It’s been a great season so far and it will only get better. The light tackle bite in the upper part of the bay has been picking up since we are having lower temperatures at night. You can find breaking fish during the early hours of the morning and evenings and also during tide changes in the mouth of the rivers as bait is moving out and in to the rivers. The mouth of the Patapsco river, Magothy river, Love Point, and Severn River are good spots to check out during the morning and evening hours the key is to use light tackle and use jigs from ½oz to 1oz on weight. The big fish are not all ways going to be on the bottom of the school of fish sometimes the bigger fish will be down tide from the school of breaking fish so make sure you cast outside of the school of fish and many times it will pay off and you’ll get a nice size stripper or blue fish. Also one of the most exiting ways to catch fish during these situations is by using top water or sub surface plugs especially when you have kids on the boat. The lures that have been working the best out there when your light tackle jigging have been any jig head from ½ to 1oz depending on how deep your fishing and the current, paring your jigs with BKD and ZMAN plastics have been doing the job. Also casting metal jigs from 1/2oz to 1.5oz on silver, green, and gold colors have been doing the best and remember to also use metal jigs faster than your plastic jigs to have a chance to hook in to some of the Spanish mackerel.
Now on to the chumming and live lining bite love point, the mouth of the Magothy river, the hill on the mouth of Eastern Bay, and the Bay Bridge have been good spots to live line any ledge on the mouth of the rivers is a good area to search for suspended fish and drift over top of them. Also the pilings under the bridge are a good area to try to live line now remember that there is blue fish in the area so they will chop off the tails on the spot. Those same areas have been good to set up and get a chum slick going and use some fresh bunker “alewife” for bait. Also one other way to get the strippers is by using soft crabs close to structure or on the bottom when your chumming.
There has been a good numbers of big and small red drum in the lower bay mixed in with some big trout and sometimes even some cobia. One way to get them big reds to bite is by trolling some big drome spoons under size 3, 4 planners the colors of choice has been red, silver, and green for the drome spoons. Also by trolling smaller spoons on size 2, and 3 planners and picking up the speed to 6 to 9 mph to catch Spanish mackerel and blue fish. there has been reports of big schools of red fish on the mouth of the Potomac river to the target ship the best way to get them is by using big jigs from 3/4 oz to 1.5oz on weight with a 6 to 8-inch plastic tom get them to bite. Be ready when you’re out there in those schools or the area in general with an extra rod with a buck tail pair with a 6 to 8 inch plastic for some cobia. There has been reports of them still out there in the area and also reports of smaller ones all the way up to the Bay Bridge.
Bottom fishing in the area is a mix of white perch and spot with the occasional croaker mix inn. The ticket to get them to bite has been by using blood worms, fish bites, soft crab, and razor clam on top and bottom rigs. There is also other summer species in the area like black drum, trout, and northern and southern king fish.
Crabbing has been on fire! This is the best time of year to break out the trotlines, traps, or handlines. Best crabbing should be in 4-8’ of water.
Tite Lines,
Alex Perez