07-24-2004, 04:07 AM
[url "http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishingreport/lowerbaymap.html"]![[Image: lowerbaymap2.JPG]](http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/art2000/lowerbaymap2.JPG)
[/url]Lower Bay:
Striped bass chumming continues to be excellent for fishermen who can figure out the routine of the summer fishery. The more popular grounds such as the Middle Grounds continue to produce good catches, but many boats are finding excellent fishing at lesser-known grounds such as ballast stone piles and shoal areas to avoid the![[Image: 0721alan_sbass%20copy.jpg]](http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/art2004/0721album/0721alan_sbass%20copy.jpg)
crowds. Western region fisheries biologist Alan Klotz, who is more familiar with freshwater trout, is introduced to his first Chesapeake Bay striped bass while chumming in the lower bay. Boats that wish to troll are scoring by trolling along the east side of the channel using spoons and small bucktails in tandem at 10’ to 25’ depths. There are quite a few snapper bluefish now in the area to the delight of fishermen and are being caught by trolling, chumming or casting to breaking fish. The bluefish that have invaded the bay are generally running from about 10” to 18”, which puts them in a perfect size category for eating. For those with fish smokers, these little buggers are prime fare. I prefer to cut back on the salt just a bit, as I normally do with saltwater fish, and simply cut the head off snapper-sized blues and do not scale them. Small blues generally take about 10-12 hours at a semi-cool temperature and are good as is, or made into a spread with cream cheese, chives and a spot of lemon juice. A word of caution about bluefish is that the big guys over 6 lbs get pretty oily, when they switch their diet to primarily menhaden. They can also bioaccumulate a pretty heavy load of contaminants in some areas.
Flounder are still being caught in very good numbers at high tide late in the day along channel drop-offs, hard shoals and river mouths. Some of these flounder are proving to be rather large and anglers are enjoying some of the best fishing many have ever experienced in the bay. Spot are being reported up the Potomac to Broome’s Island and spread across the bay region. Sea trout are being caught under breaking schools of striped bass and bluefish. Fishermen jigging soft plastics are catching large sea trout along the mud leads below the Middle Grounds and near the Target Ship. The Sharp’s Island Light has also produced some of these sea trout along with some impressive flounder. Croaker are reported to be off somewhat this week, but hopefully the action will pick up. Shore based fishermen at the Point Lookout have been doing well at night and Mike Davis reports from a little farther up the shoreline about his fishing success. Surf fishing has been very good on the shore from Dares Beach to Solomon’s Island. My wife and I go every Saturday night; we arrive around 7:00 pm set up, and cast out. Usually at 8:30 pm its Croaker time, we have been catching Croaker's between 14” and 19” and occasionally 20” to 21”. We have also been catching a load of striped bass off the beaches, most are small, but what an improvement from the last few years. My wife and I have surf fished most of the Atlantic from Maine to North Carolina, however when we moved back to Maryland, our eyes were back on the bay.
Recreational crabbing in the lower bay has been excellent along Dorchester County shoreline and tidal creeks and western shore areas such as the lower Patuxent River. The best crabbing is early in the morning and in 4’ to 8’ of water on hard bottom with a good tide.
[/url]Lower Bay: Striped bass chumming continues to be excellent for fishermen who can figure out the routine of the summer fishery. The more popular grounds such as the Middle Grounds continue to produce good catches, but many boats are finding excellent fishing at lesser-known grounds such as ballast stone piles and shoal areas to avoid the
crowds. Western region fisheries biologist Alan Klotz, who is more familiar with freshwater trout, is introduced to his first Chesapeake Bay striped bass while chumming in the lower bay. Boats that wish to troll are scoring by trolling along the east side of the channel using spoons and small bucktails in tandem at 10’ to 25’ depths. There are quite a few snapper bluefish now in the area to the delight of fishermen and are being caught by trolling, chumming or casting to breaking fish. The bluefish that have invaded the bay are generally running from about 10” to 18”, which puts them in a perfect size category for eating. For those with fish smokers, these little buggers are prime fare. I prefer to cut back on the salt just a bit, as I normally do with saltwater fish, and simply cut the head off snapper-sized blues and do not scale them. Small blues generally take about 10-12 hours at a semi-cool temperature and are good as is, or made into a spread with cream cheese, chives and a spot of lemon juice. A word of caution about bluefish is that the big guys over 6 lbs get pretty oily, when they switch their diet to primarily menhaden. They can also bioaccumulate a pretty heavy load of contaminants in some areas. Flounder are still being caught in very good numbers at high tide late in the day along channel drop-offs, hard shoals and river mouths. Some of these flounder are proving to be rather large and anglers are enjoying some of the best fishing many have ever experienced in the bay. Spot are being reported up the Potomac to Broome’s Island and spread across the bay region. Sea trout are being caught under breaking schools of striped bass and bluefish. Fishermen jigging soft plastics are catching large sea trout along the mud leads below the Middle Grounds and near the Target Ship. The Sharp’s Island Light has also produced some of these sea trout along with some impressive flounder. Croaker are reported to be off somewhat this week, but hopefully the action will pick up. Shore based fishermen at the Point Lookout have been doing well at night and Mike Davis reports from a little farther up the shoreline about his fishing success. Surf fishing has been very good on the shore from Dares Beach to Solomon’s Island. My wife and I go every Saturday night; we arrive around 7:00 pm set up, and cast out. Usually at 8:30 pm its Croaker time, we have been catching Croaker's between 14” and 19” and occasionally 20” to 21”. We have also been catching a load of striped bass off the beaches, most are small, but what an improvement from the last few years. My wife and I have surf fished most of the Atlantic from Maine to North Carolina, however when we moved back to Maryland, our eyes were back on the bay.
Recreational crabbing in the lower bay has been excellent along Dorchester County shoreline and tidal creeks and western shore areas such as the lower Patuxent River. The best crabbing is early in the morning and in 4’ to 8’ of water on hard bottom with a good tide.