Catch of the Week:
This week's Catch of the Week is Rich Reider and his Channel Catfish. Rich caught this catfish noodling on the Severn River.
Submit your own catch of the week here and keep an eye out for your catch to be featured in one of our next Resource, Reports, and Fun Fish Fact articles!
Did you know?
The most recent Fishing State Record for the Chesapeake Area to be broken was on March 2, 2020 when 22 year old Samson Matthews caught a Longnose Gar that weighed 18.3 lbs near the El Dorado Bridge along the Marshyhope Creek in Dorchester County. The Longnose Gar is a prehistoric fish.
Weather (Click Here)
Along with checking the tides before you hit the water, take a last second look at the most updated weather report. It's gonna be hot!!
Today's Moon Phase according to NASA (Click Here)
New Moon - “At new Moon, the Moon is lined up between the Earth and the Sun. We see the side of the Moon that is not being lit by the Sun (in other words, we see no Moon at all, because the brightness of the Sun outshines the dim Moon). When the Moon is exactly lined up with the Sun (as viewed from Earth), we experience an eclipse.
Public Angler Access (Click Here)
Use the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Angler Access map to find new fishing spots in Maryland. Here are a few:
Quaker Neck: Kent County (Pomona) on the Chester River; Year-round fishing 5 a.m. - 10 p.m. for Bluegill, Crappie, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, Chain Pickerel and more.
Truxtun Park: Anne Arundel County (Annapolis) on Spa Creek; Year- round fishing for Sunfish, Bluefish, White Perch, Yellow Perch, and Catfish.
Lake Waterford: Anne Arundel County (Pasadena); Year-round fishing except Thanksgiving and Christmas, 7 a.m. to dusk for Bluegill, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Redear Sunfish and Chain Pickerel. This lake is Put & Take
Maryland Fishing Report- July 15-21 Compiled by Keith Lockwood, Maryland DNR Fisheries Biologist (Click Here)
"Main Chesapeake Bay surface water temperatures have risen to the mid 80s. Long-term Maryland Department of Natural Resources water monitoring shows that peak water temperatures occur during this part of July. These warm waters and corresponding low oxygen areas are appearing from Swan Point down to the mouth of the Potomac River. For information on Maryland’s mainbay oxygen conditions, see Maryland’s latest hypoxia report.
Recent DNR water monitoring indicates that the coolest, oxygenated water in the bay is found in the deeper waters from Pooles Island down to the Virginia state line. The other way to find cooler water is to fish the shallows at first light when surface water temperatures can be several degrees cooler. As always, best fishing areas could be further refined by intersecting these cool, oxygenated areas with underwater points, hard bottom, drop-offs, and large schools of baitfish.
Expect reduced water clarity from algal blooms along the upper shore including the Susquehanna Flats and Northeast, Elk, Sassafras, Bush, Middle, and Patapsco rivers. Other areas where this may occur include the lower Chester River down to the Bay Bridge as well as the middle Patuxent and Colonial Beach area of the Potomac River.
Middle Bay
Striped bass are being found suspended along channel edges at Hacketts and Thomas points as well as similar channel edges along the shipping channel and the mouth of Eastern Bay, and the Severn and Choptank rivers. Most anglers are trolling umbrella rigs behind inline weights to get down to the 25-foot depth along channel edges where striped bass are suspended.
There is some live lining of spot and chumming going on at Hacketts Bar and Thomas Point. Care must be taken when handling fish and anglers using live bait or cut bait are reminded that they must use non-offset circle hooks at all times.
Adventurous anglers are also finding enough suspended striped bass to set up on at Bloody Point, the Buoy 83 area, and the Clay Banks off Tilghman Island. These areas are also a good place to jig when fish can be spotted on a depth finder.
The shallow-water striped bass fishery continues to offer fun topwater fishing action at dawn and to some degree late in the evening. Water temperatures are high enough now in the shallower areas of the tidal rivers and bay shore that striped bass are exiting the shallows once the sun breaks the horizon. Speckled trout have been a wonderful addition to the action from the Choptank River south along the Dorchester County shorelines. Grass beds in 3-5 feet of water and stump fields are excellent places to cast topwater lures and swim shads. Zara Spooks, Gulp plastics, and soft plastics in pearl or white with sparkles in them are popular.
Fishing for white perch in the shallower shoreline areas offers a fun light-tackle experience in the early morning and evening hours. Shoreline structure such as bulkheads, submerged rocks, fallen trees, and prominent points all offer good areas to cast small spinners, spinnerbaits, and jigs. White perch can also be caught off of docks and piers in 5-foot or deeper water with a simple one-hook bottom rig baited with pieces of bloodworm or grass shrimp in light tackle.
A mix of blue and channel catfish are ready to provide plenty of entertainment for anglers fishing with cut bait, clam snouts, and other favorite baits in most of the tidal rivers within the region. Channel catfish can be found in every tidal river, and blue catfish are found mostly in the Choptank and Nanticoke rivers."
This Weekend's Tide Predictions (Click Here)
Keep an eye on this weekends tide schedule. These are the predicted tides for the Western Shore of the Chesapeake from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Wednesday 7/22:
Low tide starting at 12:14 a.m. and again at 2:05 p.m.
High tide starting at 7:03 a.m. and again at 7:32 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:59 a.m.
Sunset: 8:26 p.m.
Thursday 7/23:
Low tide starting at 1:10 a.m. and again at 2:42 p.m.
High tide starting at 7:49 a.m. and again at 8:23 p.m.
Sunrise: 5:59 a.m.
Sunset: 8:25 p.m.
Friday 7/24:
Low tide starting at 2:10 a.m. and again at 3:21 p.m.
High tide starting at 8:36 a.m. and again at 9:17 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:00 a.m.
Sunset: 8:24 p.m.
Saturday 7/25:
Low tide starting at 3:15 a.m. and again at 4:00 p.m.
High tide starting at 9:24 a.m. and again at 10:13 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:01 a.m.
Sunset: 8:23p.m.
Sunday 7/26:
Low tide starting at 4:28 a.m. and again at 4:42 p.m.
High tide at 10:14 a.m. and again at 11:13 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:02 a.m.
Sunset: 8:23 p.m.