Spot Remain the Best
We would never complain of too much of a good thing, so we continue to praise the run of Norfolk spot.
Spot are very plentiful in the Patuxent. Double headers like this are common on Captain Bernie Sheas charter out of Solomons.
We would never complain of too much of a good thing, so we continue to praise the run of Norfolk spot. Some seeking croaker (which are hit of miss on any given day) are not too happy with the bait-stealing spot.
Cool mornings and hot spot.
The spot are everywhere in Southern Maryland. Potomac, Patuxent, creek, cove, or the bay: if you can see water you are in the presence of spot.
Vince shows off the first Spanish mackerel of the year that took a gold Clarke Spoon trolled with a planer. Fish were near Smith Point in a school of breakers, with birds overhead.
Hardhead (croaker) seemed to separate from the spot in the Patuxent this week. Charter captains were catching all the spot they wanted, but the croaker were hard to find. Some shore fishermen found croaker in the evening and night this week at Cedar Point, but got a croaker about every fifth cast (some about 10 inches) while steadily bringing in spot.
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!
White perch are stubbornly refusing to bite cast spinners except for the last 45 minutes of daylight and the first 45 minutes of daylight. On Sunday afternoon, I did coax two good sized perch to take my Beetle Spin lure with a small piece of blood worm on the hook. The pesky spot attacked the worm, stole the bait, and occasionally took the lure (three- to four-inch fish in the shallows of the creek).
Hunter Windsor caught this fine white perch in Breton Bay off the Potomac.
Lure casters found perch active in Breton Bay last Sunday at sunset near Abel's Wharf.
Craig Roberts caught bluefish this week near Cedar Point.
Bluefish are in the bay and rivers. Big blues are in the Bay on the Middle Grounds and on the edge near buoy 72. These fish will take trolled surgical eels and spoons using both planers and in line weights. There are good days and poor days. We hope you find them when they are schooled up and biting. Small blues are feeding on the spot in the rivers and fishermen using cut bait are doing well from the shore. Point Lookout Pier has an occasional school of blues come by and everyone hooks up.
Captain Bernie Shea went blue fishing down the bay and found them near buoy 72.
The cobia and big bull redfish are scattered in the bay below the Target Ship, on the Mud Leads, the Middle Grounds, and Smith Point. The bull reds in huge quantity came into Cornfield Harbor last week and pound netters had a devil of a time releasing all them because they were over the limit. The alewife (bunker) are in the bay this year in good-sized schools keeping the bluefish, reds and cobia happy.
Ribbon fish have arrived in our waters. Fun to catch and good to eat. Cleaning requires a YouTube video course.
Not much news of speckled trout this week.
Ribbon fish from Patuxent.
Striped bass season goes out for all of August in Maryland waters even for catch and release.
Justin Bressler caught perch and rockfish this week in the Patuxent using peeler crab for bait.
The rockfish season opens back up in the Potomac on August 21. The Potomac allows one fish per day between 19 and 24 inches.
Crabs are running thick, fast, and big.