Fishing Report

The lower Potomac River continues to be a big draw for lower Bay anglers this week. The excellent fishing there for striped bass and the two fish per day limit is a deal hard to beat. The tidal Potomac will also remain open to striped bass fishing until December 31. Anglers should note that only the main stem of the river will be open to striped bass fishing; the creeks and rivers on the Maryland side of the Potomac are catch-and-release only for striped bass after December 10.

Anglers are finding striped bass spread throughout the tidal Potomac from the Route 301 Bridge south, the area of Carters Lumps, Kettle Bottom Shoals south past Piney Point, and the mouth of the river. Jigging is the most popular light-tackle way to fish and 6-inch to 8-inch soft plastics in white or chartreuse are favorite colors. Those trolling are using similarly colored sassy shads in tandem or behind umbrella rigs pulled behind heavy inline weights. 

Striped bass have moved into the deeper edges of the shipping channel in the main stem of the Bay and can be found holding as deep as 40 feet. There are striped bass being found near Cedar Point at the mouth of the Patuxent River and along the deep edge from Buoy 76 south past Buoy 72B. The steep edges of the main channel in Tangier Sound are also producing some striped bass for anglers coming out of the Crisfield ports. 

There is some white perch action in the lower Patuxent River below the Route 4 Bridge in some of the deeper waters, as well as the mouth of the Nanticoke River and Tangier Sound. The white perch are deep, and it will take 2 ounces or more of weight to get a rig to hold bottom. Pieces of bloodworm on a two-hook bottom rig is the most popular choice to fish for them.

Fishing Report

The lower Potomac River continues to be a major draw for anglers in the lower Bay. Anglers are allowed to keep two striped bass larger than 20 inches per day from the tidal Potomac River. The striped bass are holding along the main channel edges on the Virginia and Maryland sides from the Route 301 Bridge south to the mouth of the river. 

The lower Patuxent River and both sides of the shipping channel are also holding striped bass along the channel edges. They are suspended about 25 feet to 35 feet below the surface Cedar Point, Cove Point, and the main channel in Tangier Sound are also holding striped bass. Additionally, there is still some shallow water action in Tangier and Pocomoke sounds where anglers are casting paddletails with good success. 

Anglers will need to use jigs of one ounce or more to reach the deep-water fish, depending on current and wind conditions. Those trolling umbrella rigs or tandem rigged bucktails will need to employ heavy inline weights to reach the depths where the fish are holding. White and chartreuse are popular colors for lures, bucktails and sassy shads.

White perch are holding close to the bottom at the mouths of the Patuxent, Potomac, and Nanticoke rivers and in Tangier Sound. Once the fish are located on a depth finder it will take a couple ounces of lead to reach the 40-foot depths. Bottom rigs baited with pieces of bloodworm are a popular way to catch them.