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Upper Bay Fishing Reports

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July 12

Upper Bay Region:

The upper bay waters are showing some effects from last week's heavy rains, but generally came out of the whole deluge rather well. The Conowingo Dam has been releasing water regularly for the past week starting at noon and continuing through the evening. This has helped the fishing in the river where fishermen are catching smallmouth bass and channel catfish. Most fishermen are reporting that the striped bass fishing in the river has fallen off in the last two weeks. This should come as no surprise to anglers who fish there regularly. We're now into the middle of the summer with hot sultry days and warmer water temperatures.

Fishermen have been trolling along channel edges over a wide area of the upper bay and finding striped bass cooperating here and there. Everyone seems to agree that the fish are spread out and in most locations in the bay proper of good size. Anglers in the Patapsco River are finding fish along old pilings and piers using top water lures in the early morning and late evening hours of the day. Others are finding fish by trolling or jigging along channel edges.

The best fishing has been occurring a little farther down the bay mostly by the boats chumming. Summer time fishing for striped bass in the Chesapeake usually means chumming and so far this summer it has been good. Most captains will agree it's much better than last year, better water quality and a very nice grade of fish. The chumming fleets have been spread out for the most part in locations such as the Hickory Thicket, Swan Point, and Love Point and between Baltimore Light and Swan Point. Based on the number of boats I saw this morning while coming across the bridge, the area just off Sandy Point Light is hot. It has been a while since I have seen a tight knot of boats like that on a weekday. The word this morning from a few captains, is that most of the fish being caught are in the mid-twenty inch range with few throwbacks.

Many of the fish that have moved into the upper bay can be found in the shallow water areas in the early morning or late evening hours. Top water lures such as poppers are a fun way to fish, but soft plastics can really be effective at times.  White perch continue to provide a lot of action for those fishing some of the hard bottomed shoal areas with small jigs or bottom rigs baited with bloodworms, peeler crab or Fishbites.

Recreational crabbing opportunities continue to be slim in most areas of the upper bay and forecast rains later on this week will not help. There are reports of fair success by crabbers in the Chester and Magothy Rivers.

Source MD DNR


June 22

The current flows from the Conowingo Dam have been very low recently with only a short release late on Monday. Fishermen are reporting that the striped bass, largemouth bass and the smallmouth bass are just hunkered down during the daytime and low flows. The action seems to turn on towards evening and top water lures are the ticket. Poppers, Zara Spooks are good choices and with a full moon out the next few nights some good fishing opportunities should exist. The word is that the boat ramp below the dam is closed until further notice. Channel catfish are thick towards the mouth of the river and in the channel areas along the flats. Fishermen continue to find good fishing for largemouth bass on the Susquehanna Flats. The grass beds there are being reported to be very thick.

Anglers in the Patapsco report a lot of activity with small striped bass with enough keeper-sized bass to keep it interesting. Crankbaits and small jigs have been working the best. Usually as the summer season sets in more legal-sized striped bass can be expected to move into this lower region of the river.

The good news in the upper bay this past week has been good water conditions and striped bass spread out from Baltimore Light to Love Point in an area called the Mud Flats. The water there is about 31' deep and the bottom is actually muddy. The chumming fleet did very well over the weekend and was spread out over a wide area giving everyone some elbowroom. An early morning arrival is encouraged for the best fishing and captains report that just watch for a few fish on your recorder and chum them, more will come. Captains reported that the fishing has slowed a bit today but the action is still steady during a moving tide, with some of the larger fish being found on the bottom. A half hour on either side of a tide change has been reported to be the very best bite. Hickory Thicket, Love point and Swan Point are reported to be holding a lot of small striped bass at this time.

 

Source MD DNR


From: hanover@mindspring.com

[mailto:hanover@mindspring.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 9:14 AM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: UPPER BAY REPORT

Went out 6-11-05 in the Patapsco River found some fish holding in the 29' to 32' close to the edges.. Took a while to coax them into biting, once the tide started to move out the bigger fish bit...total fish was 9 three fish over 29" and missed 3 just as good.

BENT RODS

 


June 8

Upper Bay Region:

As the summer season approaches the Susquehanna River is down shifting into a regime of lower seasonal flows except for occasional thunderstorms. Fishermen and tackle shop owners are reporting that the lower river is alive with school-sized striped bass. Many fishermen are live-lining eels, small white perch and large shiners, but others are having equally good luck casting soft plastic swimming shad type lures from shore or as in this picture from kayaks. As you can see in this picture it's pretty close quarters in a kayak, but a lot of fun and an easy way to get out on the river.

Fishermen on the lower Susquehanna are also enjoying other fishing opportunities with white perch, channel catfish fishing on the bottom. Anglers are using bottom rigs with cut bait or chicken livers for channel catfish and are finding the striped bass also will take these baits. The white perch fishing has been excellent whether fishermen are using bait or small jigs. Smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and walleye are also in the mix of fish that can be encountered in the lower Susquehanna, while casting lures or live- lining shiners.

Farther out the river into the upper bay down to the Bay Bridge fishermen are finding a variety of fish spread out through the region. A few boats are beginning to try chumming at Podickery and Hickory Thicket with some success. There are a lot of white perch spread out through the region and a fair number of striped bass. Anglers have been trolling bucktails, spoons and sassy shads with fair success. Nick Andryszak caught a nice striper off the mouth of the Magothy River trolling a white bucktail.

 

Source MD DNR

 


May 30

Upper Bay Region:

Fishermen on the lower Susquehanna and flats area have been blessed lately with clear water conditions. Some of that changed Monday with a big water release, but flows will moderate shortly. Anglers below the dam have been enjoying excellent fishing for channel catfish. Most fishermen are using cut bait and catching all the catfish anyone would ever want. Fishing for white perch has also been excellent with bloodworms on bottom rigs or casting small jigs. Fishermen continue to find largemouth and smallmouth bass in the lower river along with a few walleyes.

Farther down the bay anglers have been enjoying very good fishing for white perch and channel catfish in the lower regions of the tidal creeks and rivers as well as the main part of the bay. Fishermen are reporting that the spring run of big striped bass is about over. Many boats have opted for smaller presentations for the resident schools of striped bass with some success. Fishermen are reporting that they can read schools of fish on their depth finders but can't get them to bite. The annual May Worm swarming is underway in the bay, so this could account some of the unwillingness of fish to strike lures.

 

Source MD DNR

 


 

May 4

Upper Bay Region:

Fishermen are reporting very good fishing for a wide variety of fish species in the lower Susquehanna River at this time. The American Shad and carp are backed up at the Conowingo Dam and are entertaining anglers. The shad are being caught on shad darts; worms, dough balls and corn have been working well on the carp. The hickory shad continue to provide good fishing at the mouth of Deer Creek and many anglers are also catching smallmouth bass on the darts and small spoons they're casting. The white perch still are very much in presence in the area and shoreline fishermen are enjoying these big perch. Bloodworms and a bottom rigs have been working well for the perch and the channel catfish that are also in the same areas.

Fishermen are reporting that the Susquehanna Flats fishery is the best it has been all season. The water has cleared up considerably, so many anglers are using lures now instead of cut bait and circle hooks.

Many anglers who like to fish local have been trolling along channel edges and knolls with some luck. It was pretty rough over the weekend, making it tough fishing for small boats. Generally speaking upper bay fishermen have really taken some knocks this year due to the effects of Susquehanna River storm water flows. Fishermen in the upper bay have been using spinner blades and spoons on umbrella rigs to try and coax fish into finding rigs and striking, with some results. The mouth of the Chester River continues come up in conversation amongst fishermen as one of the better locations to find big striped bass in the upper bay.

Shoreline fishermen have been enjoying fishing along major points and piers. Fishermen have been using cut bait such as menhaden or herring along with bloodworms. A lot of white perch and channel catfish are being caught and enough big striped bass to keep anglers trying for more.

Real-time water information for selected points in the Middle Bay

Source MD FNR


 

Apr 22

Upper Bay Region:

Fishermen are rejoicing at the clearer water that is now flowing through the Conowingo Dam and the lower Susquehanna River. Water conditions are reported to be clear below the dam and about 55-degrees. The big white perch have moved into the river and fishing for them has been very good. Most fishermen are using bottom rigs baited with bloodworms with excellent success. Channel catfish are also abundant in the area and many fishermen on the flats that are using cut herring and circle hooks for striped bass are catching quite a few catfish. The hickory shad run at Deer Creek is in full swing and anglers are reported to be lining up almost shoulder-to-shoulder in the best spots. Other anglers are targeting smallmouth bass in the lower river and carp can still be seen and heard rolling in the river below the dam.

The water conditions at the Susquehanna Flats are now starting to improve as waters become clearer and the water temperature begins to creep past the mid-50's. Fishermen are catching striped bass on plastic jig lures but many are still using cut herring or live white perch on circle hooks. Greg Liebig cradles a 42 lb striped bass (a personal best) caught on cut herring and a circle hook before slipping her back into the water.

Fishermen in the upper bay region had to contend with rough conditions and discolored water on Saturday and fortunately the wind has laid down for Sunday through today. Water temperatures generally were about 50-degrees in the upper bay over the weekend. Phil Krausz spent the weekend trolling in his new boat with his friends in the upper bay. Phil reported that they encountered wind against the tide conditions a good part of Saturday so using planner boards was out of the question. They trolled across Brewerton Channel and the Craig Hill Channel then to Triple Buoy and made their way down to Love Point and up to Swan Point. They had one big fish break off. Sunday bay conditions were much more favorable and after taking a trip down to the Poplar Island area they found themselves at the Dumping Grounds. It was at the Dumping Grounds that they picked a nice 39" striped bass, which they decided to release after taking a picture of Phil holding it.

Shore based fishermen were out in force over the weekend dunking bloodworms wherever they had access to the bay. Sandy Point State Park and Matepeake were well attended and a few nice striped bass were caught, but generally most agreed that the action was a little off, except for white perch.

 

Source MD DNR


Apr 6

Upper Bay Region: The floodwaters from the Upper Susquehanna finally reached the upper bay last week and Saturdays big rain event was just icing on the cake. Satellite images show discolored water flowing down the bay past Tilghman Island. Add the colder than normal water temperatures to this situation and it makes for a dismal forecast for the Susquehanna Flats Catch & Release fishery. A few male striped bass were caught recently, added credence to the notion that the spawning run is behind schedule. If things will clear up and water temperatures rise, the best is yet to come. The fish are moving up the bay, they're just going to be late this year.

The heavy flooding has certainly also had an effect on the hickory shad run up the Susquehanna River and this fishery also relies on water temperatures rising. Hickory shad are being caught at the mouth of Deer Creek, but the run has yet to be in full swing. If you can hold bottom there are plenty of big carp in the area below the dam and regions of the Flats. There have been few reports of any white perch in the Susquehanna; again warmer water will change this very quickly.

Evidence that the spawning striped bass are moving up the bay can be found in reports of big striped being caught and released from boat fishermen trying out new tackle and doing "Shake Down Cruises". Some of the favorite spots like Love Point, the various "Knolls" and the Shipping Channel itself have produced fish. Shoreline fishermen have been fishing from favorite points along the bay, using bloodworms mostly, often with good results.

The white perch run is on in earnest in many of the regions tidal rivers and creeks. The Bush and the Gunpowder Rivers have been very good this week for anglers and many are reporting they are happily surprised by the large size of the perch.


 

 

Source MD DNR


Mar 30 2005

Upper Bay Region: The prospects for the Catch & Release Striped Bass Season on the Susquehanna Flats this week are looking a bit bleak due to a lot of muddy water making it's way down the Susquehanna River. The Upper Susquehanna River watershed is experiencing flood conditions at the moment and all that water is headed our way. At present the Conowingo Dam reportedly has 9 floodgates open. The water temperatures in and around the flats were floating around 46-48-degrees this weekend and was already cloudy from local rainfall. The Northeast has been reported to cloudy so it will take a bit of time to shake off the effects of this big rainfall that has hit the Susquehanna Watershed and local creeks and rivers. For up to date information at the Conowingo Dam check out the USGS site at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/md/nwis/uv?01578310 for water flows. There has not been many large striped bass reported on the flats recently, but they certainly will be there soon. If water conditions remain cloudy, some fishermen will be tempted to try bait fishing. Be sure to use only non-offset circle hooks when fishing bait in the Catch & Release area, it's the law.

Local fishermen are reporting that a few hickory shad were caught at Deer Creek over the weekend, but most agreed that the run has not started in earnest yet. There have been no reports of white perch in the Susquehanna River yet, but carp are still in residence near the base of the dam. Fishermen using dough balls, worms or corn have been enjoying excellent carp fishing from the Fishermen's Park area.

Anglers looking for white perch in the many tidal rivers and creeks in the upper bay are now finding plenty of action. The water temperatures are now in the low 50-degree range and the perch are moving into the upper regions of these tidal rivers and creeks. The white perch runs are in full swing in the Bush, Dundee/Gunpowder, Patapsco and Magothy Rivers. Fishermen are reporting that male perch are making up the majority of perch caught and that more female fish are showing up each day.

Striped bass are moving up the bay and shoreline fishermen are intercepting them for a little Catch & Release action at various points. Sandy Point State Park was a good place to try some bloodworms on a circle hook this weekend, at the place known by locals as the "Rip". This point of beach year after year always holds big fish on a good tide, right up into the beginning of May. Jeff Ouyang reported catching and releasing a couple of 30" and 35"striped bass on Friday afternoon and followed up with a 40" striper on Saturday.

 

 

Source MD DNR

 


 

 

From: sanfordrps@yahoo.com

[mailto:sanfordrps@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 7:31 AM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Fairlee Creek Stripers

The stripers are finally moving out of Fairlee Creek as the water is down to 45.5 degrees. My friend Jack Franks and I had a string of 14 consecutive outings on the creek with striper limits - no monster fish, the largest was 25 inches, but the keepers were all 19-22 inches. For the first 10 trips ( all of 1/8 mile from my slip at Great Oak) my Mako15 was the only boat on the water as many people had given up on the season. BIG MISTAKE ! I even caught a 22 and 19 incher on the day we had the 35+ mph winds with gusts to over 50 mph ! ( from land of course - even I"M not that crazy ) Our string was broken on Friday when we just caught shorts from 17-18 inches and we only caught those because I moved away from the channel to the Lee Shore to get out of the wind. Great fun and a Super Run!!! Hope eveyone had a great season. I'll still go out a few more times before the 15th but will not be expecting that much. The water was dropping about a degree a day, and the rough winds have roiled the water up so visibility is much less than during the run. Ray Sanford

 


From: Darrin.Paxton@alcoa.com

[mailto:Darrin.Paxton@alcoa.com] Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 6:32 PM To: 'bayfishing@compuserve.com' Subject: key bridge

Went out the past several evenings up by the Key Bridge on the channel edge. Marked a few fish but no schools yet. Right at sundown the bite seems to pick up, with white being the hot color. I'm running tandem bucktails back around 150 feet and have been limiting out every evening. My wife hooked up the other night and thought she was snagged, but was rewarded with a rockfish double of 26 and 25 inches. It took her about 10 minutes to get them up beside the boat.

Tight lines.

Captain Darrin

 


From: reel_ality@hotmail.com

[mailto:reel_ality@hotmail.com] Sent: Saturday, September 11, 2004 12:05 PM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Fishing report

9-10-04 “Reel_Ality@hotmail.com”

Went fishing at Hackett’s Point today. We got a late start and didn’t get to the fishing spot until 10:45 a.m.. I dropped a chum bag overboard, cut up some elwives for my hooks, and away we went. It was incredible to say the least. Within 5 seconds small rockfish were swarming around the boat and a rock was caught with every cast. Unfortunately, they were all too small (12”-16”), however; it was the most fun I’ve had in awhile. I did get me excited with anticipation for the forthcoming larger rock. We were fishing at the green marker can between Hackett’s point and the Severn river.

 


8/10/04

Upper Bay:

Real-time water information for selected points in the Northern Bay

As anyone can imagine the Susquehanna is feeling the effects of recent heavy rainstorms in the upper watershed. Surprisingly though, locals report that the river water conditions are definitely fishable. Even though the water is discolored, fishermen are catching fish. Reports are that the dam is generating a high flow during the day, but cuts flows at night, making for the best fishing below the dam in the early morning. Fishermen are catching striped bass, white perch and channel catfish below the dam. The water clarity conditions on the flats are fair and fishermen continue to catch striped bass with swimming crankbaits and topwater lures.

Fishermen in the Poole's Island area are enjoying good fishing for channel catfish along the channel and points along with good catches of white perch. At Hart-Miller Island and the adjacent rivers such as the Middle River and Back River fishermen are encountering schools of breaking fish composed of various sizes of striped bass and small bluefish. This trend continues down the bay to include most shoal and knoll areas such as the Tea Kettle and Belvedere shoals along with the 6', 7' and 9' Knolls. Fishermen are reporting that to obtain the best success, one needs to be able to move to various locations and try different methods of fishing depending on conditions. Anglers are employing various methods to fill fish boxes. Drifting and jigging through areas where fish show up on depth finders, trolling, casting to breaking fish and chumming or fishing with bait are some of the various methods being used. Bass Assassin's, heavy bucktails with teasers and Stingsilvers are proven choices for jigging and gold spoons such as a #15 Tony or 5" surge tube lures for trolling. Many fishermen are reporting the striped bass are stacked up in the deeper waters and contours around the lumps and they are trolling deep using tandem or umbrella rigs. Fishermen who are drifting and jigging are working their jigs as they drift from deeper water up the shallower contours of the shoals.

Breaking schools of small bluefish and various sizes of striped bass are being encountered in the mouth of the Patapsco. Anglers report that jigging under these schools will often produce a larger grade of fish. Fishermen are enjoying good fishing in the Patapsco and adjoining creeks by casting topwater lures for striped bass. Boats that are chumming are doing well in most locations, but not always on a day-to-day basis at the same spot. Recreational crabbers are reporting fair to poor catches in the Gunpowder River to the Magothy River area and slightly better catches in the mouth of the Chester.
 

 

Source - MD DNR


From: morgan5@starpower.net

 [mailto:morgan5@starpower.net] Sent: Monday, June 28, 2004 8:18 AM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: No Croaker yet

Sunday-June 27th. No croaker seen yet. Anchored up at mouth of the Magothy about 7:30 am. Fishing with chum, elwives, peeler, bloodworm, razor clams, sqid and casting jigs. Saw one rock caught by another boat at the end of the out going tide. Marked tons of nice fish, and a lot of bait fish going through. Picked up white perch, spotty all day. Did catch 2 nice spot. Guess the spot are a sign that croaker are close behind. Hope so! Tight lines. Capt. Morgan

 


June 22

Fishermen have been working hard to find striped bass on the Susquehanna River by live-lining white perch. Most are coming up empty, but a few fish are being caught now and then. White perch continue to provide some amount of action in the Port Deposit, Lapidum area of the river. The river is running about 72- degrees and is fairly dirty. Fishermen are reporting good smallmouth bass fishing and catfishing is very good. Largemouth bass fishermen are finding bass in the grass on the flats using small buzzbaits and Senko worms.

A little farther down the bay fishermen are enjoying good to excellent fishing for channel catfish around Pooles Island using night crawlers. Fishermen at other locations in the upper bay are also experiencing very good fishing for channel catfish. White perch have been entertaining fishermen in many of the major rivers such as the Sassafras, Chester and the Magothy. Bloodworms have been the bait of choice.

Fishermen are reporting large schools of small menhaden in the Chester River from Queenstown to Winchester. They’ve also been reported in various other areas along both shores of the bay and periodically are being harassed by schools of 8”-14” striped bass.

The big topic of conversation at the docks and tackle shops is where are the striped bass? Fishermen who chum on the traditional grounds in the upper bay have been very disappointed to say the least. Those who work hard at it are finding some fish chumming and trolling and the good news is that it’s getting progressively better. The $10,000 prize given for the largest striped bass in the Rock Hall Tournament gives captains an extra incentive to find fish and they scoured every spot north of the Bay Bridge last weekend. Savvy captains found fish here and there at secret spots, but one spot that seemed to produce good catches was Hickory Thicket located off Eastern Neck below Rock Hall. This appears to not be your usual chumming situation though.  The best bite is right at sun up, is over in about an hour or so and fishermen are using a fresh menhaden fillet for bait. Phil Krausz sent in a short report that seems to sum up the present situation in the upper bay for some fishermen. Sunday I just went out and looked around at some fishing spots. Trolled a few passes with small lures inside the river mouth, at Man'O'War Shoals and over at Swan Point down deep.  Did not get any hits anywhere.

Drift fished some bloodworms and soft crabs at Man'O'War shoals and caught a few small perch.  I did not spend much time or effort at any one place but the water everywhere looked green with algae and dirty.

Got out on a charter yesterday down at Point Lookout and what a difference in water quality. You could see a few feet down and we caught probably at least 100 rockfish sized 18-29.5" between 9 of us chumming fresh alewives in 6 hours.  And circle hooks do work. They still catch the fish but 9 out of ten were lip hooked so you could release them alive.

Source MD DNR


From: morgan5@starpower.net

[mailto:morgan5@starpower.net] Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 8:56 PM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Starting to pick up

Went out Sunday June13th. Went to mouth of the Magothy, caught white perch, (black backs), and one 25" rock. Bottom fished with, blood worms, peelers, razor clams and squid. Fish loved bloodworms. Rock hit the peeler on the bottom. Some perch on clams, nothing on the squid. Fished 6 hours. Southerly wind, and tide running out. When the tide changed, it took quite a while before lines and fishing straightened out. Tight lines Capt. Morgan on Gracie II

 


Upper Bay:

The season for striped bass opened on the 1st. of June and certainly created a lot of excitement for fishermen who have been watching these fish for several months. Many anglers will be live lining white perch in an effort to catch some of the larger striped bass in the Susquehanna River area. Fishermen have been doing very well catching white perch in the Susquehanna on shad darts dressed with a 2”-3” grub tail.

Striped bass action in the upper bay has been generally very slow throughout the region. The fish have failed to take up residence on traditional fishing grounds, such as the Lumps, Belvedere Shoals or off Love Point. A few fish are being caught trolling and anglers have been seeing schools of 6”-12” striped bass breaking water in the mouth of Eastern Bay. Phil Krautz sent in a report from his fishing trip on Saturday. I got out fishing Saturday morning. The plan was to travel to Sandy Point Bar and work my way back north drift fishing the bars looking for hardhead, perch and the occasional rockfish. Did not work that way.
It was breezy, so we stopped at marker number 13 of Craig Hill Channel and worked the structure to the inshore side of the channel trolling stretch 25's because it was rough enough that I did not want to anchor up or drift. We did not catch anything trolling there. We then broke out the rest of the gear and started trolling spoons and bucktails along the channel edges back up towards the mouth of the Patapsco. No luck there either.

It calmed down about 10-11, so we started drift fishing with grass shrimp, bloodworms and soft crabs back at Green 13 and caught a few small perch and a 5- inch rock. We then moved to 6-Foot Knoll and then tried Man'O'War Shoals. The best size fish were at 6 Foot Knoll, but the action was slow everywhere.


 

Source - MD DNR


From: fiore@nbn.net

[mailto:fiore@nbn.net] Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 2:10 PM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Where did they go?

Left out of Hackets on Sunday 5/23 hit several spots at Love Point, Baltimore Light area, Hacketts (20-40 ft water) with chum and cut Herring. Hit all kinds of current throughout the day. Went back to the dock with a lot of bait ( a handful of lazy bites) and no Rock. I didn't see a fish caught by anyone else trolling or chumming. Where have all the Rock gone?

Joe

 


May 11

The Susquehanna Flats Catch and Release Season went out with a bit of a fizzle Monday for most anglers. There were some excellent days enjoyed by anglers between the rain events that turned the Susquehanna into a muddy mess, but unfortunately cold muddy water was more the norm. There are reports of blueback herring moving into the Susquehanna, much to the delight of the striped bass that are staged there. There still are hickory shad being caught at the mouth of Deer Creek but this fishery is beginning to show signs of slowing down. Fishermen are catching white perch in the Susquehanna on shad darts tipped with grass shrimp and American shad are now entertaining anglers in the river also. Fishermen who are practicing catch and release in the Baltimore Harbor are finding striped bass willing to pounce on a variety of crankbaits and jig head plastics.

Anglers fishing south of the Brewerton Channel in the main reaches of the bay have been scoring on big striped bass moving down the bay. The channel edges and the Dumping Grounds have been two of the better areas for those who are trolling bucktails, parachutes or umbrella rigs.

The first croakers caught by beach anglers at Sandy Point State Park have been reported this past week. There were not a lot caught, but they were big, up to 20” in size. A few big striped bass are being caught everyday by beach anglers fishing off the point using cut bait and bloodworms.
.
 

Source - MD DNR


 

April 21

The Susquehanna Watershed is sending the burden of last week’s heavy rains and all the suspended soils that come with it to the Chesapeake Bay. The flows at the Conowingo Dam went from 25,000cfs on the 13th to over 220,000cfs on the 16th. At present the river flow is starting to drop to below 100,000cfs.The upper bay is the first to suffer from this onslaught of dirty water. Unfortunately the superb fishing experienced last Wednesday and Thursday on the flats has really suffered.

A huge run of ocean fish has entered the area and as soon as the waters clear up, the fishing should be phenomenal.

Source - MD DNR


April 15

Fishermen are starting to enjoy some good fishing on the Susquehanna Flats as the big fish begin to move into the area. The water conditions have been good generally speaking. The strong winds can churn the water up quite a bit, but the lack of a big rain event has been a welcome reprieve. Obvious to all, is the fact that, the reprieve ended Monday, with three days of rather heavy rain.

The weekend report from the Susquehanna Flats put the water temperature at 50-degrees and a little warmer water at the mouth of the Susquehanna River.

At present the fish seem to be scattered over a wide area, but there are some hot spots. The channel and sloping edges from the Fishing Battery down to Buoy #1 have been good during the day. The deeper water from Rocky Point to Turkey Point has also been good in the evening. Red Point, Carpenter Point and off the V. A. Hospital have also been good areas in the evening. Fishermen who are venturing to this rather unique fishery should take note that this is a relatively shallow water situation and the fish spook easily. Try to stay away from other boats and do not motor through areas where boats are drifting and fishing. Anglers should also take note that Natural Police Officers are enforcing the boundary line from Sandy Point to Turkey Point and the northern line at the railroad bridge on the Susquehanna River at Perry Point.

 

source - MD DNR

 


April 11, 2004

Reports from the Susquehanna Flats, talk of anglers starting to catch fish. The water conditions have been relatively stable and baring any large rain event, fishing should be very good this week. The fishermen who are working the flats will admit that the water is very cold, but the water is fairly clear and the fish are biting. A variety of plastic jigs, grubs, sassy shad type lures such as the new Storm lures are all working well. Many anglers are drifting over the channel areas and jigging deep with plastic jigs, bucktails dressed with a plastic tail and hammered metal spoons. Weather conditions this past weekend were a bit fierce with strong winds making fishing very difficult, but fish were caught, especially on Saturday when it warmed up. If we get a warm front soon and the heavy rains hold off, this fishery shows a lot of promise to be a real good one this year. Up and down the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay fishermen are enjoying catch and release fishing for striped bass. Most anglers are using plastic jigs of various types and enjoying good success.

 

Source - MD DNR


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