Much of the fishing action in the lower Bay region focuses on Spanish mackerel, bluefish, speckled trout, and catch-and-release fishing for large red drum. Fishing for striped bass is taking a backseat as Virginia waters are closed to striped bass fishing until October 4 and the tidal Potomac River is closed to striped bass fishing until August 22. There is some striped bass action in the Patuxent River and scattered locations on the western shore of the Bay.
Spanish mackerel are steadily filling in and providing plenty of
action for anglers trolling for or casting towards breaking fish. Trolling
small Clark spoons and Drone spoons of various gold, chrome, and color
combinations behind No. 1 and No. 2 planers of heavy inline weights at about 8
knots is a good way to fish the mackerel. Anglers are finding mackerel along
channel edges at Cove Point, the HS Buoy, and Buoy 72. Trolling near breaking
fish is another option.
Small bluefish and Spanish mackerel can be found breaking the
water’s surface when chasing anchovies. Anglers are targeting them by casting
small metal jigs. Speed-reeling a lure after allowing it to sink is a good way
to target Spanish mackerel, while a slower retrieve will catch bluefish.
Fishing for large red drum is providing a lot of exciting
action. The fish are enormous and fight hard. Many are being caught by casting
and jigging 8-inch or larger soft plastic jigs in a variety of colors to
concentrations of red drum. They can be spotted by troubled water, slicks,
breaking fish, or by picking them up on a depth finder. Dropping cut spot or
soft crab baits down to schools of red drum is another popular option, and
trolling large spoons and hose lures is another. They are being found near the
Target Ship, the Middle Grounds, Cedar Point, and Tangier Sound.
Speckled trout are being caught in Tangier Sound, Pocomoke
Sound, the Hoopers Island area, and the lower Potomac River. Casting 4-inch
plastics and topwater lures in the early morning and late evening hours near
grass beds, stump fields, marsh edges, and Bay shoreline is the ticket to this
show.
Anglers and boaters in the vicinity of Barren Island, located
off Hoopers Island, should be aware that the Army Corps is on schedule to
begin rock, sill, and jetty placement at Barren Island in September. This will
be like the Hart-Miller and Poplar Island projects.
Cobia fishing has been a bit slow lately, but they are being
caught by anglers sight-fishing or chumming near Smith Point and Point Lookout.
Casting large soft plastics or live eels to cobia when they can be spotted on
the surface is an exciting way to fish. Chumming is another option, as is
drifting a live eel to the back of the chum slick. However, anglers do tell of
bluefish nipping off eel tails. Drifting a few pieces of cut spot with a hook
can help pass the time and put some bluefish in the ice chest.
Fishing for spot in the lower Patuxent and Potomac rivers as
well as Tangier Sound has been very good. Bloodworms are the most popular bait
for spot and the few kingfish that show up now and then. Peeler crab is a good
bait for white perch, which can often be found mixed in with the spot. White
perch are also being caught in the tidal creeks and rivers on oyster beds or
near docks and piers.
Recreational crabbing is good. Crabbers can catch
a full bushel of large crabs in the tidal rivers of the middle and lower Bay
regions. In the upper Bay, crabbers are doing almost as well in rivers such as
the Gunpowder and the Elk River near the entrance of the C&D Canal. The 10-
to 12-foot edges are reported to be some of the best waters to set trotlines or
collapsible crab traps. Chicken necks work, but razor clams are more
productive. A lot of female crabs and small crabs are showing up on trotlines
and in collapsible traps.