DNR Maryland Fishing Report – August 12
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DNR Maryland Fishing Report – August 12 Posted by TBN(Staff) On 08/12/2021 Photo by Jim Livingston ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Life on the Chesapeake is all about family and friends, a good boat, a good dog, and getting out on the water to enjoy it all. In many cases, this involves catching some blue crabs for a crab dinner together. Throughout the summer, anglers should continue to check the striped bass fishing advisory forecast to help protect this iconic species. Forecast Summary: August 11 – August 17: This week will be sunny, with very warm weather through Saturday and then a slight cooling through Tuesday, but water temperatures will continue to rise through the next week. Bay surface water, river, and stream temperatures are still very warm and holding in the low 80s. Monitoring data is showing main Bay bottom waters are still slightly cooler than surface waters, and continue to show poor oxygen conditions. As a result, Bay gamefish will likely be higher in the water column to find adequate oxygen and their preferred water temperatures. The coolest oxygenated bottom waters can be found from the Kent Island area north to Tolchester. Due to Conowingo Dam releases, cool water is also present on the Susquehanna River through the Susquehanna Flats area in the late evening and early morning. Bay surface temperatures cool by 2 to 3 degrees at night. Due to low bottom oxygen levels, avoid fishing below the following depths in these locations: Swan Point, 25 feet; Bay Bridge to Bloody Point, 15 feet to 25 feet; Choptank River to Point No Point, 5 feet to 35 feet. Currently, the western shore of the Bay from Magothy down to the mouth of the Potomac River are showing very poor oxygen levels below 10 feet. On the Potomac from Colonial Beach to Piney Point, avoid fishing deeper than 5 feet to 35 feet. Conditions can vary daily so be sure to check the depth-to-oxygen level online prior to your next fishing trip. Maryland upper Bay waters down to the Bay Bridge are running saltier than normal while waters below the bridge are normal. Expect average flows for most Maryland rivers and streams. There will be above average tidal currents through Friday as a result of the Aug. 8 new moon. Expect average clarity for Maryland portions of the Bay and rivers, with very poor water clarity due to algal blooms in the Back and middle Patuxent rivers. To see the latest water clarity conditions, check Eyes on the Bay Satellite Maps. For more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area of the Bay, check the Maryland DNR website for Click Before You Cast. Get regular updates on Maryland’s waters sent to your inbox with our Eyes on the Bay newsletter. Sign up online. Upper Chesapeake Bay The father-daughter team of Rubi and Moo Bae successfully live-lined spot to catch this nice striped bass at the Bay Bridge piers. Photo courtesy of Moo Bae Last week’s cooler weather did a lot to spur on the shallow water striped bass fishery. Anglers are enjoying casting topwater lures and paddletails in the Conowingo Dam pool and the edges of the Susquehanna Flats in the early morning hours. As the morning wears on, many are having good luck with jigging or live-lining spot along the channel edges leading to the mouth of the Susquehanna River. It looks like we’re in for an August heat wave so it is possible the action will diminish quickly as the sun rises above the horizon. There are large power generation water releases from the dam in the afternoon into the evening hours, so a flush of cool water will be flowing down the river. Live-lining spot continues to be effective at the various Tolchester lumps and knolls from Pooles Island to Rock Hall. The area has been popular with charter and recreational boats creating a dense fleet at times. The Bay Bridge piers, the Key Bridge, the Love Point Rocks, and shipping channel edges offer other places to live-line that are not as crowded. The predicted hot weather will create a lot of stress on sub-legal striped bass that must be released — anglers should make every effort to quickly release these fish in the water to help in their recovery. Tips on careful catch-and-release practices can be found on the DNR website. Anglers are required to use circle hooks when targeting striped bass, to help prevent deep hooking when fishing with bait or live-lining. Blue and channel catfish are providing plenty of fun action for anglers targeting them in the lower Susquehanna River and nearby tidal rivers in the upper reaches of the Bay. The Chester River in the Crumpton area also has a large population of blue catfish. Fresh-cut bait tends to be one of the most popular baits. Channel catfish can be found in all of the tidal rivers in the upper Bay region. White perch fishing has been good in the tidal rivers and out in the Bay on various hard bottom shoals and knolls. When fishing with light tackle in the tidal rivers, casting beetle spins and small lures in the morning and evening hours along shoreline structure is fun and popular. Out in the Bay a bottom rig baited with pieces of bloodworm is the most common way to fish for white perch. Middle Bay Tyler Burggaff proudly holds up a Spanish mackerel he caught while fishing with his dad. Photo by Ali Burggaff Spanish mackerel are now being found in good numbers throughout the middle Bay. They are actively chasing schools of bay anchovies with their sidekicks: cutlass fish, small bluefish, and small striped bass. They are pushing the schools of bait to the surface where seagulls join in and help point the way for anglers searching the horizon. The action tends to be found along the edges of the shipping channel near Buoy 83 off Poplar Island, out in front of Chesapeake Beach Page 1 and Breezy Point, and the False Channel at the mouth of the Choptank River. Trolling is a popular way to cover plenty of water along the shipping channel edges. Small #1 or #2 Drone spoons tend to be the lure of choice, and gold with stripes of chartreuse or other colors tends to work well in stained water conditions. Small silver Clark spoons have always been the standard for Spanish mackerel and they are a good addition to a trolling spread in the bay. Both are pulled behind #1 or #2 planers or inline weights at speeds close to 8 knots. When you spot schools of breaking fish, move carefully upwind and drift into the action with the motor turned off for some fun and exciting light-tackle action. Cast small jigs and heavy metal jigs into the fray and reel as fast as you can. Spanish mackerel have no problem chasing down a quick retrieve. Slower retrieves will allow small bluefish and striped bass to catch up. Working large jigs close to the bottom can entice larger striped bass who may be lounging underneath the surface action, picking up tidbits that drift down. The shallow striped bass fishery has been a bright spot in the middle Bay, although the upcoming hot weather may slow it down during the day. Get out on the water at dawn for the best action when casting topwater lures or paddletails. The rising sun tends to drive the striped bass to deeper waters. The evenings are more forgiving for one’s sleep schedule and the action can be good at times. Shoreline structure and a moving tide are also key ingredients. Speckled trout can be part of the mix when fishing the shallows. Reports from the Little Choptank River and Slaughter Creek talk of good numbers of speckled trout there. The early morning and late evening hours are a great time to work shoreline structure for white perch by casting small lures with light tackle. Beetle spins, spinners, and small soft plastic jigs are popular lures. Submerged rocks, sunken wood, docks, piers and prominent points are all good areas to explore. Fishing with a simple one-hook bottom rig or small jig head with grass shrimp is a very good way to fish close to dock pilings, jetties, and bulkheads. Fishing with bottom rigs over oyster bottom in the lower sections of the region’s tidal rivers with pieces of bloodworms also works well. Lower Bay Beth Versak is all smiles with this nice cobia that she caught over the weekend. Photo by Eric Packard Spanish mackerel and cobia are taking center stage in the lower Bay. Spanish mackerel can be found in good numbers in a variety of locations along channels, chasing schools of bay anchovies. It is a thrilling sight to see gulls diving into a surface melee of bait and a mix of Spanish mackerel, cutlass fish, small bluefish, and at times small striped bass charging through the schools of bait. The ticket to catching Spanish mackerel is carefully positioning upwind of the action, then casting small to medium soft plastic jigs or metal jigs and retrieving them as fast as possible. A slower retrieve allows bluefish to take your lure. It pays to keep an eye on depth finders because there can be times when larger striped bass, large red drum, or maybe even a cobia can be found holding close to the bottom underneath the action near the surface. It can pay large dividends to have a stout rod rigged with a large, soft plastic jig for this very purpose.