Fishing Report
Chesapeake Bay (upper), VA
Summary: 3/20/25 - Anglers in the Susquehanna Flats are starting to get serious about catch-and-release fishing for pre-spawn striped bass. Anglers are reporting they are encountering a few medium-sized male striped bass while fishing with soft plastic jigs, jerkbaits, and crankbaits. They are also reporting that when fishing close to the bottom, blue catfish are running down lures and providing some unexpected interference. The Susquehanna Flats catch and release boundaries are: upstream of a line from Sandy Point to Turkey Point and the Susquehanna River downstream from a line connecting the Susquehanna State Park boat ramp at Lapidum (defined by Lat. 39°35.86′ N and Long. 76°07.67′ W) to Twin Rocks (defined by Lat. 39°36.17′ N and Long. 76°07.56′ W) to Tomes Wharf in Port Deposit (defined by Lat. 39°36.23′ N and Long. 76°06.99′ W); and the Northeast River. Note: The “Tomes Wharf” coordinate is closest to Lee’s Landing Dock Bar. Blue catfish are spread throughout the entire upper Bay and its tidal rivers and can provide plenty of fishing action for anglers. The Conowingo Dam Pool, the lower Susquehanna River, the mouth of the Elk River, and the Chester River are a few of the top tidal rivers that hold blue catfish. The upper Bay down to the Bay Bridge holds exceptional opportunities for large blue catfish. They seem to prefer the open waters of the Bay this time of the year. Almost any kind of cut bait will work well – gizzard shad, menhaden, and white perch are easy to obtain, but chicken liver and other chicken parts also suffice. Some anglers boast that hot dogs make good bait! Catch and release of striped bass is currently allowed below a line between Abbey Point to Worton Point, and south to the Virginia state line, including Tangier and Pocomoke sounds. The DNR website contains a map of Maryland’s striped bass fishing areas and seasons. Anglers are catching post spawn yellow perch in the North East, upper Bush, and Chester rivers this week, and enjoying the push of white perch that are moving into the spawning areas. Anglers often must cull through a lot of small white perch when fishing the spawning runs, so using shad darts and small soft plastic jigs will keep you in the action until some larger fish move through your location. Placing scented Gulp tiny baits on your shad dart or a piece of minnow will help entice white perch to strike your shad dart. White perch love grass shrimp, but with large numbers of small perch it doesn’t take long to run out of bait.