Eastern Bay Report - Thursday November 2nd 2023

[DST64]

Hi All

I launched my kayak from Romancoke around 11am and fished south to Kent Point by low tide. I stayed to the contours fishing 8ft then 10-12ft then around 16ft then upwards of 25ft. I fished plugs and paddle tails. I never touched a fish or saw a fish on the way South.

On the way north I tried extreme shallows and then went a little further out over deeper water. There I found some significant pods of bait fish in excess of 20ft deep water. They seemed to be holding to slicks or wind lanes. The amount of bait fish was impressive. Occasionally some birds would work the bait fish pod. I cast plugs, paddle tails and jigged around these pods for a while and caught 1 * 14" bass (returned). I saw a very occasional n occasional fish attacking bait but nothing of mention.

I saw a couple of boats chasing birds working bait pods but couldn't tell if they were catching. Sadly, I saw no other anglers. Water was 65 fht and we had broken cloud. In short great conditions for bass fishing but no fish.

Conclusion, If you're in a kayak I would avoid Eastern Bay.

Going to try the Susquehanna flats this weekend and hopefully see a little more fish activity.

Any other location advice, north of the bay bridge and kayak suitable, would be appreciated.

[Big Mike]

Very informative report. I fish down in the slower lower and our already poor striper year has gotten slower as we think the fish moved deeper. Certainly not seeing bait near the surface.

[rugbyfish]

Sorry to hear about your outing. I’ve quit fishing Eastern Bay altogether this year. It seems to have gotten progressively worse in recent years for striper fishing. Even locations that used to produce dozens of stripers in the lower bay for me are coming up mostly dry. My lower bay trips now are focused on trout and reds.

I decided to target pickerel today and ended up with a handful of fish from 15-19”. They aren’t my favorite species to target, but I can’t be picky right now. The Severn and Magothy seem to hold good populations most years, so that’s always an alternative if you decide to give striper fishing a break.

[dsaavedra]

Thanks for your Eastern Bay report. The fall run of rockfish has been spotty to say the least this year. I've fished many spots in the mid-Bay where I've done well in the fall of previous years - some days I find numerous small stripers, other days I come up with a skunk or close to it. I have not seen any birds working whatsoever, literally zero. I can't tell if the action hasn't started yet or if it's just not happening this year. I have heard there are still a good number of stripers in the Patapsco, where they have been holding since summer started. I guess as long as the bait is still there they have no reason to leave. There are plenty of launch options you could try on the Patapsco, check this map: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/app...5f55ca6dcefc8a

[DST64]

Hi Folks

Thanks for responses and I will try the Patapsco when wind and tide give a suitable day. Probably week of Nov 11th now.

Today I fished the Susquehanna Flats launching from Tydings Marina and trawling the western shore South and then East following the near shore channel. Having never been there before I nearly got the kayak stuck 100 yards out of the Marina, good start eh! With calm wind and calm water and early mid-morning, Fall colors to the right and the mass of the flats to the left. I must say it was a joy to be afloat.

The water temp was 55 Fht which surprised me (cold) and there was quite a bit of weed meaning frequent stops to clear plugs and kayak prop of weed. I caught 3 stiped bass in all, 2 of them under 20" and 1 about 26 inches. All were returned. Despite the distance I trawled all fish were caught within 1 mile of the ramp.

There were a lot of boats or boat trailers at Tydings. However, I think most people were fishing in the Susquehanna River. All the talk was blue catfish. Only 2 boats passed me on my trawl south and north. Therefore, it was quiet on a Saturday!

Hope this helps anyone looking to get out. Remember the water is cold, get the dry suits on, wear your PFD and have a marine radio. It's only 10 days back a 74 old year man lost his life on Raritan Bay, apparently through not having these safety tools.

Tight Lines

[Slough Sleigher]

Hi Folks

Thanks for responses and I will try the Patapsco when wind and tide give a suitable day. Probably week of Nov 11th now.

Today I fished the Susquehanna Flats launching from Tydings Marina and trawling the western shore South and then East following the near shore channel. Having never been there before I nearly got the kayak stuck 100 yards out of the Marina, good start eh! With calm wind and calm water and early mid-morning, Fall colors to the right and the mass of the flats to the left. I must say it was a joy to be afloat.

The water temp was 55 Fht which surprised me (cold) and there was quite a bit of weed meaning frequent stops to clear plugs and kayak prop of weed. I caught 3 stiped bass in all, 2 of them under 20" and 1 about 26 inches. All were returned. Despite the distance I trawled all fish were caught within 1 mile of the ramp.

There were a lot of boats or boat trailers at Tydings. However, I think most people were fishing in the Susquehanna River. All the talk was blue catfish. Only 2 boats passed me on my trawl south and north. Therefore, it was quiet on a Saturday!

Hope this helps anyone looking to get out. Remember the water is cold, get the dry suits on, wear your PFD and have a marine radio. It's only 10 days back a 74 old year man lost his life on Raritan Bay, apparently through not having these safety tools.

Tight Lines

Greetings my friend and thanks for the report. I must say that I have been looking forward to returning to the Cheasapeake and getting out with you on the water again. I had expected to hear things had improved. My month and a half expedition on the South Carolina coast is wrapping up and although I have caught a lot of fish and broke or wore out a bunch of equipment, I still have the urge to pull more fish when I get back. It's an untreated illness. Keep getting out there and posting up and I'll give you a call soon to plan another outing..

[DST64]

Welcome back from the sunny south. Wind made a lot of October difficult (at least for me) but November seems to have 50% of days with wind less than 10mph somewhere. I'm hoping to continue into Mid December so we should be able to get out.

[FRED driver]

Fwiw, I fished the mouth of E Bay about a week ago from the yak and caught 40 including a few sea bass and a fluke. Only one of decent size (mid 20s) the rest mostly in the upper teens. Launched from Kent Point Marina pre-dawn on a flood, caught all on a 1 oz epoxy jig

[FRED driver]

IMG_0870.jpg

[DST64]

Well thank heaven for that. Good for you. That area looks fishy and there's a lot of bait around. But for sure, it was down towards the marina end rather than the Romancoke end.

[FRED driver]

This time of year can be both really tough and really special. The fish are constantly on the move and in a yak, you’re kinda stuck where you are. In my case last week I was able to stay on top of a huge school on a contour that bait related to for several hours and the boats didn’t notice me thus they did not spook off the fish (that’s a real thing). Almost no bird activity with all those fish btw which helped me stay unnoticed.

sounds like you were exactly where you needed to be. Sometimes they ain’t there.

also, when in doubt, downsize the lure especially in the fall. I was watching guys throwing 7” plastics not catch a thing and I’d bring up 3 or 4 on my little jig.

[DST64]

Again, thanks for the advice.

Yes, the bait I saw was no more than 3"- 4" and slim profiled. Small but plentiful. Likewise, the birds were feeding on the pod but not in any numbers and not in a frenzy.

If it helps others, the bait pods I saw were all in water over 20ft deep, possibly 25ft and more. That's a fair distance from shore on Eastern Bay. Follow the contours with your fish finder and I'm sure you'd find the bait pods if still there.

[Manny]

I really love reading everyone's posts. I don't ever post but my buddy and I had such a great day yesterday I wanted to share. We launched kayaks around 8:15 (we were running late). There were no active birds that we could see so we started trolling to locate fish. I had a 4 inch tsunami on one rod and a 1/2 ounce G I Jig head with a 6 inch fat twisty tail. Within 20 minutes got a 23 incher. Then the day just got better! I caught 6 strippers in about 4 hours. The biggest was 29.5 inches and the smallest was 17 inches. With the way fishing has been I was very happy with this! I have been skunked a few times this year lol. If it helps you catch fish, every fish I caught was using my navionics and the fish we're sitting were I was on tight contours. Water went from 10 ft to 20 ft in the deepest I found. Tight lines!

[DST64]

Hi All
I was out today on the Patapsco taking advantage of calm winds to try a specific spot over structure (I'd read about in a book) and had a good day. Like Manny above I had 6 striped bass all mid 20's with one nearer 30. Water was 53fht. I was on the water at 6.45am and it was very cold. Came off around 11am as the wind was freshening.

I'm looking for opportunities to share information re specific places to fish. My zone is between the Severn River and Susquehanna Flats. I don't see many kayakers out there. If we can help each other, great. Anyone interested send me a message.