Left: Brennon Hughes caught and released six speckled trout over 20 inches drifting shorelines in the mid bay! Right: Anglers Pro-Staff Employee Griffin caught this 4lb Snakehead using a white Keitech with a 5/0 1/8 oz Hayabusa EWG hook. He sight casted to it in the shallows of Blackwater along a grass flat.
Speckled Trout: The speckled trout bite in the mid bay is really starting to heat up which is exciting! You can catch them along shorelines and grass flats as far north as the Choptank River and Chesapeake Beach. Use 3-4 inch paddletails on 3/16, 1/4 or 5/8 oz jig heads and add Shredder Crab Pro-Cure. A steady retrieve with an occasional jerk should entice them!
Rockfish: The rockfish bite continues to be concentrated north of the bridge up to Tolchester and Rockhall. There are a lot of boats up there so please be courteous. There are a lot of big up there fish too though so there’s plenty for everyone! There is a good bite around the Bay Bridge as well, but the fish are much smaller in size, the same is true as your head south towards Chesapeake Beach. Jigging and live lining spot seem to be the most productive methods right now.
Perch: Perch seem to be mostly in the rivers right now, and can be caught over hard bottom or in shallow water around shoreline and structure. Typical spinners such as perch pounders and rooster tails work well in shallow water, while you’ll want to use a top and bottom rig or a Chesapeake Sabiki rig. Perch are also being caught around the bay bridge. You can jig for them there using small jig heads and plastics, like Bust ‘Em Baits stingers!
Spot: They are also catching a lot of spot around the Bay Bridge and Hackett Point! A bottom rig or a Chesapeake Sabiki will work well for them too! Try Bloodworms, Lugworms or fish bites as bait!
Cobia: Now is typically the time of year when cobia make their way from Virginia waters into Maryland waters. Try launching out of Solomons or Point Lookout try chumming, or keep live eels or bucktails on the boat and search for them to sight cast to!
Redfish: Big bull reds should start moving up around the same time as Cobia, and there are puppy drum to be caught while trout fishing or perch fishing as far north as the South River.
Snakehead: There are some nice snakehead being caught around the Blackwater area, and really all over the Eastern Shore. One of our employees recently caught one a Tuckahoe start park.. be on the lookout for his video coming soon! The bite still seems to be primarily sub-surface, on chatterbaits and swimbaits. Minnows are always a good option too!
Crabbing: Crabbing has been fantastic this week! The Magothy River is starting to pick up along with Whitehall Bay and all of rivers south like the Severn, South & Wye Rivers and Thompson Creek. Trotline and pull traps are both working well, and razor clams see to be the bait of choice. No boat? No problem! You can easily catch a dozen crabs handlining from a local pier using chicken necks or razor clams in a bait bag. Check out the video that we did on how to use bait bags for trotlines, traps and handlines.