May Begins Summer Fishing
A handful of spot have been mixed with alewife in the catches of pound netters this past week.
The first spot of the year were caught in the St. Mary's River last weekend. About a half a dozen took bits of bloodworm at Church Point by a party of college students fishing at night. A handful of spot have been mixed with alewife in the catches of pound netters this past week. Norfolk Spot are one of the mainstays of bottom fishermen in our area and usually begin their migration in early May from the Atlantic Ocean into the Chesapeake Bay. The spot gradually increase in quantity until hitting the peak season around the fourth of July.
First Spot of the year reported from St. Mary's River.
Catfish remain the mainstay for recreational fisherman. The Potomac and Patuxent have plenty of catfish in the upper regions. A huge blue catfish was caught in a pound net in Cornfield Harbor in the mouth of the Potomac late last week. The catfish will take most any bloody bait. Mud shad and alewife are very effective.
Henry Dylan shows off an 89-pound blue catfish from Potomac!
White perch have finished their spawning run and will be in the creeks and rivers for lure casters and bottom fishermen as soon as the winds die down and tides behave in a normal fashion. The high-pressure fronts with gale winds force the water out of the bay making favorite fishing holes into mud flats. More seasonable temperatures, some rain, and gentle breezes will improve the fishing.
Alex Walker caught this 11 inch white perch on bloodworm in the St .Mary's River and leads The Tackle Box perch contest for April.
A puppy drum of about 16 inches was reported taking a cast jig at the College in St. Mary's City along with a small rockfish and a couple of white perch.
The summer striped bass season begins May 16. The slot limit is 19 inches to 24 inches. The fishing should be quite good. Since the regulations do not allow targeting of stripers until the season opens, we will all be pioneers on opening day. The season is for the bay only in Maryland waters. This stipulation affects our area by keeping the Patuxent closed above Point Patience. The entire river opens June 1. All of the Potomac River opens May 16.
Alex is still scoring huge stripers in the James River (catch and release).
Benjamin Bergeron landed this 40-inch striper off Driftwood Beach (Calvert Cliffs) on 4-29-25. He was using cut mud shad seeking catfish when the big striper hit. The fish was promptly released.
Smaller bucktails, tandem and umbrella rigs will produce fish for trollers. Captain John's Spoonbrella lures are very effective.
In fresh water the bass and crappie fishing is very good to excellent. The cold spring suits the crappie, and the males continue to inhabit the brush piles close to shore. The bigger females are standing out in five to ten feet of water.
Bass are hungry.
Crappie are very active.
Go fishing!
Erick Packard is consistently catching largemouth bass in local ponds and St. Mary's Lake. Wacky rigs are hot now.