Fishermen are also starting to catch and release American shad in earnest below the dam; especially during water releases. The river also seems to be full of small white perch and good numbers of channel catfish. Fishermen continue to fish in the catch and release areas of the lower river and flats looking for pre-spawn striped bass. The numbers of striped bass in the catch and release areas is beginning to thin out as the fish continue to spawn in the Elk River. Fishermen did report good topwater action in the shallower areas during the weekend at times; live herring, cut herring, soft plastic jigs, large crankbaits and topwater lures have all been good options this past weekend.

Fishermen that were trolling for striped bass to keep below the Brewerton Channel did better this past weekend in regard to finding good fishing. The word blitz was never mentioned but fishermen were able to put some decent catches together closer to their home ports and not run their gas tanks dry from running south to areas below the Bay Bridge. The shipping channel edges and the Dumping Grounds offered the best reports and fishermen described the action as a comfortable pick. The best fishing seemed to occur very early in the morning and towards evening before the cold front moved in. Planner boards and flat lines trailing a distance behind the stern tended to offer the most action. Umbrella rigs in chartreuse and white were the order of the day with tandem rigs a close second. Parachutes and bucktails dressed with sassy shads have been the most popular “fish getters” but a number of anglers reported good luck with spoons in regards to catching fish and others bad luck with the mechanics of trolling with them. As anyone who’s ever trolled spoons in a multi-line set up will tell you; “when you cross lines with a spoon in the mix you really get a big twisted up mess”.

Shoreline fishermen were out in force over the weekend due in part to the beautiful weather. Reports of large striped bass from Sandy Point State Park and Matapeake Fishing Pier were scant this week but a few were caught and one fisherman told of seeing a croaker caught on a bloodworm rig. White perch continue to move closer to the bay and can now be found at the mouth of many of the tidal rivers in the region.

Mid Bay Region:

Most fishermen that went out trolling for large striped bass this past weekend reported good fishing in a number of locations. Most also agreed that the fishing was better than what they experienced on opening day in regards to crowds and availability of fish. The eastern side of the shipping channel from the Gum Thickets south to Bloody Point and to Buoy 83 accounted for a lot of the reported action in the middle bay region over the weekend and late last week. The area around Buoy 83 really stood out as a real producer for fishermen; especially early in the morning before it attracted too much attention. Thomas Point and the steep channel edge from Breezy Point south to Cove Point on the western side of the bay was an excellent place to troll lately. Breezy Point really stood out as a hot spot for fishermen and produced a lot of fish. Other locations of note were the False Channel area at the mouth of the Choptank and around the CR Buoy. Boat traffic tended to scatter fish that were traveling close to the surface; especially at the better locations that drew boats but most captains and fishermen are reporting a good pick. The best action for surface traveling striped bass has been early in the morning, towards the evening hours and any place one can get off by themselves where there is little boat traffic.

Fishermen can expect to see more big striped bass moving through the mid-bay region as the last of the Choptank River post-spawn fish continue to pour out of the Choptank and the first of the upper bay spawning fish begin to move through the region. The upper bay spawning population of striped bass will most likely keep supplying fish to the region till the end of the season on May 13th.

Fishermen have been talking about croakers lately in the shallower waters of the region; especially along places such as the James Island Flats, the mouth of the Choptank and the Sharps Island area. There were even a couple of reports of a few croakers being caught at the Choptank Fishing Pier while fishermen were fishing for white perch. Water temperatures in the middle bay region are in the low 60’s and the warmer shallow areas will often tend to hold more croakers; especially in the evening hours.

Lower Bay/Tangier Sound Region:

Fishermen are reporting good fishing for large striped bass throughout the lower bay region and particular the steep shipping channel edge from Cove Point south to Point No Point. The areas around Hooper’s Island Light and Buoy 72 have also been standouts. Perhaps the best reports over the weekend came from the mouth of the Potomac due to a large concentration of striped bass moving down the river from the spawning areas farther up the river. The region from St. Clements Island south to the St. Georges Island area reported excellent fishing and accounted for a number of really big post-spawn fish. Post-spawn striped will continue to move out of the Nanticoke and Patuxent Rivers also; although the largest percentage of these fish has most likely moved through the lower bay region by now.

There certainly are other fishing opportunities in the lower bay region at the moment and croakers are at the top of the list for many fishermen. The croaker fishing in the lower Potomac River around the Bushwood/Wicomico River area has been attracting the attention of bottom fishermen for a good week now and some anglers are reporting catching limits of 25 large croakers. Most fishermen are reporting more modest catches but those longing for fresh croaker fillets have not been disappointed. The croakers are off course spread down the Potomac and above Point Lookout on the bay side. The mouth of the Honga River, the Nanticoke and Tangier Sound area also report good croaker fishing with white perch thrown into the mix in the lower river areas. The NOAA Buoy at Point Lookout is currently showing a water temperature of 61-degrees; so more croakers will certainly be moving into the region as water temperatures steadily climb.

Ocean Report:

Fishermen report the flounder fishing in the back bay areas of Ocean City and Assateague to be improving every week. The best fishing behind Ocean City is reported to be in the region around the Route 90 Bridge; but flounder are also being caught around the Thorofare. The area near the Ocean City Airport behind Assateague is also another location of note where better flounder catches are being reported. Squid, minnows or a combination of both have been working and flood and ebb tides have both been producing fish.

Tautog continue to entertain fishermen in the Route 50 Bridge/ Inlet area and a number of fishermen are reporting that it is about as good as it gets. Fishermen can fish from the bulkheads from 1st to 4th Streets, the bulkheads at the end of 5th and 6th Streets, the section of the Route 50 Bridge over the East Channel and the North Jetty of the Inlet. Those that have a boat have the South Jetty all to themselves. Pieces of green crabs, frozen sand fleas are the usual fare offered up to the tautog; but a number of fishermen are taking notice of Gulp Baits also working for tautog. Medium-sized bluefish have been moving in and out of the inlet area and fishermen have been catching them by casting Got-Cha plugs. A few under-sized striped bass have also been caught recently in the inlet area as well.

Surf fishermen started to see a little variety starting to show up in the surf this week in the form of kingfish, bluefish and striped bass. Fishermen have been catching kingfish on bloodworms and Fishbites. The “spring runner” bluefish are being caught on cut baits or finger mullet. A few large striped bass were reported over the weekend and this fishery should begin to take shape in the next couple of weeks. Dogfish and skates of course continue to abound in the surf zone and will part of the spring surf fishing equation for a while longer.

The party boats headed out to the artificial reefs and wrecks off Ocean City report good to excellent fishing for large tautog at most sites. A few large sea bass have been caught now and then and fishermen are anxiously waiting for this fishery to develop with warmer water temperatures.