Plenty of Fishing Action

Ken and Shep cast lures to breaking bluefish this week. These are great sport on light tackle.

Spot and bluefish are the mainstays for fishermen in Southern Maryland this week.

There are some healthy stripers in the bay on structure. Shep displays a beauty from a mid-bay rockpile.

Spot are wide open in the Patuxent, and they are achieving jumbo size. Spot love bloodworms. They will also hit hooks baited with Lug worms, night crawlers, squid, shrimp, and clam snouts. There are small spot and croaker most everywhere in the creeks and rivers. The larger spot in the Potomac are concentrated around Ragged Point, Cobb Island, and St. George Island. 

This 12 pound bluefish was caught by Miss Susie Charters Wednesday when the big ones showed up below the Target ship.

Bluefish are in the ship's channel breaking almost every day. They bite and feed on their own schedule. The most consistent area with the biggest bluefish is below the target ship on the hard bottom. The big fish are coming up about 6:30 in the evening. We have seen pictures of 12-pound blues and heard of them up to 17 pounds and 37 inches. Average size is 5 to 6 pounds in the mid-day, and 8 pounds or more after 6pm. These specifics could change at any time.  As I [Ken Lamb] tell my customers: "I can only tell you where the fish were, not where they are." 

Andre Smith found big perch in the St. Mary's River this week.

Perch and stripers have been scarce most everywhere with the exception of a good catch here and there. They are staying in the deep so far and gathered on structure. The cool temperatures and rain may get the water cleared up in the creeks and rivers. The excess of sea nettles may recede. We could then get perch and rockfish back in the shallows where we normally catch them.  

Rockfish from above the 301 bridge where they are plentiful and hungry!

We learned something this week that is encouraging: There are good numbers of healthy rockfish up the Potomac above the 301 bridge.

Northern Potomac rockfish are big and healthy.

The rock fish were very active in that area last fall and stayed around the bridge down to Dahlgren and Machodoc Creeks. The water was much warmer there last year. This year's cool August and fall cold snap in early September, potentially brining the rockfish down the river and into the bay in a normal pattern, making the fish active and more accessible by the first of October. 

St. Mary's Lake is loaded with big bass the love those short, fat swim baits.

Spanish mackerel are mixed with the bluefish in the bay.

Not much was heard about cobia and bull reds this week.

Crabs are plentiful.

Mild temperatures and breezes are predicted late this week and all weekend.