Maryland Fishing Report – November 19

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Forecast Summary: November 19 – November 25:

Expect cool and windy conditions into the weekend with chances of rain on Tuesday. As reported by the NOAA buoys, main Bay surface water temperatures are currently in the low 50s. River temperatures are slightly cooler and holding around the mid 40s.

Oxygen conditions throughout the main Bay and Maryland’s tributaries are suitable to the bottom. 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 November 20 new moon.

Upper Chesapeake Bay

Anglers continue to enjoy good fishing for large blue catfish at the Conowingo Dam pool and downriver to the mouth of the Susquehanna River this week. Most anglers are using a combination of cut and scented baits on bottom rigs and jigheads. Striped bass fishing is fair in the dam pool and along the edges of the Susquehanna Flats for anglers casting soft plastic jigs and paddletails.

Striped bass fishing is fair to good in the Baltimore Harbor area for anglers casting a mix of soft plastic jigs and paddletails near piers and rocky shorelines. Jigging along the channel edges at the mouth of the Patapsco River and the western end of the Brewerton Channel has been producing striped bass catches. The Pooles Island area is also providing striped bass fishing for anglers that are live-lining eels and casting paddletails. 

The Love Point rocks and Podickory Point area have also been good locations to cast soft plastic jigs. Trolling the channel edges of the lower Patapsco River, Brewerton Channel and the main channel near Podickory Point are providing some action for anglers trolling tandem rigs and umbrella rigs behind heavy inline weights. 

White perch can be located on depth finders at the mouth of the Chester River, the Magothy River. and various knolls and reefs out in the upper Bay. The most popular way to fish for them is to use bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm.

Middle Bay

The striped bass action at the Bay Bridge continues to be good for anglers jigging with soft plastics near the deepwater pier bases, the rock piles, and concrete bridge abutments. Live-lining eels or small white perch or even cut bait to the pier bases can also work well. Large white perch are holding deep at the rock piles and anglers are catching them on heavy but small jigs.

Anglers can find striped bass spread throughout the middle Bay but the two best places to find concentrations are the mouth of Eastern Bay and the mouth of the Choptank River. Striped bass can be found suspended along channel edges intercepting baitfish moving out of those waters. Jigging with soft plastic and metal jigs is an excellent way to fish for them. At times diving sea gulls are involved when the baitfish get pushed to the surface by the striped bass.

The main channel edges from Bloody Point south to the False Channel at the mouth of the Choptank River and near Thomas Point have been some of the better areas to troll for striped bass this week. Most anglers are using tandem rigged bucktails and umbrella rigs pulled behind inline weights to get them down deep where the striped bass are holding. 

White perch can still be found on oyster lumps in the lower Choptank River, the mouth of Eastern Bay, and off Matapeake this week. It will take watching a depth finder to find the schools of white perch. Bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm are the best way to target the white perch.

Fishing for striped bass in the lower Potomac River continues to be good this week. The waters from the mouth of the Wicomico north to the Route 301 Bridge and south to Piney Point have been good to jig and troll for striped bass this week. The striped bass are holding deep so jigs up to ¾-ounce are needed to get down to the fish. 

The lower Patuxent River has been another good place to fish for striped bass. The area around the Route 4 Bridge has been a very productive area for anglers jigging for striped bass lately. The fish are going deeper as water temperatures drop. Depth finders are a major help in locating suspended fish.

Striped bass are being found at the mouth of the Nanticoke River, the Hoopers Island cuts, the Target Ship area, and the main channel in Tangier Sound. Jigging is the most popular method when the fish can be detected on depth finders. Trolling with tandem rigged bucktails and umbrella rigs down deep is another way striped bass are being caught in the channel waters.

White perch are schooling up on oyster lumps in the lower Potomac and Patuxent rivers in deep waters. The mouths of the Nanticoke and Wicomico and the waters of Tangier Sound are also good places to find schooled-up white perch. Most anglers are using bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm.

Freshwater Fishing

Although the fall stocking program is over there are still plenty of trout to be found, even in the put-and-take trout management waters. The delayed harvest and catch-and-return trout management waters offer world-class fishing experiences during the late fall and winter months. To learn about the trout stocking and hatchery program and how Department of Natural Resources trout hatcheries operate visit the DNR website. 

Fishing for a mix of smallmouth bass and walleye is good this month in the upper Potomac. Flows in the river are manageable and the smallmouth bass and walleye are very active now that water temperatures are cooler. Casting swimbaits, tubes, and small crankbaits are a popular way to fish near current breaks, underwater ledges and the deeper holes.

Colder water temperatures are causing a variety of freshwater fish to be more active and chain pickerel are at the top of the list. Now that most grass beds have diminished, the chain pickerel can be found holding near sunken wood. Many of the tidal rivers hold good populations of chain pickerel. Crappie are schooling up near deep structure in ponds, reservoirs, and tidal waters. Yellow perch can be caught in many of the Bay’s tidal rivers and reservoirs. Fishing for blue catfish is very good in many tidal rivers – the lower Susquehanna, the Nanticoke, Patuxent, Potomac, and Wicomico are just a few that offer good fishing this time of the year.

Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays

The strong westerly winds we’ve been experiencing have flattened the surf to quite an extent and surf anglers are able to fish with less sinker weight. Anglers using pieces of bloodworms for bait are still catching a few kingfish. Those using larger baits of cut mullet are catching some bluefish and the first of the southerly migrations of coastal striped bass. Of course, spiny dogfish and clearnose skates are going to compete for baits.

The tautog fishing inside the inlet near the jetty rocks, docks, Route 50 bridge piers, and bulkheads has been very good this week. A fair percentage of the tautog caught miss the 16-inch minimum, but most anglers are able to go home with several fish. Pieces of green crab and frozen sand fleas have been popular baits. 

Striped bass are being caught inside the Ocean City and near the Route 90 bridge piers by anglers casting soft plastic jigs; not all meet the 28-inch minimum but the catch-and-release fishing is good fun. A few flounder are still moving through the inlet, but most are now offshore.

The strong winds have been tough on anglers trying to vent the inlet to fish the wreck and reef sites for black sea bass. When they are able to get out, the catches have been very good with limit catches being common. Flounder can be in the mix and those who are targeting flounder are catching some nice ones. The canyon fishery is now focused on deep dropping for blueline tilefish and swordfish.