Maryland Fishing Report: Pre-Spawn Action
Maryland's latest fishing report highlights chain pickerel and crappie in tidal rivers/impoundments, plus pre-spawn yellow perch running in Bush, Sassafras, Chester, and Magothy rivers. Blue catfish are active in the Nanticoke, while tautog fishing remains productive off Ocean City. Tennessee guides report mixed-bag trips with personal-best smallmouth bass despite weather fronts pushing fish upriver.
The yellow perch spawning run, a harbinger of spring for many Maryland anglers, typically occurs from late February through March. Anglers are finding them staging in deeper waters as river temperatures currently hover between 38 and 41 degrees in places like the Choptank River. Blue catfish are a highly invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with no catch limits. Their population has exploded, reflected in commercial landings which grew from 609,525 pounds in 2013 to 4.2 million pounds in 2023. These predators feast on vital native species, with one study estimating they consume 441 tons of blue crab annually in the James River alone. The tautog fishery off Ocean City has a notable history, producing the 28.8-pound world record fish in January 2015. Anglers must adhere to a 16-inch minimum size, but the species is under pressure; a 2025 stock assessment update indicated the regional population is overfished and experiencing overfishing. For the other freshwater species mentioned, regulations are specific. In nontidal waters, there is no minimum size for crappie and a daily limit of 15, while chain pickerel must be at least 14 inches with a daily limit of five. Weather fronts directly influence bass behavior due to changes in barometric pressure, which fish detect via their swim bladders. While a pressure drop before a storm can trigger a feeding spree, the subsequent high-pressure, clear-sky conditions of a cold front often shut the bite down as smallmouth become sluggish and retreat to deeper water or thicker cover.
