Posted: 01 November 2009 at 10:25pm | IP Logged

Striped bass are being found in a variety of locations in the upper bay this week and fishermen are consistently on the lookout for diving birds in the form of sea gulls or checking out traditional locations where bottom structure often hold fish. The Patapsco River/ Baltimore Harbor area has been offering very good fishing lately, as well as the various knolls and shoals, such as the Man O War Shoals, the 6’ Knoll and the Love Point area. Most fishermen have been jigging with metal jigs or soft plastic jigs. The bluefish are gone so once more soft plastic shads and similar lures are safe to use on jigs or umbrella rigs. The Podickory Point area and the Bay Bridge piers have been good places lately to jig for striped bass that are often holding there. It can take some skill to position a boat and drop jigs to reach those golden spots at the base of the piers but the fish are there. 

White perch are big part of the action this week in many of the same locations fishermen are jigging up striped bass. The white perch are schooling up over deep structure such as oyster reefs, rock piles and shoals. Jigging is usually the preferred method of catching them and it is a good idea to put a small dropper fly or jig above the heavier metal jig. It usually takes anywhere from 1-ounce to 2-ounces to work the bottom effectively depending on current and wind. Many seasoned fishermen prefer to have a mess of white perch fillets in their freezers than striped bass and everyone would agree filleting size white perch are hard to beat as table fare.