Maryland Fishing Report – July 16

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Forecast Summary: July 16 – July 22:

Expect continued warm fishing weather and unstable conditions for Maryland Bay waters this week. There is a chance of thunderstorms on Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday. As reported by the NOAA buoys, main Bay surface water temperatures are holding in the mid 80s with river temperatures slightly cooler in the upper 70s. 

With the continued recent rains, Maryland’s drought is over and salinities are normal for most Maryland waters this time of year. Some upper Bay areas are fresher than normal. There will be adequate oxygen down to less than 20 feet for the Potomac River from Colonial Beach down to the mouth of the river. However, with the warm Bay surface waters and low oxygen conditions in most of the deeper main Bay waters, this is a stressful time for cool-water game fish such as striped bass (which are off-limits in the Bay from now through July 31). In the shallower waters, this is the time of the year when oysters are spawning and peak spat set occurs throughout the Bay. 

Except for reduced water clarity in the Susquehanna Flats area, expect average water clarity for Maryland’s streams, rivers and main Bay waters. However, expect reduced water clarity in the west side of the main Bay from the mouth of the Magothy River down to the West River from algal blooms. 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 conditions Monday and Tuesday as a result of the new moon on July 25.

Upper Chesapeake Bay

Anglers at the Conowingo Dam pool and lower Susquehanna River are diverting their attention from striped bass and fishing for blue catfish and channel catfish. Chesapeake Channa are being targeted in the grass of the Susquehanna Flats. There are plenty of blue catfish to entertain any angler and the mouth of the Susquehanna is one of the best places to fish for them. The Chester River is a close second. Cut bait, chicken parts, or scented bait on a bottom rig will work well. A sliding sinker rigged with a circle hook and a small float to keep the bait slightly off the bottom is a very popular rig. If fishing from a boat, setting up a chum slick can attract catfish to your boat. 

Demolition work has begun on both sides of the Francis Scott Key Bridge piers and the area will be off limits to boaters and anglers. Once that job is finished, new construction will begin, so it will be a long time before anglers will be able to fish the immediate area. The Department of Natural Resources Boating website contains a map of the closed areas. 

Anglers fishing the grassy areas in the tidal rivers of the upper Bay are beginning to see signs of Channa fry balls dispersing. This may free parent fish to begin to focus on feeding again. The middle to upper sections of the tidal rivers on the western shore provide good fishing opportunities for anglers casting a mix of soft-bodied frogs, chatterbaits and white paddletails. 

Although they seem to be hard to find at times, white perch can provide some fun fishing action in the tidal rivers and some of the shoal areas in the upper Bay. Fishing deeper waters with grass shrimp, peeler crab, or pieces of bloodworm on a bottom rig is a good tactic. In the tidal rivers, casting small spin jig type lures, small spinnerbaits, and soft plastic jigs near shoreline structure during the morning and evening is always a fun summer pastime. 

Middle Bay

Anglers in the middle Bay will be fishing for a couple of species during the striped bass closure. Bluefish in the 3/4-pound size range are roaming the channel edges, for example in the area from Buoy 83 south to Sharps Island Light. Trolling with medium-sized red and green surgical tube lures behind inline weights is a good way to target them. Anglers are also encountering bluefish chasing bait on the surface, which makes for some fun casting action. 

There are plenty of spot and small croaker in the middle Bay; there are reports that some of the spot are large enough to eat and a few croakers are exceeding the 9-inch minimum. Spot prefer bloodworms but croakers can be caught on peeler crab. 

Blue catfish can be found in the Choptank River in the area from Dover Bridge to Denton. Cut bait and various other scented baits are good choices to be fished close to the bottom. White perch can be found in the lower sections of the tidal rivers near deepwater docks, oyster bars, and shoreline structure. Peeler crab, grass shrimp, and pieces of bloodworm are excellent baits to use. Casting small spinnerbaits and jigs is another good option in the morning and evening. Finding white perch has been tough this year; the likely culprit was blue catfish eating them when they were staging to spawn in the Choptank River last spring. It was common to find adult white perch, yellow perch, and river herring in the stomachs of blue catfish.

Anglers in the lower Bay have several fishing options during the striped bass closure. There are reports of bluefish being found in excellent numbers throughout the lower Bay region. The mouth of the Potomac and the east side of the bay from Buoy 76 south past Buoy 72B. Trolling red or green surgical tube lures of appropriate size for one-pound bluefish behind inline weight has been a very popular way to fish. At times bluefish can be found chasing bait on the surface and casting metal jigs into the fray is always a lot of fun. 

Cobia are being found in the general area of the Target Ship this week and south near Pocomoke Sound. On calm days, sight fishing is popular and casting large soft plastic jigs or live eels to cobia is always exciting. Large red drum can be found in the deeper waters of Tangier and Pocomoke sounds and near the Target Ship and Middle Grounds. At times they can be caught by trolling large chrome spoons, but most anglers move in on slicks and disturbed water and jig with large soft plastic or use soft crab baits.

Speckled trout can be found in the shallower waters of the region, often over grass. Casting paddletails or topwater lures or using popping corks trailing peeler crab or soft plastic shrimp are good tactics. There are a lot of spot and small croakers in the region; the mouth of the Patuxent and Point Lookout area are two excellent places to fish. The spot and croaker are getting larger as the summer months pass by, and a few croakers are reported to exceed the 9-inch minimum size. 

The tidal Potomac, Patuxent, and Nanticoke rivers are loaded with blue catfish and anglers are encouraged to fish for them. As summer progresses, they will be found in the lower parts of the tidal rivers along the edges of the channels. White perch continue to be hard to find, some are being caught at the mouths of the region’s tidal rivers and others when fishing for a mix of spot and croakers and others are offering opportunities in the more confined tidal creeks. 

Recreational crabbers are finding the best size and quantity of quality crabs in water depths of 10-15 feet. Most crabbers are able to harvest a full bushel per outing in the middle and lower Bay and a half bushel or more in the upper Bay’s tidal rivers. The shallower waters tend to produce a lot of smaller crabs. And as a reminder, minimum size limits on blue crab increased July 15. Male hard crab minimum is now 5.25 inches, male peeler is now 3.5 inches, and soft crab remains 3.5 inches.

Freshwater Fishing

Recent rain has done much to provide good flows of cool water in the special trout management waters of western Maryland. These conditions make for excellent trout fishing in the no-take areas and the fly fishing only waters. The trout are feeding on a variety of hatches and terrestrial bugs – ants, inchworms, and grasshoppers are a few of the bugs that manage to fall into trout waters, so matching them is a good idea when fly fishing. Streamers are a good choice and for waters where spinning tackle is allowed, small jerkbaits, spinners, and spoons can be a good choice.

The flows in the upper Potomac tend to be a variable depending on recent rain events but generally the water levels and clarity are in good shape. Wading is always a fun summer activity when fishing for smallmouth bass. Clear water often means long casts and the morning and evening hours usually offer the best opportunities. Casting tubes, topwater lures, swimbaits, and small crankbaits can be good choices for lures near current breaks, large boulders, and grass edges. 

Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays

Surf anglers are catching bluefish and the occasional inshore sharks on cut bait this week. Flounder can be part of the mix when fishing smaller baits, and croakers are arriving in the surf. At the Ocean City Inlet, a mix of striped bass and one-pound bluefish are entertaining anglers casting and jigging. Striped bass may be caught in the Atlantic Ocean and coastal bays, with a limit of one fish per person per day, slot size 28–31 inches. Sheepshead and a few spade fish are being caught near the South Jetty.

In the bay channels flounder fishing has been very good this week and croakers and bluefish are part of the mix. Boat traffic can be heavy at times near the inlet so be careful when fishing in the channels. 

Outside the inlet, Spanish mackerel and bluefish are being caught by trolling Drone and Clark spoons behind inline weights near the shoal areas. Fishing for black sea bass and a mix of flounder and triggerfish is good at the wreck and reef sites. Boats targeting flounder at these sites are finding good fishing for large fish.

Farther offshore at the canyons anglers are catching yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, dolphin, and both white and blue marlin. Deep drop fishing is producing golden and blueline tilefish.