A day or so ago, I made a post on social media of the same title that stated “It’s not a coincidence we’re seeing the effect of multiple years of poor spawning classes [of striped bass], poor angling in rivers, and, recently, the ASMFC proposing widespread reductions to the 2026 rec and commercial striper fisheries.” Quite simply, fishing for striped bass—and white perch, among other species—has been very difficult in the Severn River watershed and many others in the middle Chesapeake Bay region. I’ve personally made several trips on the river in the past few weeks and came up near-empty, save for a fish here and there. It’s got me asking, “Dude, where’s my fish?”
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering sweeping reductions (upwards of 12 percent overall) to the catch ‘n kill striped bass fishery up and down the entirety of the East Coast in response to yet another terrible year of spawning numbers for the species. They have a tough job balancing the rec and commercial quotas, slot limits, etc. Like anything in life, when there’s money involved—and a lot of it—the decision making gets very complicated. Aside from the money and politics of fishery regulation, recreation anglers are simply not seeing the numbers of fish in many of the Chesapeake tributaries that we have been accustomed to in years past. Overall, this summer season has been awful. There’s no sugar-coating it.
On my home water, the Severn River, the reports from fellow anglers have trickled in, often with disappointing news—not many fish to speak of. When I review my own fishing logs and catch data from the past five years, during late-August I usually see numbers of fish caught dramatically rise. Catching 10-plus striped bass within slot or over-slot was a regular for many outings at this very time of year.
I’ve been on the river a handful of times in the past couple weeks, one of which I wrote about in the previous post. I ventured out again, early one morning for another attempt at the dawn topwater bite and some dock fishing later in the morning that yielded just a couple perch (no striped bass). Again, I made a morning trip on the river to a very specific area that usually produces fish when I jig around the deep-water docks—nada. And yet another morning session—albeit in the simple kayak within a small creek upriver—came up near-empty with just one baby striper to show for a lot of paddling.
The good news? Well, water temperatures are starting to drop from the 80s into the 70s. Clarity is increasing and any algae blooms should be dying off now. Water quality is improving slightly in the Severn. Another observation that’s mixed—there’s plenty of minnow bait balls in the river, but I haven’t seen the numbers of peanut bunker that are usually present. So, there’s life, but not exactly the hatch that draws bigger fish upriver. However, the group of anglers that regularly fish the river are beginning to report some slot size fish being caught downriver. So, it’s possible the autumn bite is starting to show itself in the river, albeit a few weeks behind schedule. That’s hopeful at best. Time will tell. And we’ll see how September numbers transition to October and November in terms of bait, birds, and fish.
I’ll certainly be making runs this fall to target striped bass, but the overall situation has me thinking about the fishery and if it’s worth angling for these fish still or to just give them a break altogether. It’s what many recreational anglers and commercial interests are considering. There’s no clear-cut answer at this moment. Perhaps, we need to consider that we’re nearing another significant moratorium on the fishery if we don’t see dramatic spawning improvement in the years ahead. Can the ASMFC save the situation? I’m not so sure. For now, we fish…carefully.
Of course—and this is always a good reminder—we’re entering what is, perhaps, the most beautiful time of year to enjoy boating and fishing on the many rivers and the Bay. I regularly take my son and/or family on the river for a scenic ride and enjoy some fishing, be it on a small river runner or the kayak. Getting outside, breathing in the crisp air, and getting a line wet is heavenly. If the catching improves, that’s bonus. As the saying goes, if you’re lucky to be on the water, you’re lucky enough.
See y’all on the water again, real soon!
