Cover Image: Left: John Betzel bought a new umbrella rig from us this week and put it to work in Eastern Bay catching this awesome 28” fish! Anglers employee Mike caught a limit of recently stocked Rainbow Trout at Tuckahoe State Park yesterday! He was using a Mepps #0 gold spinner!
Rockfish: Fish are still spread out all over the bay. We’ve heard good reports from the bridge down to the Choptank River and Chesapeake Beach. Nice fish up to 31 inches have been caught in Eastern Bay, the main bay, and the Choptank River. There are definitely still fish at and north of the bridge though! If you are lucky enough to find birds and breaking fish, that’s the way to go! Jig under them with 5-7 inch paddletails on straight tailed plastics on 1/2-1 oz jig heads, working the lure the entire way through the water column. You can also use metal jigs like G-Eye Jigs Rain Minnows or Epoxy Jigs. If you aren’t seeing birds, you can look for fish on your electronics, or try some shallow water fishing! There have been nice fish caught in shallow water using paddletails on lighter jig heads, jerk baits or top water! Live lining spot is also still productive around structure like the bridge pilings, Kent Narrows and Thomas Point. Alternatively, trolling is also successful, you will want to add inline sinkers, as the fish are most likely to be in the bottom 20% of the water column this time of year.
Pickerel: Pickerel fishing is one of our favorite things to do this time of year! Head up into the rivers and the creeks with live minnows, mepps spinners and paddletails and have some fun. Plus, the CCA Pickerel Tournament starts on Monday! Register Here! The Severn, Magothy and the Patapsco have been producing nice pickerel, but your best chance of catching a really big one is to head over to the Eastern Shore mill ponds such as Johnsons Pond or Unicorn Lake.
Perch: There are some nice perch still being caught in the rivers and creeks, with some reports of yellow perch in the mix too! Use spinners in these areas. Big perch are also in deeper water this time of year! Look for hard bottom and oyster beds in the main bay and the mouths of the rivers! Use Chesapeake Sabiki Rigs or metal jigging spoons.
Snakehead: Snakehead are still biting! The Blackwater areas, the Magothy and the Severn are producing, but typically on sunny afternoons when the water temperatures warms up a little bit. Try paddletails, chatterbaits and live minnows!
Freshwater Trout: Freshwater trout stocking is underway! Check out DNR’s website for the latest stocking updates. You can also sign up for email updates. Several local locations such as Tuckahoe, Calvert Cliffs and ponds in PG County were stocked this week. Use gulp trout dough on small snelled treble hooks with a little egg sinker. You can also use small spinners! If you plan to release the fish, it’s best to use spinners, not trout dough.