October 16, 2019 - Fall Fishing Wide Open

The rockfish have schooled up in the bay and the mouth of the Patuxent, breaking and feeding on most moving tides.

The stripers are in mixed sizes with slightly undersized fish mixed with big hefty bruisers in the 28 to 32 inch range. You can catch these fish trolling or casting lures into the breakers that have vast quantities of birds diving into the bait fish driven to the surface.

This past weekend, there were acres of fish and birds off the O'Club and on around the mouth of the Patuxent to Hog Point and Fishing Point.

Lure casters using surface poppers and popping rigs caught stripers in big numbers on Saturday morning at Goose Creek. One angler caught 38 rockfish there on a red and white "Poppa Dog" surface lure until he lost it and switched to a Hard Head Custom Popping Rig. Others were there catching stripers on both sides of the bridge. On Friday night there were surf casters throwing Rattletrap lures at Goose Creek and getting a fish on every cast.

Hog Point has been just as good in the Patuxent and across the mouth at Drum Point there are plenty. Many of the fish are 18 1/2 inches in length, just short of the 19 inch minimum. However, there are some lunkers mixed in, and one fisherman landed a 12 pound, 32 inch fish off the beach in the midst of the smaller fish.

Those casting swimming plugs and sassy shad lures around structures in the Patuxent have found big rockfish eager at sunset and daybreak.

The spot are still in the creeks and rivers in excellent numbers. Big white perch are taking bloodworm pieces on bottom rigs in the 18 to 35 feet edges all up and down the Potomac and Patuxent.

Speckled trout are scattered with most of them very small, but there are some very respectable trout in the St. Mary's River. Trout and rockfish are mixed for trollers up the Patuxent working the oyster bars. They love little white bucktails.

Spanish mackerel and blue fish are active in the Bay, taking small spoons on planer rigs.The mackerel are doing their customary leaps out of the water. The mackerel, blues and rock are mixed in big schools all up and down the Ship's channel. The mid-bay rockfish are almost all under-sized, but the blues are decent, fat and sassy.

Fresh water fishing continues to be excellent. Some fine crappie are hitting live minnows in St. Mary's Lake.

Dallas Croce with rockfish from the Patuxent this week.

Doug Wesley with an 11.75 inch perch, leading The Tackle Box big perch contest for October.

Eric Fowler with a 17 inch speckled trout from the St. Mary's River.

Ron Domaniecki with two of many rockfish from the shoreline at Goose Creek, NAS, Cedar Point.

Tyler and Johnnie Caldwell with rockfish from Cedar Point.

Typical speckled trout in the Patuxent.