Fishing in Chesapeake Bay

This large inlet of the Atlantic Ocean is aptly referred to as Maryland’s greatest natural treasure. The bay in its entirety is America’s largest estuary, and its 46 principal rivers and streams drain 64,000 square miles in six states. About 1,725 square miles and 123 linear miles of the bay are in Maryland, and its exceptional number of tidal shorelines and tributaries make it one of the most important nursery grounds in North America for various aquatic resources.

Among those resources is a plethora of saltwater fish that are accessible from many sites. The population of each species may vary from year to year, but the quality of the angling is uniformly good.

Saltwater fish may venture as far up the bay as the mouth of the Elk River or the Susquehanna Flats when late-summer droughts enable saltwater intrusion to reach this area. This is not a consistent condition, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is normally the northern boundary for most saltwater species—except striped bass, which, being anadromous, inhabit the bay year-round, all the way to the base of the Conowingo Dam.

The town of Rock Hall is named for striped bass, which are locally known as rockfish, and a few charter boats operate from this location to pursue these admired fish. Most upper-bay stripers are taken on trolled bucktails, tube lures, or spoons. When the fishing is good, anglers find schools of breaking fish on the surface; then light tackle and small jigs can provide plenty of activity.

Rock Hall Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay are accessible from two area boat ramps and from two fishing piers, one on Sharp Street and one at the junction of Bayside Avenue and Walnut Street in Rock Hall.

Various notable angling locations are farther down the Eastern Shore in or near Kent Island, which is surrounded on the north by the Chester River and on the south by Eastern Bay. Kent Narrows separates Kent Island from the mainland and offers boat ramps, marinas, and a small charter boat operation. A pier at Matapeake State Park is open for fishing and produces good numbers of white perch and striped bass.

The mouth of the Chester River on the back side of Love Point can produce striped bass, croaker, white perch, spot, and small blues. The water depth falls off from a few feet to 25 to 30 feet, and action centers along this dropoff.

A very steep edge runs along the bay side of Kent Island down to Bloody Point. The bottom drops from several feet to 117 feet at the deepest part along this edge. Trolling for stripers is good here in the spring and fall, with bluefish prevalent in the summer. Anglers who work the bottom find croaker, spot, trout, and flounder, catchable on squid, cut baits, and jigs.

Directly across the Bay from Kent Island is Annapolis. Anglers here find access at Sandy Point State Park and head to the pilings of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for striped bass. Casting bucktails or live eels is the favored technique. Trolling with bucktails, tube lures, or spoons, and drifting with live eels are proven methods for stripers at Dolly’s Lump, Hackett Point Bar, or Tolly Bar. Spot, croaker, weakfish (also called gray trout, or trout, locally), white perch, and flounder are taken by bottom anglers using squid, bloodworms, or cut menhaden.

The South River and West River possess numerous marinas and boatyards, and the heavy boat traffic does not improve fishing. The area between Thomas Point and Curtis Point, however, where both rivers empty into the bay, holds fair numbers of striped bass, bluefish, croaker, spot, and trout.

Chesapeake Beach is a small town on the western side of the bay with access to particularly productive areas. The big fleet of charter boats that operates from Chesapeake Beach fishes for a variety of species from spring into the fall. Striped bass and bluefish are the primary targets and are usually taken by anglers trolling with bucktails, spoons, and tube lures. Chesapeake Beach charter captains have a system for trolling six or eight wire lines from a narrow deadrise boat that instills envy in those who cannot run more than three lines without getting at least two tangled.

The boats out of Chesapeake Beach run as far north as Holland Point Bar or the Old Gas Buoy, and as far south as the Gooses and Calvert Cliffs. There is a sharp drop at Calvert Cliffs, where the bottom falls from 5 to 50 feet along an edge that runs south to Cove Point. Stripers and blues stack up along this structure, especially in the spring and fall.

During the summer, small blues, weakfish, flounder, and croaker become more numerous, and the fishing shifts to bottom bouncing with squid, bloodworms, and cut fresh fish. During warm weather the boats may run to the Eastern Shore, where this type of fishing is more productive.

The Choptank River is east and south of Chesapeake Beach, and boasts good fishing all the way up to Cambridge. An old bridge over the river here has been turned into a fishing pier, and it can be especially productive for striped bass and white perch. The channel edge running from Cambridge to Tilghman Island is a good area to fish for stripers, blues, and weakfish. At times, any of these fish will chase baits on the surface; then, small bucktails and spoons are very effective.

Tilghman Island has been a fishing hotspot for many years. Boats pass out to the bay through Knapps Narrows in search of striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, flounder, and black drum. The drum are caught near Popular Island on peeler crab in late spring and early summer. These fish weigh 40 to 80 pounds and give upper-bay anglers a chance to tangle with a real saltwater monster.

Trolling with bucktails, spoons, or tube lures is the most common method for catching blues, striped bass, and weakfish. Bottom-fished peeler crab is the primary method for taking flounder, weakfish, and croaker.

The Little Choptank River holds striped bass in shallow, sheltered water. Casting bucktails or bottom fishing with peeler crabs will catch stripers along with some weakfish, flounder, and small blues. Boat ramps are located on Ragged Point Road and Taylors Island Road; these respectively access Brooks Creek and Slaughter Creek, which empty into the Little Choptank.

The Honga River, Fishing Bay, and Tangier Sound meet at Hooper Strait and funnel gamefish and baitfish into this area. The edge of the deep channel running down the Honga River is a good location for weakfish and striped bass. Bottom fishing with peeler crabs is the most popular technique here, but a bucktail tipped with a peeler crab will often catch weakfish or stripers.

Fishing Bay is a wide yet shallow body of water with excellent summertime fishing for weakfish and small blues. The ever-popular peeler crab is the preferred bait for weakfish, too; spoons and bucktails attract bluefish. Anchoring in Hooper Straight and soaking peeler crabs on the bottom will produce a mixed bag of weakfish, spot, croaker, flounder, and bluefish. Trolling around Hooper Light with spoons and bucktails is good for bluefish and striped bass.

Charter boats and a boat ramp are located at the marina at the junction of Routes 336 and 335; there are several other ramps in the area. Crisfield is the last town on the Maryland side of the Eastern Shore with access to the bay, and it has a large charter fleet and many facilities.

Boats leaving Crisfield head into Tangier Sound for weakfish, blues, croaker, spot, and striped bass. To the south, the same species, and speckled trout and red drum, inhabit the waters along Pocomoke Sound. In summer, boats anchor along the edge of the channel in Tangier Sound where the bottom drops almost straight down from a few feet to more than 100 feet. Weakfish move up this wall in the evening to feed on soft crabs hiding in the shallows. Anglers intercept them by soaking peeler crabs on or close to the edge. They use the same technique throughout Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds.

Point Lookout marks the entrance to the Potomac River and access to fishing hotspots in the middle sector of Chesapeake Bay. Solomon’s Island on the Patuxent River just north of Point Lookout has a charter boat fleet, launch ramps, and many amenities. The deep harbor promises good fishing for weakfish, striped bass, croaker, and spot. The shoals between Drum Point and Hog Point are good trolling areas for stripers and blues.

Charter boats running out of Smith Creek near Ridge, and from the St. Mary’s River, carry patrons past Point Lookout into the bay. A boat ramp and fishing pier in Point Lookout State Park offer access to the good fishing.

Chumming is the most widely used method for catching weakfish, bluefish, and striped bass. Boats anchor on the Middle Grounds, where they grind up fresh or frozen menhaden to create an oily chum. Even small private boats carry a portable grinder to make fresh chum. Once the fish are in the slick, small pieces of menhaden are dropped into the current. The action can be fast and exciting.