Maryland Fishing Report – May 13

Expect water temperatures to slowly increase all week as the Maryland Bay area experiences summer-like conditions later this week. As reported from the buoys, main Bay surface and river mouth water temperatures are holding around the low 60 degrees. Smaller rivers and streams temperatures are also holding in the 60s. However, smaller streams and downwind areas on a sunny day will warm faster and will often hold water temperatures in the upper 60s. 

Expect below average flows for most Maryland rivers and streams. Expect average clarity for most Maryland portions of the Bay and rivers. To see the latest water clarity conditions on NOAA satellite maps, check Eyes on the Bay Satellite Maps. There will be above average tidal currents all week as a result of the May 16 new moon.

For more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area of the Bay, be sure to check out Eyes on the Bay’s Click Before You Cast.

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Upper Chesapeake Bay

Anglers fishing in the lower Susquehanna River this week are enjoying good fishing for blue catfish in the Conowingo Dam pool and near the mouth of the river. Flows have been very low coming from the dam. White perch are in the lower Susquehanna and anglers are enjoying the action. Anglers are also fishing in the Susquehanna Flats for largemouth bass and in the river for smallmouth bass. 

The area above the boundary line of Abbey Point to Worton Point is still off-limits to targeting striped bass until June 1 and the area between that boundary and the Brewerton Channel remains catch-and-release only until June 1.  

Fishing for striped bass within the 19-24 inch slot has been good since the season opened below the Brewerton Channel on May 1. Anglers are finding striped bass along the Bay’s shorelines by casting paddletails and soft plastic jigs in deeper waters. We all admit that the color has a funny name, but the “electric chicken” color scheme is a big hit with anglers, and it would seem with striped bass also. Seasoned anglers are quick to add that other colors also work well. When working the shallows during the early morning and evening hours, it is hard to beat poppers for pure entertainment when striped bass charge after them. 

Trolling is another option to catch striped bass this week along the channel edges. Many anglers are using umbrella rigs, rigged with medium bucktails outfitted with sassy shads or twistertails. Tandem rigged bucktails are also an option and when trolling shallower channel edges, diving crankbaits can work well at slower speeds.

Fishing for blue catfish and channel catfish has been very good this month. Both species of catfish are moving freely through a variety of water depths. They can be found in every tidal river, and some can become very large. The Chester River is one of the better tidal rivers in the upper Bay to fish for blue catfish.

White perch are filling in at their typical summer habitat locations near oyster beds, deep water docks and piers or submerged rocks. Casting small soft plastic jigs, spin-jigs, spinners all work well along shoreline structure. Grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm on a bottom rig work well next to deep structure.

Middle Bay

The piers on the east side of the Bay Bridge are attracting charter and private boats during the early morning tides. Boats are anchoring up current and drifting a variety of baits back to the pier bases. Cut menhaden, soft crabs and small white perch have been popular. Other anglers are casting soft plastic jigs at the pier bases with good luck on slot size striped bass. 

The middle bay region is offering light tackle anglers a lot of shallow water action this week in a variety of locations. Shoreline structure, grass beds, prominent points and submerged rocks are always good places to cast poppers, paddletails, crankbaits and jerkbaits. The water clarity is something we all wish would last the rest of the year. The Poplar Island rocks, Thomas Point and in front of the Naval Academy are just a few spots to check. The morning and evening hours tend to offer the best shallow water fishing opportunities. Saturday, May 16, the mouth of the Choptank River will offer expanded fishing locations as closure boundaries move upriver. 

Trolling will be an option for many striped bass anglers this week. Many main channel edges in the Bay and those at the mouths of several tidal rivers are good places to look for striped bass suspended close to the bottom. Most of the large spawning striped bass have moved out of the region, so anglers are concentrating on slot striped bass measuring between 19 inches and 24 inches. Umbrella rigs with bucktail trailers dressed with sassy shads or twistertails are popular trolling options. 

White perch are now providing fun fishing around various structure areas in the lower areas of the region’s tidal rivers and creeks. The evening hours offer some exciting light tackle action by casting a variety of small lures, from spin-jigs to Clouser flies along shoreline structure. Deeper waters around piers and oyster beds can be fished with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworms on bottom rigs. 

The Choptank River continues to provide some of the best fishing for blue catfish this week. The catfish are in a pre-spawn mode of feeding aggression, making for good fishing. Anchoring up and chumming and putting out baits is a good way to load up on an ice chest full of blue cats. The section of the river from the town of Choptank to Denton provides some of the best fishing opportunities.

The lower Bay holds a lot of fishing opportunities for striped bass this week. Fishing has been good in the bay and its shorelines and on Saturday May 16, the tidal Potomac River opens to striped bass fishing, and the Patuxent River opens up downriver of Point Patience. The Potomac holds the promise of fishing along the steep channel edges from Piney Point to St, Georges Island. Anglers usually find good striped bass fishing below the Route 4 Bridge over the Patuxent River.

Jigging and trolling are popular ways to fish these edges and as soon as spot move in; live lining will come into play. Anglers who are jigging are usually using 3/4-ounce soft plastic jigs in the 5-inch size range. The shorelines of the Potomac, St. Marys, and Patuxent rivers, Cedar Point rocks, the Calvert Cliffs Power Plant warm water discharge are just a few of the good places to work jigs. The trolling anglers will usually be using umbrella rigs with inline weights to get them down to where the fish are suspended. The 35-foot edge out in front of Cove Point and the eastern main channel edge from Buoy 76 to 72B are other locations to check for striped bass.

Casting poppers and paddletails are a fun way to fish for striped bass in the shallower waters of the shorelines of the Bay and Tangier Sound. The grass beds are filling out, and striped bass can be found in the shallows during the morning and evening hours. 

Black drum are being found in the Tangier Sound waters, the Northwest Middle Grounds and near the Target Ship. Anglers are spotting them on depth finders and then dropping soft crab baits on them. Large red drum are moving into the lower bay region and can be found in the Tangier Sound and Target Ship areas.

Far up the tidal Potomac River to the waters below Little falls and the District of Columbia, the spawning runs of hickory shad and American shad have just about fizzled out this week. A few hickory shad were caught and released by anglers last week but only a few. The lack of good river flows from spring rains really put a damper to this heralded catch and release fishery. It was an active fishery at the end of March but then declined. There is always next year. 

White perch are offering plenty of enjoyable fishing in the lower sections of the region’s tidal river and creeks this week. They have moved into some of the typical locations anglers expect to see them during the summer months. Evenings can be spent casting small spin-jigs, spinners, and small jigs along promising looking shorelines. Fishing off docks and piers with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworms is always a fun summer pastime, especially for our younger anglers. The lower Patuxent is usually a good place to fish for white perch and soon spot and perhaps croaker that have grown a little larger in a year will return to the lower Patuxent and other Bay waters.

Freshwater Fishing

Trout anglers will see stockings start to slow down in the central region of the state and focus more on the western region due to warming water temperatures. There is still time to enjoy the recent trout stockings that occurred last week and there will be a few more this month. As we approach June 1, some of the delayed harvest trout management waters will be open to a five trout per day harvest until October 1.

Fishing for smallmouth bass in the upper Potomac and Monocacy rivers has been a challenge for anglers due to low flows and clear waters. Using light lines and making long casts helps fool these wary smallmouth bass. A mix of tubes, swimbaits and crankbaits are working well in the deeper pockets and current breaks. Poppers are always an exciting way to fish near rocky shelves and the edges of grass beds during the morning and evening hours. Smallmouth bass can also be found in Deep Creek Lake, Prettyboy and Liberty reservoirs, and the lower Susquehanna River.

Largemouth bass are providing plenty of fun fishing this month in small ponds to large reservoirs in nontidal waters and the upper sections of the bay’s tidal rivers. In many areas the largemouth bass are in a post-spawn mode of behavior and with water temperatures still cool they can be found in a wide variety of locations. The most common areas to find the larger female largemouth bass are the mid-depth transition areas outside of the shallower grass beds and near structure in those areas. Structure can come in the form of fallen treetops, sunken wood, bottom structure such as lumps and drop-offs and creek mouths. Targeting the edges of grass beds with spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and soft plastics and deeper spots with paddletails, crankbaits. 

Chesapeake Channa are active near emerging grass beds and often the afternoons can provide some of the best action on sun exposed shallows. Buzzbaits, chatterbaits, and frogs are good choices when fishing grass beds, paddletails work well near shoreline brush and the edges of grass beds. 

Fishing for crappie is good this month in many tidal and nontidal waters. The crappie tend to be found holding close to structure that can be in the form of marina docks, bridge piers, sunken wood, or rocks, fallen treetops. Slowly drifting by with a small minnow under a slip bobber is a very popular way to fish for them but casting small lures or flies will get the job done also. 

In many areas of Maryland, the larger chain pickerel have finished spawning or are close to being finished. Once this occurs, they will aggressively feed to build body stores back up. Look for the large chain pickerel in more open waters near structure. Anglers are urged to use single inline hooks on their lures to limit gill damage to these aggressive fish.

Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays

Surf anglers fishing along the beaches of Assateague and Ocean City are catching a mix of black drum, large striped bass and a few large bluefish. The black drum are being caught on sand fleas and clams, the striped bass and bluefish on cut menhaden or mullet.

Flounder continue to move through the Ocean City Inlet towards the back bay waters. The inlet and channels leading from the inlet are good locations to target them. Some of the larger flounder are being caught on Gulp baits. The minimum size for summer flounder is 16 inches until June 1; the minimum size then will be 17.5 inches, and the four flounder per day limit will continue. 

Tautog are being caught in the inlet area near jetty rocks, bulkheads and bridge piers on sand fleas. Striped bass are being caught in the inlet, some large ones are being caught by drifting cut baits at night. Casting soft plastic jigs near structure is providing plenty of fun for striped bass that mostly fall short of the minimum 28 inches. The inlet and Route 5o Bridge areas as well as the bridge piers of the Route 90 and Verrazzano bridges are excellent places to cast soft plastic jigs and paddletails.

The 2026 black sea bass started off with a bang with good fishing at the wreck and reef sites. Anglers enjoyed catching the chunky sea bass, some caught their limits and all went home with plenty of fish. Flounder were in the mix for those who fished for them.