Maryland Fishing Report – May 7

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Forecast Summary: May 7 – May 13:

Great fishing weather is ahead with stable, warm conditions for Maryland Bay waters. Main Bay surface water temperatures have jumped to the mid to high 60s. River temperatures are slightly warmer at about 70 degrees. Due to our region’s rain deficit, expect average to slightly below average flows for most Maryland rivers and streams. Correspondingly, expect Bay salinities to be slightly above normal for this time of year. There is also plenty of oxygen from surface to bottom for all Bay gamefish.

Despite likely rain this week, expect average clarity for most Maryland portions of the Bay and rivers. 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 all week as a result of the full moon on May 13.

For more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area, be sure to check out Eyes on the Bay’s Click Before You Cast.

Upper Chesapeake Bay

Hickory shad are completing their spawning activities and beginning to leave the lower Susquehanna River system. This will most likely be the last week for this catch-and-release fishery. Gizzard shad are actively spawning in the area and can be seen swirling in the shallows. 

There are plenty of other fish to catch in the lower Susquehanna and the Conowingo Dam pool this week. Chesapeake Channa seem to find themselves at a dead end at the dam pool, there are flathead and blue catfish and large smallmouth bass.

White perch have moved into the lower Susquehanna River and can be caught by casting small shad darts rigged in tandem and tipped with pieces of small Gulp baits, grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm. Bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm will work well when fishing the deeper waters.

The upper sections of the tidal rivers on the western shore are providing plenty of good fishing for Chesapeake Channa this week. Grass beds are beginning to fill out and that is where the fish will be holding. They are in a pre-spawn mode of feeding behavior and are aggressive. June usually marks the time when they spawn, and their feeding activity will diminish. 

Blue catfish are roaming the waters of the upper Bay, and they can be found in the lower sections of the region’s tidal rivers and to a lesser extent out in the Bay. The lower Susquehanna River, the mouth of the Elk River, and the middle to upper sections of the Chester River are good places to fish for blue catfish. Gizzard shad, menhaden, and white perch are all good cut bait options, but many anglers have good luck with chicken parts, and it doesn’t hurt to add some form of a scent product. The sliding sinker rig, often referred to a fish finder rig, with a 5/0 or larger circle hook.

Middle Bay

Anglers in the middle Bay are counting the days till striped bass season opens in the main stem on May 16. This is a good time to make sure all your gear is ready to go. Jigging and trolling along the channel edges will be popular and many will strike out to enjoy shallow water action by casting paddletails and topwater lures. Check DNR’s online striped bass season regulation map to confirm where you can fish. 

White perch are moving into the lower sections of the region’s tidal rivers and the Choptank is one of the premier white perch spawning rivers. The white perch are slowly making their way into their typical summer habitat. Fishing over oyster lumps with dropper rigs with shad darts, or soft plastics tied in and tipped with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm is a good tactic. Two-hook bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm will accomplish the same success.

There is a mix of channel and blue catfish in every one of the region’s tidal rivers and they can provide fun fishing and good table fare. The Choptank River holds the greatest number of blue catfish at this time and other rivers will no doubt catch up in time. The Choptank blue catfish can be found from below the Dover Bridge area up to just above Denton. If you are fishing from a boat, setting up along channel edges is a good spot to try. The outside bends of the river where there are high banks in the Choptank, and the lower Tuckahoe is often a great place to anchor up and fish. A small chum pot hung close to the bottom will go a long way to leave a scent trail for them to follow up to your boat. Using a 5/0 circle hook on a sliding sinker rig with a float just large enough to lift the bait a bit off the bottom is a tried-and-true rig for blue catfish.

The backwater creeks and rivers of Dorchester County are one of the best places to fish for Chesapeake Channa as May develops. The fish are in a pre-spawn mode of activity and are feeding aggressively, once June rolls around, they will begin to spawn, and it will be tough to get them to strike lures. White paddletails are one of the most effective lures to use, chatterbaits rigged with soft white plastics and soft- bodied frogs a close second in popularity.

The main stem of the tidal Potomac River is still open to catch-and-release fishing of striped bass through May 15. Maryland’s main portion of the Bay will open to striped bass fishing on May 16, and DNR’s online striped bass season regulation map site can help you find where and when you can target them.

Anglers continue to target large black drum in the Tangier and Pocomoke sound waters and near the Target Ship. The black drum are being spotted on depth finders and soft crab baits are lowered in hopes of a hook up. Reports from our southern neighbors tell of large red drum and speckled trout headed our way, and warmer Bay waters should have them showing up in Maryland waters soon. 

White perch are moving down the region’s tidal rivers headed for their typical summer habitat. Currently the lower Potomac, Patuxent, Nanticoke, Wicomico, and Pocomoke are good places to fish for them. They will be found holding over oyster bars and hard-bottomed lumps and are starting to be found along smaller creeks and shorelines. 

Dropper rigs with small soft plastic jigs or shad darts can be a good way to fish for them if you’re in a boat. Baiting a bottom-rig baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm is a perfect way to fish for white perch at this time if fishing from shore, docks, or from boats in deeper waters.

The hickory shad spawning runs in the Potomac River below Little Falls are beginning to diminish as water temperatures in the Potomac come close to the 70-degree mark. American shad are still an option this week and anglers report a falling tide is the best time to fish for them. The hickory shad spawning run at Mattawoman Creek and the upper Patuxent is also on the wane. 

Fishing for crappie continues to be good in the tidal Potomac near the Wilson Bridge, the Wicomico and Pocomoke rivers. Most anglers are fishing with small minnows under a slip bobber cast near the concrete dump site on the northeast side of the Wilson Bridge, marina docks, and shoreline sunken brush and fallen treetops in the Eastern Shore rivers.

Freshwater Fishing

The stocking of trout in the marginal waters within the central and southern region will begin to wind down as water temperatures rise to levels not suitable for trout survival. This will include community ponds and some of the rivers close to the Baltimore area. Anglers can still find trout in these areas, but it will be more of a challenge. Casting small spinners and spoons is a great way to cover a lot of water where holdover trout might be holding.

The delayed harvest and catch and release trout management waters in the western region and the tailrace waters on the Gunpowder River below the Prettyboy Reservoir Dam offer these types of fishing adventures.

Deep Creek Lake is coming into its own as water and air temperatures rise to a pleasant level for anglers and various species of fish. The vacation season has not hit high gear yet so anglers can find good fishing and a little solitude on the lake. Floating docks are being deployed and are good places to target for smallmouth and largemouth bass looking for a little shade and structure. Crappie can be found holding near bridge piers and small minnows on a slip bobber is a good way to target them. Casting swimbaits and small crankbaits along steep rocky edges and deep grass lines can be a good way to target walleye and smallmouth bass. Slow trolling nightcrawlers on a worm harness down deep along the dam face is a wonderful way to target trout. 

The upper Potomac River is offering good fishing for the walleye and smallmouth bass this week. Water levels have been low, but the water is clear and still cool enough to the liking of walleye and smallmouth bass. Casting a variety of tubes, swimbaits, paddletails, and small crankbaits are a good way to target them along current breaks, mid-river boulders and submerged ledges. 

Largemouth bass are entering their spawning phase in the southern, central, and eastern regions this week and the females are moving into the shallower areas where males have carved out spawning nests. Targeting the transition areas in slightly deeper waters is a good way to target female largemouth bass holding outside of the spawning beds.

Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays

Anglers fishing along the beaches of Assateague are catching a mix of black drum and large striped bass in the surf this week. The northern migration of post-spawn striped bass are making their way up the coast from the Chesapeake and providing additional action for anglers. Sand fleas have been the most popular bait for the black drum and the striped bass seem to like them also, anglers are reminded there is a 28-inch to 31-inch slot for striped bass. 

At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, anglers are catching a mix of striped bass and small bluefish by casting soft plastic jigs, paddletails, and Got-Cha type lures. Most of the striped bass being caught inside the inlet come up a little shy of the 28-inch minimum. Tautog are also being caught along the jetty rocks and bulkheads on sand fleas; the change of the tide tends to offer some of the best success. Flounder are moving through the inlet, headed for the back bay waters on a falling tide.

Flounder fishing in the back bay channels leading from the inlet is good this week, there are a lot of undersized flounder that don’t meet the 16-inch minimum, but by the end of most fishing trips anglers can catch a limit of four legal flounder or close to that. A falling or ebb tide is the most productive time to fish for flounder. 

Fishing for striped bass near the bridge piers of the Verrazano and Route 90 bridges remains a fun catch and release fishery this week. Most of the striped bass being caught fail to meet the 28-inch minimum. The early morning and late evening hours offer the best fishing when casting paddletails and jerkbaits near the bridge piers and sedge bank edges. 

Outside the Ocean City Inlet, the boats taking anglers out to the wreck and reef sites are finding good fishing for tautog for their anglers. Most anglers can catch a four fish limit and still be able to release the larger tautog.