The Conowingo Dam late-day water releases have been above normal this week, but the dam pool is providing good fishing. Anglers are catching a mix of striped bass, blue catfish, and flathead catfish. If you want to get in on the action, you’ll need a medium weight surf rod loaded with braid and a pair of waders. All are necessary to make the long casts to the turbine wash and control a fish in the strong current. 

Fishing for striped bass in the shallower edges of the Susquehanna Flats, Bay shore and tidal river waters tis a good option for anglers. The morning and evening hours offer the best fishing opportunities for anglers casting poppers, paddletails and crankbaits. 

Live-lining small white perch, eels, and spot along channel edges where striped bass can be spotted on depth finders is a good tactic. The waters around Pooles Island and the Love Point rocks are popular locations to fish. Jigging along channel edges and trolling with tandem rigged bucktails or umbrellas rigs is becoming more popular as November approaches and striped bass begin to hold deeper. Water temperatures in the upper Bay currently are holding around 67 degrees. 

White perch are still holding in the tidal creeks and middle sections of the region’s tidal rivers as long as water temperatures hold in the mid 60s. Fishing with small minnows and grass shrimp near structure with good current flow is a good way to target the larger white perch. Casting small spinnerbaits, Beetle-spin type lures, and spin-jigs during the early morning and evening hours along promising shorelines is always a fun light tackle way to fish for white perch. 

Fishing for Chesapeake Channa, aka northern snakehead, in the tidal river grass flats remains good this week, and sunny afternoons may offer some of the best fishing opportunities. Chesapeake Channa will seek warmer waters that are warmed by the afternoon sun. Soft plastic frogs, chatterbaits, and buzzbaits are good lures to use when fishing over grass. Paddletails are a good choice in more open waters around the edges of the grass beds. 

Anglers are enjoying good fishing for striped bass at the Bay Bridge when live-lining spot, small white perch, or eels near the pier bases. The east side of the bridge near the 30-foot drop-off tends to offer some of the best fishing. Most boats are anchoring up current and drifting baits back to the bridge pier bases with good success. Other anglers are enjoying good fishing for striped bass by casting soft plastic jigs and bucktails at pier bases along the bridge. The best opportunities are early in the morning and late evening and a good running tide is always important. 

Some of the best striped bass fishing is occurring along the shallower waters of the Bay and tidal rivers this week. The best fishing success is occurring during the morning and evening hours for anglers casting poppers, paddletails or jerkbaits. Speckled trout are still in the mix.

Water temperatures in the middle Bay are holding around 68 degrees, and the rivers are slightly cooler. The warmer weather that is predicted for this week will most lightly hold water temperatures stable till cooler weather moves in. Baitfish in the form of young of the year menhaden have started to move downriver from the upper reaches of rivers such as the Choptank but still have a long way to go to reach the mouth of the river. If water temperatures hold in the mid-60s they will most likely take their time moving downriver. 

Anglers are encountering schools of small menhaden now and then in the Bay along the steeper channel edges where they are being swept along by strong currents. Most of the time the bait is deep and striped bass feeding activity can be observed on depth finders, slicks or if the bait gets pushed to the surface; the exciting event of diving sea gulls and breaking fish occurs. Jigging with soft plastics or metal is a popular way to fish. The channel edge below Bloody Point Light past Buoy 83 and south to the False Channel area has been a good place to look for activity. 

Live-lining along the channel edges of the bay continues to be a popular way to fish this week. Spot can still be found but anglers are reporting they are not being found at every traditional location. Most anglers are looking for suspended striped bass holding at about 30 feet along channel edges before deploying live spot. 

Fishing for blue catfish in the Choptank River is good this week near the channel areas from the town of Choptank to Denton and up the Tuckahoe near the Route 328 bridge area. Cut bait of menhaden or gizzard shad is a popular bait, but a variety of scented baits will also work well. 

Fishing for white perch in the tidal rivers remains fair to good. Structure and good current flow can often be deciding factors. Casting small Gulp jigs, small spinnerbaits are just a few small lures that work well when casting near shorelines with structure during the morning and evening hours. As waters continue to cool, fishing deeper with dropper rigs or grass shrimp will become a better choice. 

Getting out to fish on the lower Bay has been difficult for the past three weekends, but there are excellent fishing opportunities in between. Anglers are enjoying excellent fishing for bluefish this week. Trolling a mix of spoons and surge tube lures has been the most popular and effective way to catch them. The mouth of the Potomac, the Target Ship area and the Middle Grounds are all good places to find them. Make sure to bring plenty of ice to keep them firm in an ice chest. Once they get soft from not being iced, there is no way to firm them up again. 

Increasing numbers of bait schools are being seen in the lower Potomac and Patuxent rivers this week and the striped bass are missing no opportunity to move in on the feast. This is an important time of the year for striped bass to build up body stores. Casting soft plastic or metal jigs is a favored method when casting into breaking fish or jigging to ones below the surface. No doubt bluefish may be counted on to be in the mix.

Anglers will start to see a shift in striped bass behavior this month as the shallower water fishery gives way to jigging out in the main stem of the tidal river mouths. The mass exodus of bait from the tidal rivers has not started in earnest, but schools of bait are being seen in the lower sections of the region’s tidal rivers. The cuts through Hoopers Island and the mouth of the Nanticoke River will be producing similar results.

There is excellent fishing for a mix of spot, kingfish, grey and speckled trout and plenty of northern puffers in the lower Bay this week. The lower Patuxent River, the Point Lookout area and Tangier Sound are three of the best places to find them. 

Northern puffers are often called blowfish, and they make excellent table fare. We’ve not seen this many since the 1960s and early 1970s. Back then they were called sea squab or chicken of the sea. They are an easy fish to clean once one figures it out. First make a cut behind the head with a large knife but not through the belly skin. Then, turn the backend of the fish inside out by grasping the meat and pulling it away from the back skin. That is all there is to it! They can be fried, or baked whole since there are no bones except the backbone and the meat just falls away. If you are cleaning a mess of them, gloves are recommended since their rough skin will tear your hands up. 

White perch can still be found in the tidal creeks and rivers this week where there is good structure and current flow. Fishing with small minnows or grass shrimp near docks, rock groins or submerged structure is a good way to target them. Using the same baits under a bobber near deeper shorelines is also a good way to fish for them. Casting small Gulp soft plastic jigs, small spinnerbaits and spin-jigs is a fun way to fish. The best fishing usually occurs during the morning and evening hours. 

Blue Crabs

Recreational crabbing is still good to excellent depending on location, bait and depth. The best catches are reported to be coming from waters as deep as 15-20 feet deep. So, if you feel like one or more batches of heavy early fall crabs, bait up and get out there and enjoy. 

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Freshwater Fishing

The fall trout stocking program continues this week with new locations being stocked. Anglers should keep in mind that not every trout management water will be stocked and are encouraged to check the most updated stocking list on the trout stocking website. The stockings are posted on the afternoon of each stocking day. 

Fishing for smallmouth bass in the upper Potomac is being enjoyed by anglers this week. Cooler water temperatures are more comfortable for smallmouth bass, and they are actively feeding on baitfish and crayfish. Tubes, small crankbaits, and soft plastic swimbaits are all good choices when fishing current breaks and underwater ledges and boulders. Liberty and Prettyboy reservoirs are also providing good smallmouth bass fishing this week.

Largemouth bass are shifting to a fall pattern of behavior and feeding this month. They no longer must deal with warm water temperatures and waiting out the day before feeding. They tend to be active long through the day and patrolling outside of grass beds and the transition zones between deep water and shallow grass beds. Structure is important and they can also be found holding near structure in the transition zones or slightly deeper.

Spinnerbaits, paddletails, wacky rigged plastics, and small crankbaits are good choices outside the grass beds near structure. Buzzbaits, chatterbaits, and soft plastic frogs work well when casting over grass. In tidal water Chesapeake Channa will be part of the mix when fishing largemouth bass habitat. 

October is an excellent month for fishing for crappie. The cooler water temperatures cause them to be more active, and they can be found holding near structure. Fallen treetops, sunken wood, rocks or marina docks all fit the bill. Using a slip bobber with small Gulp type soft plastics on a very light jig head, marabou jigs or small minnows all work well.