Weekly Southern Maryland Fishing Report: Spot Are Everywhere As Bluefish, Cobia And Bull Reds Fill The Bay

Weekly Southern Maryland Fishing Report: Spot Are Everywhere As Bluefish, Cobia And Bull Reds Fill The Bay

SOUTHERN MARYLAND — We would never complain about too much of a good thing, so we continue to praise the run of Norfolk spot.

Some anglers seeking croaker, which can be hit or miss on any given day, are not too happy with the bait-stealing spot.

The spot are everywhere in Southern Maryland. Potomac River, Patuxent River, creek, cove or Chesapeake Bay — if you can see water, you are in the presence of spot.

  • Captain Bernie Shea went blue fishing down the bay and found them near buoy 72.
  • Vince shows off the first Spanish mackerel of the year that took a gold Clarke Spoon trolled with a planer.  Fish was near Smith Point in school of breakers with birds overhead.
  • Hunter Windsor caught this fine white perch in Breton Bay off the Potomac.
  • Craig Roberts caught bluefish this week near Cedar Point.
  • Ribbon fish have arrived in our waters.  Fun to catch and good to eat.  Cleaning requires a you tube video course.
  • Ribbon fish from Patuxent.
  • Cool mornings and hot spot.
  • Spot are very plentiful in the Patuxent.  Double headers like this are common on Captain Bernie Shea's charter out of Solomons.
  • Scott Hughes with perch from a Patuxent creek. That big one in the middle leads The Tackle Box big perch contest for July at 13 1/2 inches!

Croaker Separate From Spot In The Patuxent

Hardhead, also known as croaker, seemed to separate from the spot in the Patuxent River this week.

Charter captains were catching all the spot they wanted, but croaker were hard to find.

Some shore fishermen found croaker during the evening and nighttime hours this week at Cedar Point. However, they caught about one croaker every fifth cast, including some measuring about 10 inches, while steadily bringing in spot.

White Perch Bite Limited To Sunrise And Sunset

White perch are stubbornly refusing to bite cast spinners except during the final 45 minutes of daylight and the first 45 minutes of daylight.

On Sunday afternoon, I coaxed two good-sized perch into taking my Beetle Spin lure with a small piece of bloodworm on the hook.

The pesky spot attacked the worm, stole the bait and occasionally took the lure. Most were 3- to 4-inch fish swimming in the shallows of the creek.

Lure casters found perch active in Breton Bay near Abel’s Wharf around sunset Sunday.

Bluefish Active In The Bay And Rivers

Bluefish are in the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding rivers.

Big blues are in the bay around the Middle Grounds and along the edge near buoy 72. These fish will take trolled surgical eels and spoons using either planers or inline weights.

There are good days and poor days. We hope you find them when they are schooled up and biting.

Small bluefish are feeding on spot in the rivers, and fishermen using cut bait are doing well from shore.

An occasional school of bluefish passes Point Lookout Pier, allowing everyone to hook up.

Cobia And Bull Redfish Scattered Across The Lower Bay

Cobia and big bull redfish are scattered throughout the bay below the Target Ship, around the Mud Leads, the Middle Grounds and Smith Point.

Bull reds entered Cornfield Harbor in huge numbers last week. Pound netters had a devil of a time releasing all of them because the fish were over the legal limit.

Alewife, also known as bunker, are in the bay in good-sized schools this year, keeping the bluefish, redfish and cobia happy.

There is not much news about speckled trout this week.

Striped Bass Closures Begin

Striped bass fishing closes throughout August in Maryland waters, including catch-and-release fishing. Targeting striped bass is prohibited during the closure.

The rockfish season in the tidal Potomac River remains closed through Aug. 20 and opens again Aug. 21.

The Potomac River allows one striped bass per person per day measuring between 19 and 24 inches.

Crabs are running thick, fast and big throughout Southern Maryland.

Tackle Box is located at 22035 Three Notch Road, Lexington Park, Maryland 20653.

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