The waters around Pooles Island look like any other one might consider for Chesapeake Bay fishing, but the action around this little chunk of dry land is anything but normal. Pooles has a rich history, having been home to a gunpowder factory during the Revolutionary War, being occupied by the British during the war of 1812, and hosting an orchard famed for growing “Pooles Island Best” peaches. From World War I through the 1960s the island served as target practice for the military. But it’s the history of dredging that’s had the biggest impact we anglers will be concerned with.
Both removal of deposits (to dredge up fossilized oyster shell for spat planting) and disposal of deposits (sediment from around the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal approach channel) have taken place in close proximity to Pooles. And although these activities ended decades ago as their environmental costs became clear, they left behind a bottom with some of the most dramatic depth changes and contours in all of the Chesapeake.
To the west, north, and south, most of the bottom is more or less as one would expect with relatively gradual slopes and changes. To the east, however, the humps and edges are downright radical. There are cliff-like drops from less than 10’ to more than 30’ and shallow humps surrounded by deep troughs. Watch the numbers that pop up on your depth finder as you idle between the island and the channel and you’ll see strings of digits shooting up and down with little apparent rhyme or reason: 25-8-15-6-32-9. And if you’re watching the LCD screen as you wander these waters you’ll also very likely see clusters of fish hanging around these edges.
For a solid decade after the rockfish moratorium ended Pooles was known for holding some of the best fall fishing on all of Chesapeake Bay—maybe THE best. Although live-lined spot and white perch probably account for more of the catch these days, back then eeling was the ticket and the tactic commonly produced 28” to 36” striped bass in tremendous numbers. On weekends fleets of boats were at times so thick you’d have to push off another boat with one hand while you dropped your line with the other. Over time that bite dropped out, and Pooles dropped out of the angling headlines. In recent years, however, a good fall bite has at times rematerialized at these humps and bumps—just not necessarily always for rockfish. Depending on the season and the timing, there’s been a mix of rock and monster blue catfish popping off at Pooles.
Searching the Shoals for Stripers
No doubt every angler who fishes here on a regular basis has their own favorite hump or bump, but you might find the fish on any of the dramatic drop-offs here. At times they may be right up on top of a shoal. Savvy anglers will stay rigged and ready to drop lines at any moment, go on the hunt, and spend much of their time searching as opposed to dropping lines at any old drop-off. Set up an east-west pattern and zigzag your way slightly northward or southward as you make each pass, staring at the fishfinder screen. When you spot some fish, unless the marks are magnificent try circling back and take a peek at the same shoal or edge from a slightly different perspective. And when arches fill the screen jump into action.
Position your boat up-current or upwind of the fish (depending on which force is stronger), far enough to get your lines down before being swept by the fish, then send the rigs down to bottom. As you drift take in and let out line to account for the changing depths as you wait for the telltale thump-thump-thump of a rockfish sucking in your offering. Or if live-lining finfish, you may want to (precision) anchor or Spot-Lock right over the fish.
Rigging for Rockfish
Standard rigs for eeling consist of an egg sinker on the mainline above a swivel, followed by three to four feet of 40- to 50-pound leader, tied off to a 6/0 or larger circle hook. Since smaller hooks seem to result in gut-hooking more often, we’d recommend using an 8/0 or larger hook (which does not seem to reduce the bites). Load up an eel by hooking in through the bottom jaw and out through the top. Live-liners armed with spot can slide the hook through the same way, or anchor up after locating some fish and hook through the back behind the dorsal fin.
If you’re looking to catch slot fish as opposed to catching and releasing over-slots (be gentle on those bigger fish, folks!) and you plan on eeling, choose the smallest eels possible. Large eels are generally eaten by larger fish, and a 19” to 24” rockfish usually won’t tangle with an eel much thicker than your pinkie.
Singing the Blues
If you’d rather target blue cats you can try cut bait as opposed to livies, but note that you’re likely to catch this species whatever you might be offering up—and at times during recent years fishing eels has been the ticket to catching big blues. If they’re your focus, however, note that you’ll often do best when using a Santee Cooper rig with a float added to the leader. Blue catfish tend to hunt just up off the bottom a hair, and having that float will at times be the key to success. Most anglers targeting the blues will also anchor up as opposed to drifting, and fan-cast several lines out off either side of the boat.
Thanks to that crazy bottom, fishing at Pooles is just as unique as the island’s history. And at times, it will be just as rich, too. So make a little angling history of your own and pay a visit to these awesome Upper Bay humps, bumps, troughs, and shoals.