Maryland Fishing Report – April 16

Forecast Summary: April 16 – April 22:

Another streak of unstable weather is expected, with general warming conditions of Chesapeake Bay waters for fish moving to spawn. Main Bay surface water temperatures are holding in the low 50s as blue crabs begin to emerge from the mud after their winter sleep. River temperatures are slowly warming to the low to mid 50s. However, smaller streams and downwind areas on a sunny day will warm faster and will often hold water temperatures closer to the high 50s. Such waters in low salinity areas will be prime locations to look for white perch.

Expect average flows for most Maryland rivers and streams. However, recent flows to Maryland waters are running below normal, so salinity is slightly above normal for this time of year. 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 through Saturday as a result of the full moon on April 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.

Hunter McDonough caught this large blue catfish over the weekend in the Elk River. Photo courtesy of Matt McDonough

Cooler temperatures and stained waters from recent rains will most likely have a detrimental effect of catch-and-release fishing for hickory shad in the lower Susquehanna River, Deer Creek, and Octoraro Creek. Switching from small silver spoons to gold spoons and pink and chartreuse colored shad darts will work often better in stained waters. 

Blue catfish tend to dominate the fishing scene in the upper Bay this week. The lower Susquehanna River and the Chester near Crumpton top the list for tidal rivers, but they are present in every tidal river of the upper Bay. There are plenty of them and they are eating and reproducing machines. so it is good to catch as many as we can. One fileted correctly, blue catfish make excellent eating and can be used in a variety of dishes – check the Maryland’s Best website for recipes. 

Blue catfish can be caught on a simple one-hook bottom rig, and most anglers prefer using circle hooks on a sliding sinker rig. A 5/0 to 7/0 circle hook with a torpedo float behind it to keep the bait off the bottom works well. If fishing from shore, a pyramid or bank sinker works well for a sliding sinker. If fishing from a boat, egg sinkers are a favorite. Any type of cut bait works well, and many anglers have good luck with chicken parts, shrimp, nightcrawlers, and even (so we’ve heard) cheese snacks. Blue catfish are also famous for chasing down crankbaits and soft plastic jigs.

White perch are making their way down the tidal rivers where they have spawned. The Bush, Chester rivers are a couple of rivers where white perch spawn. They can be found in the upper sections of the spawning rivers a few miles below their spawning sites. Most anglers are fishing with pieces of bloodworm or grass shrimp on bottom rigs in the deeper waters to catch them. Casting shad darts tipped with some enticement works also works well. There have been no reports yet of white perch in the lower Susquehanna, but it should happen soon.

Chesapeake Channa (northern snakeheads) are being found by anglers in the upper sections of the Bush, Middle, and Gunpowder rivers this week. Casting white paddletails is one of the most popular ways to fish for them as well as fishing large minnows under a bobber. The grass beds are only forming up this month so targeting fallen shoreline brush and any emerging grass beds is a good tactic. 

Striped bass fishing remains closed in the upper Bay until May 16, except above the line from the south corner of Hart-Miller Island to Tolchester, which opens on June 1. DNR’s online striped bass season regulation map site can help striped bass angler understand season and boundaries. 

Jeremy Elmore caught this whopper-sized Chesapeake Channa in a Dorchester County backwater river. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Elmore

Currently water temperatures in the middle Bay and in the upper Choptank  are about 52 degrees. Blue catfish can be found in many sections of the middle Bay and there are a number of blue catfish every tidal river. The Choptank holds the greatest number of blue catfish at this time, and they can be found from below the Dover Bridge to Denton. Most anglers are anchoring up along a channel edge and fishing down current with sliding sinker rigs using a circle hook with a small float to keep the bait off the bottom. Cut bait of white perch, menhaden or gizzard shad are popular baits but chicken parts work, especially if soaked in some favorite bait scent. 

White perch are making their way down river from the spawning sites far upriver, so they’ll be moving through the channel waters this month. Fishing bottom rigs baited with pieces of bloodworm will be one of the more popular ways to fish for them. A lot of anglers are also catching small blue catfish less than 10 inches long when fishing with bait. Please keep them and do not toss them back in the water; it would seem the bottom of the Choptank River is paved with small blue catfish. In the skinnier waters of the Choptank above Denton, casting shad darts tipped with a little enticement works well for catching post-spawn white perch. 

Fishing for Chesapeake Channa (northern snakeheads) is alive and well in the tidal backwaters of Dorchester County this week. Casting white paddletails is a tried-and-true way to catch them but fishing large minnows under a bobber is another good way to catch them.

Eric Packard caught this pretty hickory shad in the upper reaches of Mattawoman Creek. Photo by Eric Packard

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. 

Black drum are beginning to provide some fishing action on the eastern side of the Bay near the Middle Grounds, the Target Ship, and the Mud Leads. The preferred bait is fresh soft crab, which is a little difficult to come by right now, but frozen soft crab or clams will work. Usually, black drum are found by watching depth finders and dropping bait to them; because of their large air bladders, they give a very solid signal. 

White perch are making their way downriver from the spawning reaches in several tidal rivers within the region. The Nanticoke, Patuxent, Wicomico (Eastern Shore), Pocomoke, and Potomac are a few of the main spawning rivers. As the post-spawn white perch make their way down the rivers they will be using the channels. Bottom rigs baited with pieces of bloodworm or dropper rigs rigged with shad darts or small soft plastics will be the most popular way to get to them. 

This group of anglers went out for blue catfish and ended up with a lot of fun and filets. Photo courtesy of members of the Essex Middle River Fishing Club.

The spawning runs of hickory shad are presenting a lot of fun catch and release opportunities in Mattawoman Creek and the Potomac River within the boundaries of the District of Columbia. Brightly colored flies, small flashy spoons and shad darts are the most popular lures used by anglers. American shad can be found in the Potomac, and they are being caught and released from Fletchers Landing to below Little Falls. Fishing larger and heavier shad darts than those used for hickory shad work well for American shad, and fishing from a boat to reach the main channel is often needed to access the shad.

Blue catfish are always in play in the Nanticoke, Patuxent, and Potomac rivers; warmer water temperatures are making them active and they are venturing out of the deepest channels looking for food. The Sharptown area of the Nanticoke is one of the best places to fish for them; also, the area above the Benedict Bridge to Jug Bay on the Patuxent River and most of the tidal Potomac from the Wilson Bridge south to the Route 301 Bridge is loaded with blue catfish.

Cut bait is a very popular bait to use, but anglers also have good luck with scented chicken parts and even hot dogs. Most tackle shops have fish attractants, and they all seem to work. A fish finder rig or sliding sinker rigged to a circle hook with a small float is an excellent rig to use. A 5/0 to 7/0 circle hook is good depending on what size blue catfish you’re targeting.

April is a golden month for trout fishing in Maryland; water temperatures are cool and well oxygenated, keeping the trout healthy and active. Stocking crews made up of hatchery staff and regional biologists are stocking the put-and-take trout management waters with generous amounts of trout – including trophy-sized – at every stocking location. Delayed harvest and catch-and-release trout management waters are also being stocked. Be sure to check the trout stocking website regularly for the latest stockings or better yet be notified on the email subscription service. The DNR trout stocking website contains all the information you’ll need for fun trout fishing. 

Many civic organizations partner with DNR’s Fishing and Boating Services to provide fun and engaging fishing activities for our youngest anglers. They are often in the form of fishing contests with prizes and fun awards for the young anglers. The events are held at community ponds and lakes, which provide a safe and accessible location for families to enjoy a day together. A schedule of upcoming youth fishing events known as rodeos can be found on the Maryland DNR website.

Anglers at Deep Creek Lake are enjoying good fishing for a mix of walleye, smallmouth bass, crappie, yellow perch, and largemouth bass. The walleye are found along rocky slopes and the smallmouth bass near rocky points and deep grass edges. Deep Creek Lake has a minimum size of 15 inches year-round, with a protected slot between 18 inches and 21 inches for walleye. All walleye in the protected slot must be released. Yellow perch can also be found along the edges of deep grass, crappie near bridge piers, and largemouth bass at the upper end of the lake near tree stumps and similar structure. 

The water levels in the upper Potomac are up but not too high to prevent safe fishing. Anglers are reminded that they must wear an approved PFD while fishing in a boat till May 15. Walleye and smallmouth bass fishing is good, and anglers are enjoying good fishing while casting a mix of swimbaits, flukes and small crankbaits. Current breaks, pools, and underwater ledges are good places to target. The minimum size for walleye in the upper Potomac is 15 inches and the maximum size of 20 inches expired April 15.

Largemouth bass are on the prowl and feeding aggressively now that they are in a pre-spawn mode of behavior. The female largemouth bass are building up body stores for the upcoming spawning session. In some of the warmer waters, male largemouth bass are carving out spawning beds in hope of attracting a female that is ready to spawn. A mix of spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, soft plastic swimbaits, and crankbaits can be good choices for fishing the transition areas between the shallower waters and deep waters. Emerging grass beds and sunken wood can also be a good place to target.

April is the premier month for crappie fishing so don’t miss it. Crappie can be found schooled up near bridge piers, marina docks, rocks, sunken wood, and fallen treetops. A small minnow or marabou jig placed under a bobber and worked slowly near these places is a great way to target crappie. Chain pickerel fishing seems to have slacked off this week, most likely to the chain pickerel spawning.

Surf anglers are happy this week to see a solid run of black drum along the beaches of Assateague. These are medium-sized black drum in the 15-to-30-pound size range, the daily limit is one black drum larger than 16 inches in length per day. The most popular bait this week has been sand fleas, but clams also work well.

 At the Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, anglers are catching some tautog on sand fleas near bulkheads, rocks and piers. The change of the tide has been providing some of the best action, the minimum size for tautog is 16 inches and catch limit is four per day. Striped bass are also being caught in the inlet and nearby areas by anglers casting soft plastic jigs and paddletails. Most fall a little short of the 28-inch minimum but they are providing fun catch-and-release action with a keeper now and then. 

In the channels leading from the inlet the first flounder of the season were reported to be caught recently, as water temperatures warm, anglers will see more flounder moving through the inlet into the back bay waters. At the Verrazzano and Route 90 bridges anglers are enjoying good to excellent catch and release fishing for striped bass. Most of the striped bass are measuring under 28 inches and must be released. Casting paddletails near the bridge piers has been the most effective way to join in on the fun in the early morning or late evening hours. 

Fishing for tautog at the offshore wreck and reef sites continues to be very good. Captains report that sometimes they must move from wreck to wreck or reef site to find a good bite.  When the bite is on, limit catches of four fish per angler are not uncommon and anglers have been releasing extra-large tautog.