Perch and Catfish!

The new fishing season is having a slow beginning as cold fronts continue to keep us and the water chilly. This is the week that will get things going as day temps reach toward 80° and night temps stay above 50°.

Perch have been caught on the bay shore at Elms Beach, that lays between Cedar Point and Point Lookout. This is a fun public beach with a parking lot and picnic tables. Catches of medium-sized perch have been consistent on blood worm bits. Perch should become available most everywhere as the water warms.

Kevin Harris shows off perch from Elms Beach.

Big cats!!

Catfish are the big-ticket item for the upper Potomac where charter and private boats are hauling in huge fish. The fish are easy to catch and eager to bite. Cut alewife or mud shad are the ticket for bait. The fish range from a couple of pounds up to 25 or 30 pounds, with the bigger fish more common. How big do these fish get? Fifty- or sixty-pound fish are not out of the question, and a monster close to 100 pounds would not surprise anyone. Bring big gear.

Capt. Greg Buckner and the trio of Miss Susie charter boats are catching tons (literally) of blue cats daily in the upper Potomac.

The season is closed for striped bass until May 1. There have been plenty of sightings and accidental hook and release of big cow stripers on their spawning run. If it is a late spawn, there will be big fish for trollers in the bay and Potomac when the season kicks off.

Black Drum have been caught in the lower bay and in Tangier Sound.

Marco and Brooklyn with perch from Elms Beach.

Freshwater fishing is excellent with bass at St. Mary's Lake and in local and public ponds hitting crankbaits. Many are small, but there are a lot of them. Crappie have started at the Lake and live minnows fished below a bobber and reeled in slowly will bring strikes. Crappie jigs are good cast around submerged structure. Pickerel will hit spinner baits.

Typical largemouth from St. Mary's Lake.

Fun and FOOD!

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