Maryland Fishing Report – June 3

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Upper Chesapeake Bay

Anglers in the Conowingo Dam pool, the lower Susquehanna River and nearby waters can now fish for striped bass and keep one slot size fish per day. The dam pool is a good place to fish during the morning and evening hours. Casting soft plastic jigs, paddletails, and topwater lures are always popular choices. Casting cut bait also works when cast near the turbine wash and blue catfish and flathead catfish will be hungry for the same baits.

Jigging along the Susquehanna River channel edges is a popular way to fish for striped bass, and early mornings and late evenings can be spent casting topwater lures or crankbaits near the edges of the Susquehanna flats grass. 

Blue catfish are showing signs of spawning, and fishing for them is good this week. Spawning blue catfish will often hold near structure. The lower Susquehanna River and the Chester River have large populations of blue catfish, and all the region’s tidal rivers hold blue catfish.

Striped bass anglers are doing well in the upper Bay this week. Traditional locations like Pooles Island, Swan Point, Love Point, the Key Bridge piers, and Baltimore Harbor are all good places to fish for striped bass. Casting soft plastic jigs in deeper waters and paddletails in shallower waters are popular ways to fish. As more spot become available, live lining with them is becoming more popular. Trolling umbrella rigs and tandem rigged bucktails is also a good way to fish.

White perch are moving to locations in the tidal rivers and creeks, often near structure in the form of rocks, bridge piers, and docks or knolls out in the Bay. Grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm work well in deeper waters and spin-jigs in shallower waters. Spot are being found off Sandy Point State Park, the west end of the Bay Bridge, and the mouth of the Magothy River.

Middle Bay

The Bay Bridge piers continue to draw striped bass and anglers this week. The 30-foot edge on the east side of the bridge is a good location to live-line spot or drift baits back to the pier bases. A good running tide is always important. Casting bucktails and soft plastic jigs near pier bases is always fun and productive. Bluefish have moved into the region, and some soft plastics are returning to anglers missing vital body parts. 

Water temperatures in the middle Bay are in the upper 60s and are ideal for striped bass. The shallow water fishery for anglers casting a variety of topwater lures and soft plastic paddletails has been a real standout this spring and now anglers have complete access to all the tidal rivers. Eastern Bay along with the lower Choptank and Little Choptank rivers have been standouts lately.

Jigging along the edges of the region’s channels has been popular when striped bass can be spotted on depth finders. Trolling with umbrella rigs or tandem rigged bucktails is productive along channel edges and a great way to cover a lot of water when in search of striped bass. The channel edges from Bloody Point south past Buoy 83 to the False Channel area have shown to be excellent places to troll or jig. Bluefish are in the mix so placing a Drone spoon or two in a trolling spread is worth the effort. 

Fishing for white perch in the tidal rivers and creeks is improving, and anglers can expect to find white perch holding near deepwater docks, piers, and oyster reefs. Grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm on a bottom rig or small jig head are a proven way to target them. During the morning and evening hours, casting small spin-jigs and small lures along promising looking shorelines is a great summer pastime. 

Fishing for blue catfish in the Choptank River is good this month. In some areas the blue catfish are spawning and will often be found near sunken structure. A variety of cut baits and scented baits work well in the deeper sections of the river from the town of Choptank to Denton. 

There are a lot of fishing opportunities in the lower Bay this week. All tidal waters are open to striped bass fishing now. Striped bass are being caught by anglers in a variety of locations and methods.

The shallow water fishery for striped bass is very good during the morning and evening hours in the lower Potomac, St. Marys River, the Hoopers Island waters, and Tangier Sound. Casting topwater poppers and Zara Spook type lures have been very effective over grass beds. The first speckled trout are also part of the mix, along with bluefish and large red drum. 

Jigging along channel edges and deeper waters has been an effective way to catch striped bass, bluefish and large red drum. The channel edges in the tidal rivers and bay are the places to look for the action. Soft plastic jigs in the 5-inch to 6-inch size range are being used for striped bass and bluefish and larger soft plastics for the large red drum. The channel edges near the Target Ship, Buoy 72, the lower Patuxent River near the Route 4 bridge, and the lower Potomac River from the Route 301 bridge to Point Lookout are very productive.

Freshwater Fishing

Due to warming water temperatures, some delayed harvest trout management waters (known as Group I) in the central and parts of the western region will open to trout harvest from June 1 to September 30. Other areas known as Group II, which are in the western region, will open to trout harvest from June 16 to September 30. This strategy allows anglers to enjoy catch-and-release during months when cold water temperatures provide good water temperature conditions, and to be able to keep five trout per day when water temperatures become too warm for good trout survival. Check our trout fishing webpage for more information.

The upper Potomac River water flows have dropped significantly and anglers report low and clear waters. They also report that light lines and long casts will improve success with smallmouth bass. The early morning and evening hours are a fun time to cast poppers near grass beds and holding areas. Tubes, flukes, and swimbaits tend to be good choices when working current breaks and deeper portions of the river. 

Fishing for largemouth bass continues to be very good in the freshwater ponds, impoundments, and tidal waters across Maryland. Water temperatures are still cool enough that largemouth bass have not slipped into their summer mode of feeding behavior, which is usually feeding at night in the shallows and loafing in the cool shade during the day. A variety of lures will work, topwater near grass, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and paddletails in transition areas and wacky rigged stick worms and soft plastics under thick grass mats and near structure.

Maryland’s Youth Bass Bash Challenge is underway. From May 20 to June 27, anyone under 16 who catches a tagged bass in Sharpsburg and Woodsboro Ponds and reports it to DNR by calling 301-898-5443 will be entered into a drawing for a grand prize of a behind-the-scenes tour at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. 

Chesapeake Channa will be holding in grass beds in the tidal waters and are actively spawning at this time. Attempting to present a threat to their spawning area with noisy topwater lures is a good tactic to entice them to strike. 

Blue catfish seem to always be available, although some of the larger females are spawning and often can be found near deep structure. Blue catfish can be found in every tidal river of the Chesapeake, but the Potomac, Patuxent, Nanticoke, Chester, and Lower Susquehanna rivers hold the greatest populations of blue catfish.

It is a wonderful time to fish for bluegill sunfish and other species of sunfish this month. They are all very active and if you ever thought of trying your hand at fly fishing, they are a great fish to start with. A 4 or 5 weight fly rod, a floating line and some small rubber-legged poppers or ants is all one needs for fun action at most any pond or lake.

Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays

Surf anglers are enjoying the last of the large striped bass as they pass by Maryland beaches on the way north. Large cut baits of menhaden or mullet are favored baits and large red drum and bluefish can be part of the mix. Cleanose skates and sand tiger sharks will also enjoy those baits. A few black drum are being caught on sand fleas and there are the first reports of kingfish in the surf.

At the inlet, anglers casting paddletails and soft plastic jigs are enjoying a lot of fun action with striped bass and large bluefish during the morning and evening hours along jetty rocks, bulkheads and bridge and dock piers. Most of the striped bass being caught fail to meet the 28-31 inch slot but some do. At night, drifting cut bait in the inlet from the jetties and Route 50 Bridge has been an effective way to catch striped bass and large bluefish. 

Flounder continue to move through the channels leading from the inlet into the back bay areas. Traditional baits work well, but some of the largest flounder are being caught on pink or white Gulp baits. Striped bass are being caught at the Verrazzano and Route 90 bridge piers during the morning and evening hours by anglers casting paddletails and soft plastic jigs. Some do make the 28-inch minimum length. 

Outside the inlet at the offshore wreck and reef sites, anglers are being treated to good fishing for black sea bass. Limit catches are not uncommon and traditional baits and jigging are popular ways to fish. Farther offshore at the canyons, anglers who are trolling are catching dolphinfish and a few yellowfin and bluefin tuna. Deep drop anglers are bringing golden and blueline tilefish back to the docks.