Patuxent River (Jug Bay to Benedict)

The middle and upper tidal Patuxent, from the Benedict bridge up through the wide marshes of Jug Bay, is a winding tidal river known for three things: some of the western shore's largest populations of blue catfish, a spring run of yellow and white perch, and a large snakehead population in the grass and wood. Largemouth, crappie, pickerel and channel catfish round it out, and most of the fishing is from kayaks and small boats.

When to fish

• Late February and March: the yellow perch run toward the upper river near the Route 4 bridge, then white perch into early April. DNR cut the tidal yellow perch limit for 2026 and asks anglers to release full-bellied pre-spawn females.
• Spring: blue catfish feed actively from Benedict to Jug Bay as the water warms; snakeheads turn on in the tidal marshes.
• Summer: snakeheads and bass in the grass; catfish on the channel edges.
• Fall: snakeheads move to more open water near sunken wood and brush; blue catfish fishing picks up again as the water cools.
• Winter: the biggest blue catfish settle into the deep channels around Jug Bay and Benedict.

Where to fish

• Jug Bay and the marsh creeks around it: bass, pickerel, crappie, snakeheads and perch around bushes, downed trees and marsh edges.
• The Benedict bridge and the Route 231 bridge upriver to Jug Bay: blue catfish in the channels.
• Kings Landing Park: fish below the pier for catfish.
• The upper river near the Route 4 bridge: the spring perch runs.

How to fish it

• Blue catfish: fresh cut gizzard shad, menhaden, white perch or eel on the bottom (live bluegill works too); anchor on the channel edges and put out several baits.
• Perch: small jig heads or shad darts tipped with minnow or bloodworm, or bloodworm on a bottom rig.
• Snakeheads: frogs over the grass and weedless white or chartreuse paddletails in spring and summer; large minnows under a bobber near wood and brush in fall. It's illegal to keep a snakehead alive; DNR encourages anglers to kill and keep every one they catch.
• Fly anglers: poppers and rubber-legged flies for bass and panfish; Clouser minnows and Deceivers for pickerel and catfish.

Getting there

Prince George's County's Patuxent River Park, off US 301, MD 382 (Croom Road) and Croom Airport Road near Upper Marlboro, has ramps at Selby's and Jackson's landings (open 8 a.m. to dusk; buy permits at the Jug Bay Natural Area visitor center) and Magruders Ferry Landing downriver. In Calvert County, Kings Landing Park and the fee-free Lower Marlboro Wharf take paddle craft, and Hallowing Point Waterfront Park has a ramp near the Benedict bridge; at Benedict itself, Charles County's park gives shore access under the bridge. The Patuxent is a striped bass spawning river, closed to striped bass fishing from March through May. You need a Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License.