Maryland Fishing Report: August 15

August 15, 2018

One of the fun and exciting things about fishing is you just never know what surprises await when you cast your fishing line into the water. Some have been surprised with a record-breaking catch, a novelty catch or just a fun encounter with a fish to help round out a peaceful day. Enjoying the outdoors tends to be that way; you never can be sure what is around the next bend in a trail, or what a day out on the water has in store for you. And for you photographers out there, the Maryland Natural Resource photo contest wraps up this month. Enter your best shots showcasing Maryland’s great fishing and outdoors by midnight Aug. 31. Winners will be featured in the 2019 wall calendar; additional prizes include cash and park passes. Enter today! Forecast Summary: Aug. 15-21



This week, high water temperatures in the bay will continue while water clarity is improving — though still reduced from high river flows entering the bay. Main bay surface water temperatures are averaging around 82 degrees to 84 degree during the day, and will continue to stay very warm through the next week. As of Aug. 8, the coolest waters from surface to bottom are from the Susquehanna Flats down to the Still Pond area. The temperature break continues to be near the Gunpowder Neck area, with cooler areas north and warmer waters south of that point. Remember, striped bass will avoid water above 84 degrees. Since the record low hypoxia recorded in late July, oxygen conditions have returned to normal numbers for August. Department monitoring Aug. 8 shows adequate oxygen down to 20 feet at Swan Point and Bay Bridge, 13 feet at Kent Point, 30 feet at Gooses Reef and more than 36 feet at Cove Point and Smith Point. Anglers should continue to seek the best combination of clear, cool, oxygenated waters. This means fishing deeper or early in the morning in shallow waters when water temperatures can be about 3 degrees cooler. There will be above average tidal currents Wednesday and Thursday as a result of the new moon Aug. 12. For the full weekly fishing conditions summary and more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area of the bay, be sure to check out Eyes on the Bay’s Click Before You Cast.

Upper Chesapeake Bay



Fortunately, water quality conditions in the upper bay are steadily improving due to recent rains and windy conditions. Dissolved oxygen levels have improved, although water temperatures are still high. The flood gates at the Conowingo Dam are now closed but power generation releases are still far above average for this time of the year. The lower Susquehanna River and surrounding areas still report stained conditions. The striped bass that were concentrated at the shoal areas off Tolchester have begun to move to the south. Striped bass are now being found along the channel edges at Swan, Love and Podickory points. Live lining spot has been a popular way to avoid the high number of small striped bass in the region and focus in on a larger grade of fish. Chumming is certainly effective but there are a large number of sub-legal fish attracted to the chum slicks. Channel catfish are being attracted to the chum slicks as well and will pick up baits that are resting on the bottom and meant for striped bass. The bridge piers of the Francis Scott Key Bridge as well as the Bay Bridge are holding striped bass at about 20 feet. Live lining spot, eels or chunking has been a very popular way to target these suspended fish. For those who can get out on the water before sunup, there continues to be a topwater bite at the rock piles at the Bay Bridge and other shoreline structure areas. Spot can be found on the west side of the Bay Bridge in about 12 feet to 15 feet of water and also at the mouth of the Magothy and Chester rivers. Pieces of bloodworms on a simple bottom rig will catch them and some manner of a live well is needed to keep them healthy on the way to the upper bay channel edges.

Middle Bay

Surface water temperatures in the middle bay region are now holding around 84 degrees today and the salinity is 5 parts per thousand, which is about as low as this writer can remember. Improved dissolved oxygen levels in the middle bay region have improved and striped bass are being found widespread through the region, although unfortunately sparse in numbers. It may take some exploring with a depth finder or perhaps some trolling to locate them suspended along channel edges. Chumming, chunking or live lining spot has been accounting for some catches at the outside edge of Hacketts Bar, Thomas Point, Bloody Point and various channel edges throughout the region. The throwback ratio when chumming continues to be high, but those live lining spot are able to catch larger striped bass. There is a lot shallow-water action in the Eastern Bay area and the lower sections of the region’s tidal rivers. It is an early morning bite and to a lesser degree there is some action in the evenings. Casting topwater lures, jerkbaits, swimbaits and crankbaits are all good lures to use depending on water depth and grass conditions. Prominent points and shoreline structure such as rocks, piers and channel edges are all good places to target. Good numbers of spot are available in the middle bay region at hard bottom locations. Eastern Bay, the Whitehall Bay edge of Hacketts Bar, the lower Choptank and other tidal rivers are good places to find spot. White perch are also being found in some of these same areas and in the region’s tidal rivers and creeks. Fishing with a bottom rig with grass shrimp or bloodworms near docks and piers over deeper water is a great way to catch some nice perch. Casting small spinnerbaits, spinners or jigs can also be another fun way to catch white perch along shoreline structure in the early morning or evening hours with light tackle.