Fickle Weather

Alex shows a huge striper caught from the beach.

What can be worse for fishing conditions than forty degree days and brisk winds? If you are drawing a blank, so am I.  

Friday, May 1 marks the opening of the rockfish season in Maryland waters except for spawning rivers. This affects our area most for those on the Patuxent where the season does not begin until June 1. Fishing is allowed in the mouth of the Patuxent as far up as the line (Hog Point to Drum Point). On May 16 the Patuxent opens to Point Patience on Calvert side to Kingston Creek on the St. Mary's side. Size limit is 19 to 24 inches, and bag limit of one per day per person.

The Potomac River does open until May 16. 

Plenty of rockfish near legal maximum are eager to bite. They love the electric chicken color pattern.

There were fish caught early in the week. Stripers were hitting jigs around the bay bridge pilings with gusto. Big stripers are staying in the shallows just about everywhere. Catch and release fishermen are doing very well with 30 to 40 inch fish casting lures on the beaches.

Trollers will find fish hitting small umbrella rigs on opening day. Lure casters should do well also in the shallows and the deep holes. 

Rich Jenkins caught plenty catch and release stripers in the upper this week on his Coachman jigs and lures.

Perch and crabs in the creeks are on hold until we get some warm days.

Bottom fishermen along the edges of drop offs should find schools of perch in the rivers. They like bloodworms, shrimp, and clams. 

Catfish are biting in the upper Potomac. A nice 30 incher from this week.

Catfishing is excellent in the Potomac and Patuxent. Good catches were reported near the bridge in the Patuxent at Benedict.

We had a spring tide on Monday morning with water levels quite high. This is our first good tide of the year and will help bring in the crabs and perch to the creeks. Now if we can just get some normal warm temperatures for the first of May!