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Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
By Keith Lockwood of The Maryland DNR
This information is provided as a public service of the
Maryland Department of Natural Resources. www.dnr.state.md.us
May 7th, 2008
FROM THE CHESAPEAKE BAY BRIDGES TO DRUM POINT
Fishermen continue to enjoy good fishing for large striped bass in the middle bay region at a number of locations. The steep channel edges from the Gum Thickets, Bloody Point and south to Buoys 83 and 84 continue to produce excellent opportunities for catching some big striped bass. Thomas Point has also been a standout for several weeks now but one needs to understand that the fish are moving through the area so the fish that were there yesterday are most likely 10 miles or more south by the next day. Trolling is just that, one covers a lot of water in the hope of running into fish that are usually spread out. At times fishermen have reported fish being bunched up on steep edges and they’ll get multiple knock downs in that situation but remember those fish are on the move. Large fish are still trickling down from the Susquehanna Flats and will continue to do so for the next week or so but smaller fish; some which might not even be 28” will begin to make up more and more of the fish that are moving down the bay. Quite often the male fish in the 28” size range will stick around for at least a couple of months till the extremely warm water temperatures during the summer push them to cooler waters; either in the region or farther south towards the mouth of the bay. Randy Eads, Kenny Boyds and Tom Christopolous are all smiles with this nice striped bass they teamed up on near Bloody Point.
A number of other locations in the middle bay region have been producing good fishing for the larger striped bass. The steep channel edge on the western side of the shipping channel which extends from Chesapeake Beach south to Cove Point and the False Channel around Buoys 3, 4 and 5 at the mouth of the Choptank has also be a good place to troll. Fishermen are reporting that they are catching a higher percentage of fish now on the deeper lines that are running in the 25’ to 35’ depths and that darker colored bucktails and parachutes have been catching fish over the traditional white and chartreuse. Large swimming shad lures such as the Storm lures have also been accounting for a number of fish and as long as the bluefish are not around they are a good choice. These four anglers enjoyed a good time trolling in the False Channel area as guests on Kevin Rosemary’s boat and hold up a couple of really nice fish.
The white perch have moved into the lower sections of the regions tidal rivers and are offering good bottom fishing out in the more open waters and near the larger docks and piers in the region. Grass shrimp on a bottom rig are hard to beat as are bloodworms. A few croakers are being caught in the middle bay region but just that, only a few. The larger concentrations of croakers still remain in the lower Potomac and Tangier Sound areas.
MIDDLE CHESAPEAKE BAY MAP
CLICK MAP FOR A LARGER VIEW
Map courtesy of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. www.dnr.state.md.us
Other Maryland Fishing Reports
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