Fishing Report
Chesapeake Bay (lower), VA
Summary: 4/16/26 - Lower Bay: Striped bass catch-and-release anglers are reporting post-spawn striped bass moving down the Potomac River and out into the bay this week. There is still quite a bit of spawning going on in the Patuxent and Nanticoke rivers but fish that spawned earlier this month will be making their way out into the lower bay region. Schools of menhaden that are being seen along steep channel edges will surely attract the striped bass. Boy on a riverbank holding up a long fish Ayden Garner caught this blue catfish in the Potomac River recently. Photo by Jason Garner Trolling large barbless bucktails dressed with chartreuse or white sassy shads will be a very popular way to catch and release striped bass. Jigging with large soft plastic jigs will be equally popular with light tackle anglers. Light-tackle anglers are also catching and releasing striped bass in the shallower shorelines of the bay. The DNR website contains maps to identify where striped bass can be fished legally. Catch-and-release fishing for hickory and American shad is good this week in the Potomac River below the Chain Bridge in the District of Columbia. Water flows are low and water temperatures relatively warm. The shad are responding to flashy spoons, shad darts and brightly colored sinking flies. The Mason Branch of Mattawoman Creek is also a great place to catch hickory shad. Fishing for blue catfish this week is very good along the edges of the main channels in several of the tidal rivers in the lower Bay. The Potomac River above the Route 301 Bridge to the Wilson Bridge is loaded with blue catfish eager to take a bait. The Patuxent River from Benedict through Jug Bay and the Nanticoke near Sharptown are all good places to fish for blue catfish. Cut bait of gizzard shad, menhaden, white perch, or live bluegill sunfish will be attractive to the blue catfish. Scented baits, chicken liver, cheese, and even such things as Spam and hot dogs can work. White perch are finishing their spawning and are on their way back down to the lower sections of the region’s tidal rivers. They have a way to go yet so they can be intercepted in sections of the rivers below the spawning reaches. The Potomac, Patuxent, Nanticoke, Pocomoke and Wicomico are all holding white perch. Casting light jig heads tipped with grass shrimp, minnow or pieces of bloodworm work well in confined waters; bottom rigs do best in deeper waters.