Wicomico Tidal Bass Survey and Snakeheads

Type: Tidal
Region: Eastern
Location: Wicomico

Our Inland Fisheries Staff recently completed the annual largemouth bass assessment of the tidal Wicomico River. Overall, it seems bass numbers are similar to previous years. Their sizes ranged from 4" (young of year) to almost 19" (4.5#). Most bass were collected around the docks and other "hard structure" in the upper river. Other bass were found on the edges of emergent vegetation during the outgoing tide. There are lots of other species to catch in the Wicomico if you aren�t interested in fishing just for bass. Black crappie, white perch, yellow perch, channel catfish and striped bass were all frequently encountered during the survey. One other interesting note is that we collected three juvenile American shad. Here is a bit of trivia - although not known for its shad fishing, the state record American shad was caught from the Wicomico River in 1975.

I get frequent requests from anglers on where to fish for snakeheads on the Eastern Shore. During our Wicomico River bass assessment we encountered several snakeheads. The ones we encountered were LARGE! Like 8-12 pounds each... If you live or visit the "Shore" and want to give snakehead fishing a try, give the Wicomico River a shot. Fish flooded emergent vegetation between Salisbury and Wicomico Creek with typical weedless bass lures. I think a wire leader would be a wise addition to your rigging if you want to target them specifically.

Unfortunately, Northern snakeheads are fairly widespread now in our tidal freshwaters. The good news is most new populations are still fairly small, and we are counting on anglers to help keep them that way. It's hard to say right now what will happen if their populations are allowed to grow unchecked, so we all need to do our part in trying to manage the snakehead population and prevent further expansion.