ANNAPOLIS – With the start of winter and the end of some fishing seasons, Maryland’s anglers can rest assured that there is plenty of good fishing to be found this season if you know where to look.

Winter is a great time to target blue and flathead catfish in the tidal waters of the Bay. If anglers could just get past the term “invasive catfish,” they’d find they are a lot of fun to catch, there are hordes of them in many areas, they have no creel or size limits, and when properly cleaned they make great table fare. If they are fileted and all the red meat and silver skin is removed, one has a mild white meat that can be used in many ways. An all-time favorite is catfish cut into small ¾-inch battered strips or chunks and fried, but other uses of the meat include fish tacos and other dishes.

During the winter, blue catfish tend to seek out deeper waters in the channels of the tidal rivers’ middle to upper sections. They will often stack up in holes and channel sections where they will hold through the winter months. If fishing from a small boat, a depth finder can be very helpful to find these areas – they tend to run adjacent to high banks and the outside curves of the river. These are good things to keep in mind when fishing from the riverbanks.

Blue catfish can now be found to some degree in every tidal river feeding into the Chesapeake Bay. Several rivers with large populations include the tidal Potomac, Patuxent and Susquehanna rivers, along with the Choptank, Nanticoke and Wicomico rivers. On the tidal Potomac, the waters below the Wilson Bridge are good places to fish during the winter.

The Jug Bay area of the Patuxent River is another hot spot. The Susquehanna River in the Havre de Grace area and the deep hole just below the railroad bridge is a popular location.

The Dover Bridge to the Denton area on the Choptank River and the Sharpstown area on the Nanticoke River are excellent places to fish for blue catfish. In the Wicomico River, below Salisbury is a good location.

Blue catfish are eating and reproducing machines and now that they are here in large numbers, they are causing great harm to our ecosystems. They eat everything and when they grow to sizes approaching 100 pounds, they have no predators and can eat adult-size fish.

The list of their dietary habits can include clams, crabs, finfish, turtles and one was even found with a duck in its stomach. Unfortunately, they are overpowering many of our river systems in Maryland, so while fishing for them is fun, remember they are invasive and catching them helps protect our waters and native fish.

Anglers should always be aware of any potential environmental concerns regarding where they fish and the species they are catching. The most current recreational fish advisories can be found on the Maryland Department of the Environment website.

Unfortunately, environmental contaminants are everywhere, but risks can be lessened with proper preparation. For blue catfish, it just takes a little common sense and removing the belly fat and red meat from the fish filet.

Flathead catfish can be found in substantial numbers in the Conowingo Dam pool and the Lower Susquehanna River below the dam. They are also found in the upper Potomac River. The fishing tactics for flathead catfish are much the same as for blue catfish.

Chumming with ground fish can work wonders when fishing for blue catfish, especially from a boat. Ground menhaden is easily purchased, and it is a good oily fish to use to attract catfish. A metal chum pot weighted to rest on the bottom is one of the best ways to develop a chum slick to attract blue catfish to your anchored boat. 

White perch can be located in some of the deeper waters in all three regions of the Chesapeake. The rock piles at the Bay Bridge are a great place to target large white perch holding there. Jigging with a heavy dropper rig is a popular way to reach them in swift currents. There are some deep channel areas off Matapeake and the False Channel at the mouth of the Choptank that hold white perch. The mouth of the Patuxent River is another good place to fish. Bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm are popular baits on a bottom rig.

Recently anglers jigging in the deep waters of the middle and lower Bay near structure are catching black sea bass. The throwback ratio is about 50% or more but they present another fishing option for anglers. The black sea bass season for 2023 is open until Dec. 31, with a 15 fish per day creel limit at a minimum length of 13 inches.

Striped bass fishing is catch and release only in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay waters, except for the main stem of the Potomac River, which is open until Dec. 31 with a daily limit of two fish between 21 inches and 31 inches.

Recreational oystering can be a fun and very productive way to gather a delicacy for your holiday or anyday dinner table. If you can keep youngsters warm and dry, they will often enjoy looking for oysters during the extremely low winter tides. Wearing a pair of knee boots or better yet waders and gauntlet type waterproof gloves go a long way to making this a comfortable venture.

If you still can launch a boat, tonging or nippering oysters is a fun way to collect a bushel. There are regulations to be followed and maps indicating where you can legally collect oysters must be studied. Most everything you will need to know about oystering in Maryland can be found on the DNR website.

Ocean and Coastal Bays

Striped bass are moving through Maryland’s offshore waters this month, unfortunately they are large fish above the 31-inch limit and are in the U.S. exclusive economic zone beyond Maryland jurisdiction. Some will move along the beaches and anglers are out in force this week hoping to hook into one even if it is catch and release. 

There are plenty of smaller striped bass in the inlet and the Route 50 Bridge area as well as near the Route 90 Bridge. Most fail to meet the 28-inch minimum but are providing plenty of fun catch-and-release fishing for anglers casting soft plastic jigs and paddletails. Anglers are catching tautog around the inlet jetty rocks and the bulkheads and bridge piers near the Route 50 Bridge on sand fleas and pieces of green crab. 

Maryland Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.