Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 6/29/2018:
This time last year, I remember being crazy-envious of all the anglers south of myself, as I am an Annapolotian and thus located far north of all the cobia action. June has almost passed us, and despite calling dozens of tackle shops up and down the Bay each week, I did not experience that same feeling this year — I wish I was bringing you a report cobia near the target ships, however, the fishery has not yet had its “pop” yet this far north (though it's been strong in Virginia waters; see the Way South and VA report for the details). The northernmost cobia bite with any reliability thus far has been off Smith Point, where averages are still on the low side with anglers reporting one to three fish. Instead there's been a slightly less exciting but equally delicious striper fishery. Point Lookout is continuing to provide good action well into the hot, humid depths of summer. Anglers chumming near the point have been getting some wicked results — the Tackle Box had one confirmed report of a 34-inch fish caught on a chunk of bait on bottom, an outlier from the schools of smaller fish dominating the area. The channel edges off St. George's have been a hot zone, as well.
Trollers hitting channel edges have been encountering a high ratio of schoolie-to-trophy fish, and now that spot are around in decent numbers many anglers specifically targeting larger striped bass have switched over to live-lining in hopes of avoiding all the throwbacks. It seems as though when the limit was 18 inches we caught a whole lot of 17 inch fish, when it was 20 inches we caught a whole lot of 19 inch fish, and now that it’s 19 inches, we’re all catching 18 inch fish.
In the rivers, schoolie stripers including some keepers continue to provide action for anglers casting jigs and swimbaits to piers and rip-rap, especially in the lower Pax. In other river news, the bottom fishing action has absolutely taken off (especially the ever-bountiful Potomac) and is made far more interesting these days with good numbers of croaker, spot, and some catfish in the mix, complementing tons of white perch. Fishing is always a little more fun when you're not exactly sure what you’re about to pull out of the water. The Tackle Box suggested using soft crab, blood worm, or grass shrimp on bottom rigs to target these species.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 6/22/2018:
Although striped bass are being caught in the Lower Bay, this year hasn’t shown the same numbers as in years past, with the majority of fish appearing to be up in northern waters of the Chesapeake (see the Upper Bay report, for the details). With that being said, the Tackle Box still reported that the waters of the Potomac (especially off St. George’s) and in the Bay along the channel edges you can find some fish. Point No Point, Point Lookout, and the channel 70 marker have also been hotspots. The vast majority of anglers fishing targeted locations have been chumming — and now some bluefish have been stealing baits too, though not yet enough that they’ve become a major concern.
Light tackle casters continue to do well among the piers and pilings of the lower Patuxent and the St. Mary’s rivers, casting soft plastics. Down-sizing to small Beetle Spins and similar lures is also producing good numbers of white perch in the same areas.
Fishing channel edges has been productive for the trollers, and as in years past, green and red hoses have been a good way to go. J&W also reported that some anglers are using tandems, however they are not as common in spreads these days. The white perch and croaker bites in rivers has caught on fire for bottom fishermen, with fish in sudden and vast abundance. Both species are hitting bloodworm on bottom rigs, however croaker are also hitting other small baits as well. Fishing with bait also opens up the opportunity to catch catfish, which have pushed farther down the rivers than usual thanks to lowering salinity as a result of the epic rains we've had.
No reports of cobia in Maryland waters as of yet, but they've got to be close, as they have been taken at Windmill Point. If you get one north of the border, take a pic and let us know!
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 6/15/2018:
The fishing in the Lower bay has been lukewarm, but with some of the fish being caught of a high quality nonetheless. The Tackle Box has had some customers who had success on the troll with small spoons, as well some jiggers who did well with quarter-ounce jig head sand soft plastics. The big rock are being brought over the gunwales primarily with these two methods, plus a little bit of topwater. Still, chumming and chunking bunker will surely do the trick during, you guessed it, a moving tide. The tide has been affecting all areas of the Bay equally with slow-moving water slowing up the bite significantly, so if you find yourself stuck in dead water it may be best to crack some cold ones and wait it out or move to a very different location with a very different tide.
A decent number of stripers continues to turn up in the shallows at the river mouths, with the lower Pax producing around docks and piers. The St. Mary’s River is also seeing some action. The best bet is casting topwater at daybreak, and jigs or swimbaits after that. White has been the top color. Most of the catch in these areas is sub-legal but anglers putting in their time are going home with a fish or two in the 20 to 24 inch range.
Croaker are being caught by bottom fishermen, but perch has been the best target for consistency this week in the lower regions of the Bay, with bloodworms bringing them up one after the other. J&W’s let us know that some big spot are also being caught, mostly out at the mouth of the rivers due to the freshwater influx and the mouths having higher salinity, relatively. The mouth of the Rappahannock has been a highlight for the spot and croaker recently.
Crabbing reports indicate a relatively slow pick, but it’s not hopeless as it was a few weeks ago and if a couple-few dozen keepers makes you happy you should be okay.
Editor’s note: Mollie Rudow is on break; this week’s reports were compiled by FishTalk intern Parker Martin.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 6/8/2018:
Topwater action has been the big news from north to south in the Bay this week, if you couldn’t tell. The Tacklebox recommends the Bomber Windcheater with its excellent castability and action. Trolling in various spots along the Bay have also proved to be very good compared to northern neighbors. Again, depth and water color have been the major dependents when setting your spread, so be sure to adjust both on the day’s water clarity. Remember that in darker, stained waters, purple really comes into its own.
Plenty of fish are still holding in the lower Potomac off Tall Timbers down to St. George’s, in the 15 to 25 foot range. Chumming action has been incredible when the rains aren’t spoiling a good day on the water. According to J&W’s stripers are also still near Solomon’s Island, and croakers – stick with blood worm or peeler crab on a bottom rig – are now all over the place. Some shell bottom areas are now holding a nice mix of croaker and white perch, making a day of bottom fishing now a good opportunity. Reader Eric Packard reports continued striper catching around the piers and pilings near Solomon’s, casting swimbaits for stripers (including some nice mid-20s fish). White perch have moved into the same areas and casting smaller lures like Beetle Spins or three-inch plastics to the pilings and piers are getting them on the line.
Looking into the future: it appears that cobia have shown up in greater numbers slightly to the south, so keep an eye out for them in the Point Lookout zone when the water gets just a bit warmer and/or clearer.
Editor’s note: Mollie Rudow is on break; this week’s reports were compiled by FishTalk intern Parker Martin.
Lower Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 6/1/2018:
Both the fish and fishermen are flourishing in the Lower Bay right now. Rockfish have been in vast numbers along the channel edges from Buoy 72 down past 68. The Tackle Box reported trolling spreads of bucktails or parachutes with six-inch shad bodies, and spoons, has been both popular and productive. Most anglers have been keeping the majority of their spread medium-sized lures and spoons, but are also adding a few larger ones mixed in with hopes that it will cross a large fish’s path.
The Tackle Box also noted that jigging has been common along channel edges. White, purple, and chartreuse soft plastics and bucktails have been the most common offerings, fished with half-ounce jig heads. Stripers have also been cooperative for anglers casting jigs around the docks and piers in the Solomons area, in the lower Pax. White perch will join the party if you tie on smaller lures like Beetle Spins or three-inch twisters.
Chumming has been a popular tactic as well, particularly around Point Lookout and in the lower Potomac. Drop-offs near Tall Timbers and St George’s Island have been hot, in many of the same areas as they were last season. Baits set on bottom in 20 to 30 feet of water are catching most of the fish.
Croaker (mostly smalls) have finally started to pop up in the Potomac and around Point Lookout in decent numbers, and are mixed in with white perch and channel cats. Using bait has been the best way to target them, and bloodworms are the surest offering to land a variety of species.
The opening of cobia season on June first should provide additional action with the start of the fishery, but none have been sighted yet in Maryland waters. They're just beginning to make a showing in Virginia's portion of the Chesapeake, so it'll probably be a couple of weeks before we see them in any numbers, in Maryland waters.