Catch of the Week:
This week's Catch of the Week is Sandi and Nathan Dlugonski with their Rockfish on the Eastern Bay.
Submit your own catch of the week here and keep an eye out for your catch to be featured in one of our next Resource, Reports, and Fun Fish Fact articles!
Did you know?
The striped bass that have been tagged in the Chesapeake Bay have been found again in Canadian waters, over 1,000 miles away.
Weather (Click Here)
Along with checking the tides before you hit the water, take a last second look at the most updated weather report. It's gonna be wet all week!!
Today's Moon Phase according to NASA (Click Here)
Full Moon - “When we see the sunlit face of the Moon, we call it a full Moon. It rises almost exactly as the Sun sets and sets just as the Sun rises the next day. The Moon has now completed one half of the lunar month.”
Public Angler Access (Click Here)
Use the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Angler Access map to find new fishing spots in Maryland. Here are a few:
Bayside Landing Park: Kent County (Rock Hall) on the Rock Hal Harbor and Chesapeake Bay; Open Year-Round from 5 a.m. - 10 p.m., fishing for Bluefish, Stirped Bass, Spot, Spanish Mackerel, Seatrout, Flounder, Croaker, Black Drum, Red Drum, and White Perch
Romancoke Fishing Pier: Queen Anne’s County (Stevensville) on the Eastern Bay; Open year-round, 24 hours a day, fishing for Striped Bass, Bluefish, Spot, Mackerel, Flounder, Croaker, and White Perch
Galesville Wharf: Anne Arundel County (Galesville) on the West River. Open year-round for fishing for White Perch, Yellow Perch, and Striped Bass
Maryland Fishing Report- July 31st compiled by Lyndsie Pratt from Anglers Fishing and Hunting (Click Here)
Rockfish: The best rockfish bite continues to be above the Bay Bridge. Hodges Bar, Pooles Island and the mouth of the Patapso are hot spots, and live lining spot is the way to go! We are also hearing reports of the morning and evening topwater bite picking up in the rivers, particularly the Patapso and the Severn! In the lower parts of the bay, the shallow water bite is still the way to go. Fish shoreline rip rap or structure such as lighthouses with 1/4-3/8 oz jig heads and 4 or 5 inch paddletails.
Speckled Trout: We aren’t hearing quite as many reports of speckled trout from the southern bay, probably as a result of warmer water temperatures, but they are still there! Hit shallow shorelines and grass beds around the mouth of the Choptank, the mouth of the Patuxent and below first thing in the morning before water temperatures rise. After about 9 am look for them in deeper water on secondary ledges. Use light jig heads with 2-5 inch paddletails. White and pink are the best colors!
Bluefish: Decent sized (up to 15 inch!) bluefish are all over the bay, as far north as the mouth of the Severn, the Bay Bridge and Love Point! Fish for them with metal jigs or troll size 2 or 3 spoons on number one planers. You’ll want to troll between 3.5-5 mph.
Mackerel: We are starting to get reports of mackerel entering the middle bay area! The numbers aren’t quite there yet, but folks are catching them sporadically while casting metal jigs into breaking fish or trolling small spoons around Thomas Point and Bloody Point!
White Perch: Large white perch can be caught at Tolly Point, Hackett’s Point and around the Bay Bridge. Use small pieces of fish bites on a Chesapeake Sabiki Rig. They are also in all of the rivers over oyster beds and in shallow water near structure. Use small x-raps or spinners like perch pounders or super rooster tails.
Croaker: While there are some reports of croaker being caught around the bay bridge, at Tolly Point and Hackett Point, and in the rivers of oyster beds, they are all very small in size. Generally, they are a by-catch when perch fishing with Chesapeake sabiki rigs. Hopefully we start seeing some bigger ones move in soon! Use fish bites, bloodworms or grass shrimp on a bottom rig if you do want to target them!
Snakehead: In the hotter weather you will want to target snakehead in the early morning or evening, or even bow fish or gaff them at night!! During the day, try a top water frog or snakehead destroyer minnows.
Redfish: Large red drum can be found under schools of breaking fish in the lower bay around the Target Ship and Smith Island, all of the way up to Hoopers Island! Use a metal vertical jig to get below the smaller breaking fish to find them! Puppy drum can be find found in the shallows of that lower bay area and around Point Lookout!
Cobia: The majority of the best cobia fishing is still taking place south of Point Lookout and into Virginia waters. Most people are chumming for them and are using live eels and fresh alewife. You can also sight cast for them with bucktails or live eels.
This Weekend's Tide Predictions (Click Here)
Keep an eye on this weekends tide schedule. These are the predicted tides for the Western Shore of the Chesapeake from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Wednesday 8/5:
Low tide starting at 12:25 a.m. and again at 1:58 p.m.
High tide starting at 7:12 a.m. and again at 7:26 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:11 a.m.
Sunset: 8:12 p.m.
Thursday 8/6:
Low tide starting at 1:12 a.m. and again at 2:28 p.m.
High tide starting at 7:50 a.m. and again at 8:12 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:12 a.m.
Sunset: 8:11 p.m.
Friday 8/7:
Low tide starting at 1:59 a.m. and again at 2:55 p.m.
High tide starting at 8:25 a.m. and again at 8:58 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:13 a.m.
Sunset: 8:10 p.m.
Saturday 8/8:
Low tide starting at 2:49 a.m. and again at 3:22 p.m.
High tide starting at 9:01 a.m. and again at 9:45 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:14 a.m.
Sunset: 8:09 p.m.
Sunday 8/9:
Low tide starting at 3:43 1.m. and again at 3:51 p.m.
High tide at 9:36 a.m. and again at 10:34 p.m.
Sunrise: 6:14 a.m.
Sunset: 8:08 p.m.
