Tammy's Tackle, Home of Calvin Tyler's Tackle Shop. We are located in Charlotte Hall, Maryland and we sell all kinds of fishing supplies and tools. We also provide fishing reports for the Southern Maryland area. We have rods, reels, hooks, sinkers, rigs, steel leaders, lures, bucktails, parachutes, spoons, planers, fishing bags, tools and much more.
The lower Bay offers some of the best striped bass fishing opportunities before the Maryland recreational striped bass season closes Friday, December 10. The Potomac River recreational striped bass fishery will be open until December 31, with a two-fish per day creel limit and a minimum of 20 inches total length. Maryland anglers are advised that only the main stem of the river is open to striped bass fishing until December 31. Tidal rivers on the Maryland side close for recreational striped bass with the rest of the Bay on December 10.
Trolling umbrella rigs weighted down with heavy inline weights is the most popular way anglers are fishing the last few days of the season. The deep edges of the shipping channel in 50 feet to 70 feet of water tend to be where the striped bass are suspended close to the bottom. Most are using bucktails dressed with sassy shads or twistertails for trailers on their umbrella rigs. A fair percentage of the fish being caught are coming up short of Maryland’s required 19 inches, but legal-sized fish are being caught. The west side of the shipping channel from Cove Point south to Point Lookout is a popular location to troll as is the eastern side from Hooper’s Island south to the Middle Grounds. The channels in Tangier Sound are also holding striped bass.
The lower Potomac River has been an excellent place to troll this week along the deeper channel edges. The channel edges in front of the Wicomico River and from Piney Point to St. George Island are good places to troll in the Potomac. The deep channel edges near Buoy 72 and south past buoys 70, 68, 65, and 64 are also great places to troll for striped bass.
Jigging is also an effective way to fish for striped bass, but one must go deep, which can be difficult in wind and current. Watching depth finders for concentrations of fish is essential. Most are using soft plastic jigs, but metal jigs are working well also and tend to be heavier for their size, which is important when lures must be very close to the bottom.
There is some scattered seagull activity over schools of bait
with striped bass picking at them here and there. Most of the striped bass are
holding close to the bottom in the deeper areas of the channels.
Trolling with heavy inline weights and umbrella rigs is a very
popular way to target these deep-water fish; trailers are a mix of swimshads
and bucktails. A single swimshad can also be pulled behind a planer and
sometimes a tandem-rigged pair of swimshads or bucktails with a larger planer.
Chartreuse and white tend to be the favored colors.
The shipping channel edge from the Gum Thickets south past
Bloody Point to Buoy 83 and the Sharps Island Light has been an excellent place
to look for striped bass recently. The western side of the shipping channel in
front of Chesapeake Beach south to Parkers Creek has also been providing some
action.
Jigging is a very good option for light tackle anglers and the
deep channel edges are where most of the action is occurring. Most are jigging
with large soft plastic jigs in white or chartreuse, but metal jigs are working
well also. The fish are holding close to the bottom so jigs must reach the
bottom.
There have been some white perch holding in 35 feet to 50 feet
of water off Matapeake, and holding tight to oyster bottom in the lower
Choptank River between Castle Haven Point and Horn Point. A bottom rig baited
with pieces of bloodworm or a dropper rig with small flies or soft plastic jigs
are the best ways to fish for them. The rock piles at the Bay Bridge often have
large white perch holding deep in the current this time of the year. Those
using dropper rigs have not come up with much except small striped bass, but
hopefully that will change.
Anglers in the lower Bay are targeting striped bass by trolling
and jigging. Those trolling are pulling umbrella rigs with heavy inline weights
to get them down close to the bottom where the striped bass are holding. Those
who are jigging are working the same deep channel edges.
Trolling
along the deep channel edges is a very effective way to fish right now. Colder
waters are causing many striped bass to move deep, looking for slightly warmer
temperatures. The channel areas at the mouth of the Potomac River from Point
Lookout to Smith Point are good to target. The western side of the shipping
channel near Cove Point to Cedar Point and the eastern side of the channel from
the HS Buoy south to the Middle Grounds have been good places to fish, whether
trolling or jigging.
There
is sporadic seagull activity being reported with striped bass pushing schools
of bait to the surface. There are still some juvenile menhaden making their way
through the region. The fish on top tend to be smaller striped bass, but larger
ones often lurk deeper underneath the surface action.
Anglers
who are light-tackle jigging are using a mix of large soft plastic jigs and
metal jigs to reach the striped bass holding deep and close to the bottom. A
watchful eye on a good depth finder is essential this time of the year. The
classic colors of white and chartreuse tend to be the most popular colors for
soft plastic jigs, and chrome and chartreuse for metal jigs.
3 Oz. Purple Head White and Purple Hair
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