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Middle
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For a nice charter trip call Capt Dennis 301-855-6063 |
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Middle
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For a nice charter trip call Capt Dennis 301-855-6063 |
Courtesy of Chesapeake Outdoors - 07/19/05 07:13 AM
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July 12
Fishermen in the middle bay region continue to pursue striped bass over a wide area and by varied methods. Usually the striped bass daytime fishery settles into chumming this time of the year, but surprisingly trolling continues to be very productive. Fishermen are finding striped bass along channel edges and deep structure such as stone piles. The preferred depth has been about 25' and a variety of lures have been working. Tandem rigged bucktails dressed with curly tails, sassy shads and umbrella rigs have all been good choices. Bluefish are in the neighborhood and have been tearing up the soft plastic lures and anything else they choose to.
Summer fishing for striped bass usually means chumming for most fishermen, especially for charter boat patrons. The chumming fleet has settled in on the Gooses as a primary focus this summer with the Hill and the Diamonds as alternative locations that have been providing action at times. The daytime fleet out on the chumming grounds has been finding it a bit hot and steamy out there. Private boat owners have more options on trip timing and many are choosing to go early and leave early or go in the early evening to chum. Everyone will agree that having a good tide is the most important ingredient and it's a lot cooler. Many anglers will also tell you, especially in the upper bay that they catch bigger fish in the low light hours, often on the bottom.
A lot of fishermen have been focusing on bottom fishing in the middle bay. There are large numbers of big white perch in the lower ends of most tidal rivers such as the West River, Severn and the Choptank. The can be caught on small spinners and jigs in the shallower waters and bottom rigs in the deeper hard bottomed shoal areas. Croakers continue to add to the bottom fishing mix and now large numbers of spot have also moved into the region. The best time to really focus on croakers is in the evening hours and many boats are making big catches at locations such as the Diamonds, the lower Choptank River, Thomas Point and the James Island Flats.
Recreational crabbing continues to pick up as the summer season progresses in the middle bay region. Generally speaking the crabbing has been good in most locations known for crabbing. The heavy rains often will push crabs down tidal creeks and rivers or into deeper more saline water. Many creeks are now loaded with grass and crabbers have to stay out it with trotlines and collapsible traps. Edges in 5' to 10' are often good places to start a run and good crabbers will keep moving till they find them. As everyone knows some days you'll find more crabs than others.
Source MD DNR
From: JFISHEL@umm.edu
[mailto:JFISHEL@umm.edu] Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2005 8:00 AM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Croakers
I have had good luck fishing for Croakers in the area around the Stone Rock. Went there 2 weeks ago trying for Black Drum but no Drum just kept pulling up 2.5 to 3 pound Croakers. Last evening the 4th my wife and I got there about 6 and stopped fishing about 8:30. I had 8 nice Croakers and 2 throwback stripers 14" and 16". Had a good bit and set the hook well pulled up my rig with a hook bit off. Using soft crab and shrimp from Safeway.
Joe Fishel Boat: The Knot Yet Channel 68
From: hardhead1@comcast.net [mailto:hardhead1@comcast.net]
Sent: Saturday,
June 18, 2005 1:47 PM
To: bayfishing@compuserve.com
Subject: Chesapeake
Beach
Was fishing today (Chesapeake Beach) and started at 6:00 AM was done at 10:30 with 12 fish in the boat all between 20 and 24 inches with about 15 through backs.
June 22
Mid Bay Region:
Striped bass fishing in the middle bay region has fluctuated quite a bit lately. The chumming at the Gooses fell off late last week and seems to still be rather lack luster. There are some fish there though and most boats report that the early morning bite is the best. A few boats have been trying Hackett's and the Hill with little luck. A few reports of good chumming have been coming in from Eastern Bay. Boats are slowing looking for small groups of fish and chumming on them with good results. The best catches and reports have been coming in from boats trolling. Everyone has downsized their lure presentations to smaller bucktails, #17 Tony spoons and swimming shad lures such as Calcutta's and Storms. They are being fished behind small umbrella rigs often festooned with flashing spoons or in tandem. The key to catching good fish though is getting down deep, down to 35' to 40' over deep water right in the shipping channel. This means a lot of lead, often 20-ounces. No one will say this is the most enjoyable way to catch striped bass, but if you want fish in the box, you have to get to them. Stories of bucktails being discolored while being trolled down deep and requiring washing periodically can probably be attributed to a reddish-brown phytoplankton. This phytoplankton produces what is called mahogany tides and is laying in the deeper and higher salinity waters that are slowly moving up the bay.
Some of the most exciting news over the weekend came from boats that found black drum on spots such as Sharps Island and Stone Rock. This can be some wild and wooly fishing as captains slowly watch for groups of drum on the bottom and call out for anglers to drop their lines straight down. Half of a good sized soft crab with a big hook held in place with a rubber band and 2 or 3 ounces of lead dropped in front of the face of a drum will usually do the trick. This is not finesse fishing and is often a real slugfest. Scott Canning was up to the task this weekend while fishing at Sharps Island and landed a 65 lb black drum. Black drum offer a real change of pace for Chesapeake Bay fishermen on the bay and in the kitchen. The meat once filleted off the fish is a solid white meat different than anything else in the bay. It can remind one of blowfish or "sea squab" and a little bit like veal. Cutlets from the fillet are great on the grill. Anyone who has ever filleted one though will know that the back portion of the fillet posterior of the anus is usually full of worms and is discarded. The pharyngeal plates that are located where our tonsils would be make a great trophy and conversation piece if you've got a nice sized drum. They are plates with enameled bumps on them that allow black drum to grind up clams and crabs before completely swallowing them. It's not easy getting in there and hacking them out but well worth the effort. This time of the year if one is quiet you can hear them grunting in a low frequency rumble under the boat as they approach. Of course you won't hear this if the engine is running, but if you're anchored up in a good spot, you'll hear a school coming. It's a sound of nature you'll never forget.
Another member of the drum family the croaker or hardhead continues to move into the middle bay region and delighting bottom fishermen. Look for croakers in deep water during the bright daylight hours and channel edges and nearby flats during the evening and night hours. Personal observations seem to indicate that the croaker fishing in the Choptank has dropped off in the last week for some reason, but it continues to be very good in the main part of the middle bay. The James Island Flats, the Gooses and the Diamonds are just a few of the good places to look for croakers in the evening hours.
There seems to be no shortage of white perch in the main part of the bay and tidal creeks in the middle bay. They make for great summer time entertainment for kids and adults alike and can provide a lot of fun and tasty fillets. There seems to be no shortage of grass shrimp right now either and a small jig tipped with a grass shrimp is hard to beat. Small spinners cast along sunken structure from a small skiff on a warm summer evening is one of the summer delights for those living near the bays tidal waters. White perch are also in residence on many hard bottom spots where fishermen are catching croaker and spot. The cow-nosed rays are moving in and providing entertainment or disdain for fishermen hooking into one. It all depends on your attitude about fishing. As we all know a two-hook bottom rig is designed to cover two heights off the bottom and maybe catch a double at times.
Recreational crabbers are starting to be able to put some satisfying crab catches together recently from Kent Island south. Results of course vary greatly from day to day due to conditions that cause a sane man to shake his head. Most would agree that the best catches are coming early in the morning with a good current running in about 8' of water. One interesting note is that many are finding it hard to stay out of thick grass, which can foul trotlines. So far, this year has been a good one for the bay grasses. They might foul trotlines but the payback in protection of shedding crabs is high.
Source MD DNR
June 8
Mid Bay Region:
The middle bay region is beginning to show signs of settling into the typical summer pattern of fishing. Fishermen are starting to switch to chumming for striped bass and generally are finding a nice grade of fish in several locations. Hackett's Bar has seen quite a bit of action this past week and it has never been a blitz but has been steady. The size of the fish being caught there make up for the slower pace of fishing, most fish are in the 26" to 30" size class. The Hill has had several excellent days of fishing but recently dropped off to a steady but smaller grade of fish. The Gooses seems to be developing into another good year with fish holding there on a reliable basis. There is still some of the larger striped bass loitering in the bay and show up now and then for fishermen still trolling or in the case of this lucky fisherman in a chum slick. The striped bass that traditionally make up the summer fishery have been moving into and through the middle bay area and therefore success tends to move about. Many boats continue to troll along the channel and near the Gooses with good success for medium-sized fish. Fishermen are now starting to see striped bass moving into the tidal rivers and areas such as Eastern Bay. This is the beginning of a light tackle fishery that entertains small boat owners through the rest of the season. Vertical jigging over deep structure or finding breaking fish provide a lot of excitement this time of the year. A happy group of fishermen enjoyed catching these fish while jigging soft plastics Sunday morning in Eastern Bay.
The influx of striped bass moving into the region opens up a type of fishing that entertains many fishermen through the summer and that is the early morning, evening shallow water fishery. This is skinny water fishing with top water lures or shallow running lures or flies that can be very entertaining and peaceful at times. Most fishermen would agree that watching a striped bass slapping a top water lure is pure adrenaline provoking action to any fisherman. Jay Fleming had some fun catching nice striped bass on a Creek Chub popper along the eastern shore of the bay early in the morning.
Striped bass are not the only fish moving into the region, croakers are starting to make their presence known in the bay and lower regions of the major tidal rivers. The size of the croakers is impressive and their fighting abilities are hard to match. Many of us maintain that if croakers would ever grow to 30" or more, you'd never be able to get them in the boat. Croakers have moved up the Choptank River to Cambridge and good fishing can be found along the channel edges in the evenings as long as a good tide is running. Peeler crab on a one or two-hook bottom rig is the ticket. Fishermen will find most hook ups on the lower hook so until sea trout show up (if they do), often one hook close to the bottom is often fine. Small white perch and spot are also in the same areas and their characteristic "tap-tap" bite is so different than the slam of a croaker
Crabbing really took upswing over the weekend; perhaps it was the warm weather, which related to warmer waters in the tidal creeks and rivers. Many recreational crabbers using trotlines and collapsible traps had their first good catches over the weekend and were able to be heroes for families and friends waiting for the seasons first crab feast. The best reports came from Eastern Bay down to lower Dorchester County. As would be expected this time of the year the medium-sized crabs have been the heaviest.
May 30
Mid Bay Region:
Fishermen in the middle bay area are starting to see the very end of the spring run of big striped bass. They also are seeing a lot of discolored water after the Northeaster that hit last Friday. A few fish are still being caught but this past weekend seemed to many to be the last hurrah. The good fishing off Bloody Point has slowed down as has many other spots along the channel edges. Many boats are downsizing lures and are beginning to pick up fish smaller than 28" in the same areas. Most fishermen are reporting that the fishing for the 18" to 28" fish has been slow along the channel edges. Others are reporting better fishing for the smaller fish in shallower areas. This fisherman is certainly happy with his 50" spawned out female caught off Chesapeake Beach last week.
A group of boats are now staring to chum and chunk in various favorite locations in the middle bay region. The boats chunking seem to be the larger group and locations such as Hackett's Bar and Stone Rock are producing a few fish. Fishermen are reporting schools of striped bass holding on deep-water structure in several locations in the region but they seem to have "Lockjaw". A lot of things are up for speculation as to why they're not biting. May worm swarming and cool water are two of the most popular reasons being talked about dockside.
Croakers are becoming more prevalent in the middle bay this week, but most anglers will agree that cool waters have been holding them back. The croakers have been finding the warmer water and the food they prefer in the shallower waters of the bay. Many of the shoal areas, such as the flats off James Island are excellent places to look for early season croakers in the evenings. White perch continue to hold in the lower sections of the tidal rivers and creeks providing excellent fishing.
Source MD DNR
From: TKane@fedtek.com
[mailto:TKane@fedtek.com] Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2005 3:01 PM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject:
Tom Kane fishing on the Hot Prusuit caught a 34in at Thomas Point light. Trolling in 30 to 45ft of water around 3:30PM
Tom Kane
May 4
Trolling, trolling and more trolling, hour after hour that has seemed to be the name of the game for anglers trolling for big striped bass in the mid-bay area. There are just enough fish being caught to keep anglers sticking it out so that everyone one on board goes home with a fish.
Most captains have been reporting "On and off" fishing for the last 4 or 5 days. Friday was a major "On day", Saturday was good and Sunday it slipped a bit. There was a bite in the early morning then slacked off for the rest of the morning until 1:00 when things busted open for a while. Chartreuse parachutes have been the ticket from 35' to 15' below the surface lately over the channels; white has been the second option. The action has been shifting back and forth from the eastern side of the shipping channel to the western side and even locations such as the False Channel off Tilghman. Fishermen are reporting a variety of spots down the edges of the main channel such as the CP and CR Buoys, #78 and #83 Buoys and off Bloody Point.
There has seemed to be little rhyme or reason to when and where the fish will show up so the fleet has been spread out, which is good. The advent of side planners onto the trolling scene has definitely made confined maneuvering a testy game for captains, when trolling back forth across the shipping channel.
The white perch are now beginning to fill in tidal creeks and the lower regions of the tidal rivers making for some good fishing close to home. There has been a steady crowd of fishermen at the Choptank Fishing Pier catching white perch on bottom rigs baited with bloodworms. Other fishermen are beginning to work the lower ends of tidal creeks with jigs, small grubs, spinners and spoons and of course bait such as bloodworms and grass shrimp. Docks and sunken wood are prime spots for these structure hugging fish.
Source - MD DNR
From: kbaxter@pwcgov.org [mailto:kbaxter@pwcgov.org]
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 7:34 AM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: 1st day of Rockfish season
Good Morning,
Went fishing on my friend Lenny’s boat on the first day of the trophy rockfish season. Caught a 37”, 25lb. rock. The water was very choppy and the wind blew from the Northeast. We were fishing south of breezy point. The fish was caught at a depth of about 15 feet. He took a 9” chartreuse mounted to a big eyed bucktail. The reel was a Penn Senator along with a Penn Rod. Used 60 lb test mono. Line.
Apr 22
Mid Bay Region:
Opening Day of the striped bass season got off to a good start for many fishermen in the mid-bay area. Justin Deinlein caught this 31" striped bass on a chartreuse umbrella rig, while trolling out of Breezy Point. There is no question that Saturday's windy conditions made for some rough going and there certainly was a chill in the air early in the morning. A line separating cloudy water from what many call "Green Water" seemed to extend from James Island southwest towards the western shore of the bay. Many captains found their fish just south of this line while trolling over the deep waters of the shipping channel. Others rallied at locations off the Little Choptank, Poplar Island and Bloody Point, again over the deeper channels. Most would agree that many of the fish were within 30' of the surface. Striped bass were caught on a variety of rigs and colors, but dockside chat with anglers that trolled off the mouth of the Choptank, revealed white umbrellas and parachutes were a big favorite. Chartreuse was the color of choice by many fishermen, especially below the "Green Water Line". Other anglers did very well with 6" Storm lures behind umbrella rigs. This nice striped bass seemed to agree. Although most eager anglers left the dock early for a day of fishing, those that left later on in the day, were not disappointed, it has been a day long fishery.
It was a beautiful weekend for shore based anglers to give fishing a try whether they found a point or beach along the bay proper and tried for a big striped bass or fiddled inside the rivers for white perch. There were a good number of people fishing the Choptank Fishing Piers on Sunday and many came up with some nice white perch catches and a few channel catfish.
Source MD DNR
Apr 6
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Source MD DNR
Mar 30 2005
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Source MD DNR
From: scorkadel@telecomsys.com
[mailto:scorkadel@telecomsys.com] Sent: Monday, October 25, 2004 11:07 AM To: 'bayfishing@compuserve.com' Subject: Fishing 10/23 & 10/24
Ok, had issues getting parts delivered on time so my trips were cut shorter that normal. Fished Chesapeake Bay on Saturday and Sunday from Thomas Point down to Deale with stops in the South and West Rivers. Weather - nasty, NNE winds 20 kts, waves 3-4'+. Water not real clear. Lots of trash still floating around from the floods. We used Razor Clams and cut bait with chum on several types of rigs at different water depths. Turned into a small striper or big white perch every cast. Overall maybe 4 doz little striper 8-16". Talked with the other captains and no one had any keepers. Only trout caught were small too. Going to try again next week.
Capt Sam Swearengen Ch 71
8 Aug 2004
Mid Bay Region:
Real-time water information for selected points in the Middle Bay
Fishing in the middle portions of the bay continues to be good if fishermen are willing to adjust methods and species to changing situations. Fish such as striped bass and the baitfish they pursue have been moving back and forth through the mid-bay region. The area around the Gooses continues to be a major focus for striped bass fishermen wishing to chum. The action in the area is fairly reliable, although anglers are reporting the action can be slow at times and may rapidly pick up with changing tide situations. Hackett's Bar and Thomas Point are producing catches, but chumming fortunes seem to change from day-to-day. Fishermen are noting that on some days their chum slicks are inundated with small striped bass and it is difficult to get baits to larger fish farther back in the slick. Bluefish are also cruising through chum slicks in the area and the pesky snapper bluefish are now accompanied by their larger 3 lb to 5 lb brothers. These larger bluefish are making short work of monofilament leaders.
The influx of bluefish that we've been experiencing recently have also been boosting the sassy shad and soft plastic swimming lure business at local tackle shops. There's hardly anything a bluefish likes more than to come up behind a soft plastic lure and bite the tail off. It's they're preferred mode of attack and they love those cute wiggling and expensive soft plastic lures. Offshore fishermen also know the big 12 lb to 20 lb bluefish love to chew up expensive skirted jet lures. Striped bass engulf their prey usually like a vacuum cleaner when they open their gill covers and grasp it with their relatively small teeth. Bluefish have a good set of teeth and will bite and disable their prey and then finish it off. Typically they'll approach from behind and bite the first thing they see, which is of course is the tail of their prey.
Fishermen wishing to troll are having fair to good success trolling deep along the 35' depth contour of the channel and near schools of breaking fish. Crippled Alewife Herring spoons, Tony's and surgical tubing lures are all working well. The bait schools that are in the middle bay region seem to be moving around a lot so be prepared to move with them. A spot that was hot two days ago might not be as good today, so be flexible. A spot that comes to mind is the power plant; fortunes tend to change with the bait situation. Large bay anchovies or small menhaden mean striped bass and bluefish are not far behind. No bait or ¼" bay anchovies and no large striped bass. Jigging under schools of smaller breaking fish or drifting over areas that are holding fish are also good ways to score on striped bass.
A school of breaking fish should always be approached from the upwind side slowly and one should cut the engine while the boat still has good forward motion. This allows the boat to silently glide up to the school and the wind will push the anglers and boat through the school or hopefully maintain at the edge of the working school. There are few things that will scatter and drive a school of striped bass to the bottom faster than engine noise. Also few things can elicit more stink eye, verbal comments or as in some locales a barrage of lead sinkers, than charging up to or through a school of breaking fish. Often boats can be seen drifting over a hot spot in revolving type pattern. A boat drifts through a hot spot and beyond then slowly makes a wide circle and repeats the process. Areas like the rips at the Calvert Cliffs Power Plant Outfall will see a parade of boats drifting through one by one and repeating the process. Anglers new to this game should watch first how it's played and then get in the game. The worst thing to do at a spot like this or any shared productive drift is to anchor up tight on the spot.
Many fishermen looking for some action fishing are taking advantage of the large white perch that seem to be in great numbers throughout the entire bay. Boats have been regularly making big catches at some of the shoal areas such as Thomas Point, Hackett's and the West River Lumps and filling ice chests with filleting size white perch and spot. The white perch are also spread throughout most of the bay's tidal creeks and rivers and providing a lot of fun to anglers. This is light tackle fishing and can provide a lot of action on a summer evening. Small beetle spins, spinners, spinnerbaits and plastic grubs are killers for the spinning tackle enthusiasts. Fly fishermen with a 5 wt or smaller can enjoy some great fun using small skipping bugs, clousers or even bonefish flies. The perch don't seem to mind and will hit most anything. The white perch have been filling a void for fishermen on the Choptank in particular due to the unexplained absence of good numbers of shallow water striped bass. Striped bass are being caught in the Choptank by anglers using peelers in the shallow rips at points like Benoni and Howell or against rocks and structure.
Croakers are providing some diversion on the
chumming grounds when baits settle to the bottom, but the best action for
croakers is at night. The croakers are showing signs that they are on the move,
which is about right since we're into the second week of August. A few flounder
are being found on the falling edges of shoals on the down current side
Recreational crabbers continue to find good crabbing in most traditional
locations through the region. Most crabbers throughout the entire region are
reporting good catches of medium and large crabs. There has been an increase of
smaller crabs in the region and some of the larger crabs are light. Doublers are
becoming very common now as many female crabs under go their last molt and
become fertilized adults.
Source - MD DNR
From: william.baker@atc.army.mil
[mailto:william.baker@atc.army.mil] Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 1:25 PM To: 'bayfishing@compuserve.com' Subject: the hill
Left SENECA CREEK on 8 AUG heading to the hill.Winds were calm so was able cruise at 40 mph to add fishing time.Water temp was 77 degrees.Set up a chum sleek on a moving tide for several hours.Only to be rewarded with 4 blues.We caught fish on both cut bait and peeler. Trolled spoons and bucktails north toward the bay bridges along the channel edge but failed to hook anything.I saw no one else on the boats around me catch anything.Good luck from all of us on STRYKER 2.
June 22
Fishermen who enjoy chumming for striped bass are finally finding the fishery they enjoy so much, has arrived. Of course some fishermen will say it could be better, but it certainly is a good start. The chumming fleet has been setting up in the area of the Gooses and Stone Rock with good success. Fishermen are using cut menhaden and razor clams and most are catching their limits within 2-6 hours. A few large black drum are being caught now and then and certainly can add some excitement to the day. Anglers are also catching some smaller 6-10 lb puppy black drum along with a mix of croakers on the bottom. Some captains still prefer to troll and are making good catches along the 50’ edge of the channel. The fish are down about 20’ and seem to still show a preference for spoons such as #17 Tony’s over anything else. Breaking schools of striped bass are being seen throughout the region feeding on small menhaden and bay anchovies. Fishermen are finding some larger fish underneath.
Croakers are being caught in a variety of situations, but drifting over hard bottom in the evening seems to be the best bet. Peeler crab and bloodworms on a traditional bottom rig has been a good choice as are small chartreuse Bass Assassin’s. The croaker fishing in the Choptank has been off lately up the river past Oxford, but still good around the mouth of the river from Black Walnut Point to Cooks Point. Buoy #10 has been getting a lot of action and fishermen are catching croakers there. The price of croakers is reported to be 7-cents a pound dockside to the pound netters, so there certainly is a lot of croakers out there. It’s anyone’s guess why the recreational catch isn’t better at the moment.
Recreational crabbers continue to enjoy excellent crabbing in most areas from Kent Island south. Most crabbers are reporting catching a bushel within an hour or so using collapsible traps or a trotline. Commercial dockside prices are way down for crabs, so whether you catch them or purchase them, now is a good time to enjoy some blue crabs. One good thing about catching your own is that you can toss back the recently shed, light crabs and keep only the heavy ones. Unfortunately this is not the case when you buy them, except in the early fall, when nearly all crabs are heavy and full before settling into the mud for the winter.
Source MD DNR
From: michael.rigby@ngc.com
[mailto:michael.rigby@ngc.com] Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2004 10:38 AM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Charter from Deale
We had 10 anglers on the trip out of Deale and we went striaght to the Gooses and caught 21 stripers on mainly clams and cut bait. The fish ranged from 18-25 inches. Upon reaching our limit on stripers we headed to the Stone Rock wher we caught 100 medium to jumbo spot on blood worms. Riggs
From: fiore@nbn.net
[mailto:fiore@nbn.net] Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 6:26 PM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Middle Bay Rocks
Went chumming Sunday June13 a few miles South of the Bay Bridge in 32 feet of water on the Western side of the Channel. Almost got Tboned by a sailboat who didn't realize you don't have the right away if the other boats is anchored (dummy turned off hard about 40 yards out ). Managed to catch one short and one 27 inch Rock before one of my passenger decided to get seasick on a rough day on the bay.
Well, it looks like they may be coming back.
UJOE
The latest report from the mid- bay region still has the striped bass spread out along the channel edges. The fish are throughout the water column and seem to be moving slowly north. The boats that are trolling are making the best catches on #17 and #18 Tony spoons. Captains related to me that the best setup seemed to be a spoon, 200’ behind the boat with one ounce of lead and 60’ of wire with sixteen ounces of lead. Captains are also reporting that the water in the mid-bay region is rather dirty. One Captain reported that he went on an “around the world trip” to check out things out and tried a little chumming on some of the traditional grounds such as the Gooses, the Diamonds, Cook’s Point, the Choptank River at Buoy #4, James Island at Buoy #2 and came up empty except for one croaker.
Croaker fishing has been fair to good in most areas. Boats fishing the Gooses at night are making good catches, but limits are few and far between. The Choptank River areas have been fairly good from Clora Point out to the mouth of the river. The best catches are being made on about 25’-35’ along the channel edges. A pod of bottle-nosed dolphin have been seen wandering around in the Taylor’s Island, Choptank River area, and also a few large loggerhead sea turtles. The dolphin are fun to watch, but if your croaker fishing, you might want to move. It has been my experience that croaker seem to “head for the hills” when the dolphin are around and feeding on them. The Choptank Fishing Pier reports that fishermen are catching a mix of white perch, catfish and croakers. The white perch fishing in the tidal creeks and around structure such as docks has been very productive as the perch move into these areas for their summer time residence. This can be some fun fishing in the evening with a light spinning rod and small grub tails, or using grass shrimp with a small weight.
Source - MD DNR
From: brian@kellerbrothers.com
[mailto:brian@kellerbrothers.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 1:26 PM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: fishing report
We went out May 29 in the middle bay region, around Holland point down toward the powerplant. Things were slow, not many keeper fish were caught by anyone. We had one strike on a small green bucktail.
From: whiskey99@prodigy.net
[mailto:whiskey99@prodigy.net] Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 11:24 AM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Fishing Report May 22, 2004
Hi All
We motored down from Back River to just below the Bay Bridge early Saturday morning. Water temps at the bridge were 72. That's a 20 degree rise since opening day, a little more than a month ago.
From there we trolled south, zig-zagging across the Bay with 7 lines out including 2 on planers.
We marked a lot of what appeared to be fish up and down the water column.
Took 1 26" rock a little south of Matapeake on a spoon around 9AM and another short a little further south on the same rod/lure.
We got a number of twitches on several rods and finally pulled in a 16" shad that actually seemed to hit a 4 oz. bucktail. We assumed that's what was showing on the meter and what was causing some of the rods to twitch.
If it was, it was a huge school.
Saw several boats chumming near Bloody Point, and a number of others trolling in our vicinity, but we did not see another fish taken.
We trolled back north and finally pulled all the lines in at about 230.
All told we spent 11 hrs on the water, burned 30 gallons of fuel and all we took home was 1 fish.
Hope others had better luck and that the schoolie sized fish will show up this way soon.
May 11 -
The striped bass action seems to improve as fishermen enter this section of the bay. Many of the charter boats in this region are limiting out early in the morning and are offering afternoon trips as well. The morning bite seems to be the better choice for anglers who are looking forward to catching their fish. This is especially important when trying to give young anglers a positive experience.
Sunday afternoon for instance was not the time to be on the western side of the bay due to very strong easterly winds. There was a lot of rock and rolling going on in the afternoon, with some anglers involuntarily chumming while the boat was trolling. The traditional method of fishing for these beautiful spring fish is of course trolling large bucktails, and parachutes dressed with sassy shads either single, double or rigged on an umbrella rig or even single sassy shad type lures such as the large Storm lures.
Croakers are starting to become more abundant in the middle bay, but for the most part have not entered the main rivers yet.
Source - DNR
From: jasonshara@hotmail.com
[mailto:jasonshara@hotmail.com] Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 10:09 PM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Excellent Spring Season Fishing
Went out on a chilly and windy sunday the 25 of April to try and scare up some of the large ocean rock coming up the bay to spawn. Went to my favorite spot, western side of the bay just south of the bridge, eastern side of the shipping channel. The water was rough and the wind relentless but that didn't dampen the spirits of my daughter Arilelle and me. At around nine thirty the sweet singing of a reel was heard and I handed the rod to my daughter who boated a 41" thirty pound rock. This thug hit a large bucktail with a nine inch chartreuse shad in sixty feet of water trolled way back with no weight. She was delighted when I netted the fish and brought him in, The next fish Hit about a half hour later on a chartreuse umbrella rig again trolled way back no weight. This one was 34". Needless to say the season is starting off great. Tight lines to all. Here is a link below to some pics of these fish.
http://groups.msn.com/BaltimoreFishingEmporium/moretrophyseasonrock.msnw?albumlist=2
April 21
This section of the bay below Brewerton Channel gave fishermen the chance to keep one striped bass over 28- inches and fishermen were out in force on opening day. Fishermen were blessed with beautiful weather and the warming effects of the sun raised the surface water temperature from 48-degrees on Saturday to 53-degrees on Sunday. The water unfortunately was dirty but that did not deter fishermen from exploring the depths of the bay with every manner of fishing tackle. The striped bass were scattered throughout the water column and were caught at a variety of depths. This is a wonderful situation for anglers because everyone has a chance at catching a big fish, whether you are a shore based angler or a boat angler who does not have the tackle compliment of the big pros. Big fish were caught on everything from umbrella rigs and big lead heads with 9-inch sassy shads to simply casting a lure off a fishing pier. There was a chance for everyone to participate. What more could anyone ever ask for in an opening day.
Bigg Warren of Silver Spring caught a 38-pound striper casting a Rat-L-Trap off the Matapeake Fishing Pier. Across the bay at Sandy point state park Ralph Foston of Landover caught a 26-pound fish using bloodworms. All fishermen tip their hats to both these guys for not being deterred by not having a boat and getting out and enjoying themselves, fishing. The fact that both these fishermen made spectacular catches is pure icing on the cake.
Out in the open waters of the back and forth over the deep waters of the channel and shallow water alike; fish were caught in all areas. Chartreuse and white sassy shads seemed to be the most popular lures whether they were trailing behind a 22-ounce Mojo, a parachute, or a big bucktail. Spoons, diving plugs such as the Stretch series were also used and many methods of getting presentations to various depths. Trolling speeds is always a topic on the radio or dockside and this weekend was no different with captains trying everything from 2.5 knots to 4.5 knots. The manner and type of presentation that fish will respond to is always changing, so a successful fisherman needs to be able to adjust, yet still have confidence in proven methods.
Robert Sweitzer of Westminster caught a
28-pound fish by the time proven method of trolling a chartreuse parachute rig.
In contrast is the wonderful little story that Jim Weller sent in. My
wife Susan caught this nice striper while we were out for a quick family
shakedown cruise yesterday evening. Most of my fishing friends had reported
little success over the weekend but we ran out of Eastern Bay to Bloody Point to
check everything out. In less than ten minutes Susan was hooked up with this 35"
striped bass on spinning gear. The fish took a 1-ounce buck tail dressed with an
albino Bass Assassin trolled behind the boat with no extra weight. After taking
a picture this beautiful fish was released back into the bay. I didn't even have
the rest of the spread out yet.
Source - MD DNR
From: rfranzen@jerryschevy.com
[mailto:rfranzen@jerryschevy.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 1:56 PM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Fishing report-Vixen
Didn't get out until 10:30am on Sunday the 18th... Weather was beautiful!!! Hooked our first rockfish (42 inch) at about 11:30am on a 12 inch single chartreuse parachute 200 yards behind the boat. Re-set the lines and the second one was in the boat around 12:30 (33inch) on the same rig. Around 2:00pm the white double rig went off and a 38 incher was released. Our last fish of the day was landed on a chartreuse umbrella around 2:45pm (30 inch) it was also released. We fished out of Solomons due east of the gas docks between 45-90 feet of water trolling three chartreuse umbrellas, one white umbrella, one white doubler, a huge spoon, and our lucky lure of the day a chartreuse parachute with a 12 inch shad
From: joe.shallenberger@ngc.com
[mailto:joe.shallenberger@ngc.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 1:10 PM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Middle Choptank
Saturday evening fishing at the North-side Choptank pier and Rt 50 was slow. Bottom fishing bloodworms from mid-pier, on an out-bound tide, between 5:30 to 8:30 pm produced three 4 to 7 inch White Perch. Folks closer to shore were catching more of the same. Surface water temperature was 50 degrees Fahrenheit. No Croaker action was observed. Looked to be at least one to two weeks in coming, though rumor has it occasional 18 to 21 inch Croaker were being caught last weekend off Point Lookout pier on the Western Shore.
With this information my partner and I decided to relocate further up-river in search of warmer temperatures. We departed the Choptank pier and headed North to Easton, took Rt. 331 East out of Easton toward Preston and stopped at the Choptank drawbridge to check out the story there. Spoke with a key local there who explained how terrible the fishing's been there the last couple of years. Seems the State used ample amounts of creosote on all the bridge pilings along with gunite throughout the surrounding channel area, destroying the natural habitat. "The only fish caught here these days are those passing through on the in-coming and outgoing tides, but nothing hangs as before." He recommended we try the Choptank marina area West of Preston.
We arrived there and caught five catfish between 9:00 pm and midnight, with the smallest around two lbs. and the biggest at five lbs. using bait shrimp and bloodworms. With warmer weather on the increase, it won't be long until water temperatures at Choptank pier come up and the Croaker make their arrival. For those not familiar with the regulations, Rockfish caught at the Choptank pier may not be kept and the DNR Warden is there making sure.
From: kbaxter@pwcgov.org
[mailto:kbaxter@pwcgov.org] Sent: Monday, April 19, 2004 11:12 AM To: bayfishing@compuserve.com Subject: Fishing on the Bay
My friend Lenny Kim and I (that’s me, Ken Baxter pictured) caught these two rockfish off of Breezy Point on opening day...Saturday April 17, 2004. The fish that I caught was a 36” rock weighing in at 23 lbs. Lenny’s was 38” and weighed 25 lbs. They were both caught at a depth of 20’ in 38’ of water. Both fish took a large big-eyed buck tail trailing a 9” yellow shad. We both were using 60 lb test mono line. The heavy duty rod and reel were by Penn which included a Penn Senator salt water reel. It took us most of the day in order to catch these two fish. We had to check all of our lines every 30 minutes in order to clean off the lures. One sad note... both fish were females and heavy with roe. It would have been nice if they had a chance to spawn and lay their eggs. Maybe the season is opening up a little too early.
April 15
This Saturday April 17th. is the start of the Trophy Striped Bass Season in the Chesapeake from Brewerton Channel south to the Maryland/ Virginia line. Fishermen who have any doubts about exactly where they can fish should check the regulations listed under the recreational link on the fisheries web site. It’s relatively easy to understand. The focus of this fishery will be trolling at various depths with some rather large gear. If this cool weather continues and water temperatures rise slowly, we could see a quality spring season like last year. The key will be the water temperature in the rivers where the striped bass are spawning. Spawn over a long period of time will mean a steady influx of post spawn fish entering the bay throughout the season.
Fishermen have been encountering some really nice fish throughout the bay while practicing catch and release. Reports of gannets in the lower bay and dark clouds of bait on depth finders is good news for the upcoming Spring Trophy Season.
source - Md DNR
April 11 - 2004
Reports from the Susquehanna Flats, talk of anglers starting to catch fish. The water conditions have been relatively stable and baring any large rain event, fishing should be very good this week. The fishermen who are working the flats will admit that the water is very cold, but the water is fairly clear and the fish are biting. A variety of plastic jigs, grubs, sassy shad type lures such as the new Storm lures are all working well. Many anglers are drifting over the channel areas and jigging deep with plastic jigs, bucktails dressed with a plastic tail and hammered metal spoons. Weather conditions this past weekend were a bit fierce with strong winds making fishing very difficult, but fish were caught, especially on Saturday when it warmed up. If we get a warm front soon and the heavy rains hold off, this fishery shows a lot of promise to be a real good one this year. Up and down the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay fishermen are enjoying catch and release fishing for striped bass. Most anglers are using plastic jigs of various types and enjoying good success.
Source - MD DNR
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