The water was a silent mirror, perfectly reflecting the glittering blush of light in the twilight sky over Elk Neck State Forest. Creig idled my Judge 27CC “Thunder Road” across the glass.  He stopped just short of the up-current side of a shallow underwater trench. I fashioned a rapala knot out of thirty-pound fluorocarbon leader and tied on my favorite top-water plug, a silver and orange off-brand spook that I picked out of a junk box at the Pasadena Fishing Flea Market.  As Creig shut off the engine, I grabbed my spinning outfit, stepped up on the bow, flipped over the bale spring and waited for our drift to slow.  The line felt electric beneath my index finger as I held it tightly against the cork handle and raised my rod tip in anticipation of what would surely be the perfect cast. It was top-water time on the Susquehanna Flats. Read More!

When I wished for more unsettled weather last week, I might have asked for too much.  Back-to-back Nor’easters slammed the Chesapeake region over the weekend drenching us with several inches of rain and even light snow in the upper reaches of the Bay.  Winds have been sustained at 25 knots with stronger gusts since Friday.  In short, it’s been a miserable weekend.  Nevertheless, a few intrepid fishermen are getting out in the rivers and turning up some nice fish.  I’ve heard several reports of big ones in the Patapsco River over the weekend including some 30 inch plus fish in sheltered waters inside the Key Bridge.  Closer to home, I fished Eastern Bay Friday evening with my regular fishing partner Rich and his friend Dan who is visiting from Florida.  We launched in pouring rain out of Kent Narrows into a strong incoming tide and found working birds within a few miles.  Although we knew there would be fish beneath those birds, we ran on farther south to look around the mouths of the rivers hoping to find some schools of big migratory fish. Read More!

In my last fishing report I whined that I ran all over the mid-Bay last weekend, but could only find baitfish that was either too big or too small.  Today, I feel like I’m telling a “Goldilocks” story by reporting that I’ve found some bait that is JUST RIGHT.  Better yet, it’s very close to home.  I’ve only had a few hours on the water in the evenings this week, but the fishing has been very good.  Migratory fish are in the area and it’s just a matter of time before we get trophy-class striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay. Read More!

A wise fisherman once said, “If you don’t like the weather, stick around, it’ll change.”   Unfortunately, it also changes even when you LIKE it.  Gone are those dreary, rainy, unsettled afternoons that brought us such good fishing last week. Temperatures have climbed back into the 80s and prevailing winds have shifted back around from the south.  That’s more like the typical summer pattern in the Chesapeake.  As a result, the bigger fish have gone back to their usual hazy lazy dog-day ways.   I fished two days this week.  Monday evening looked like the best choice, but I had a commitment to speak at the Broadneck-Magothy MSSA meeting at the American Legion Hall in Arnold.  Since it’s deer season and nice weather, I didn’t expect too many people to show up, but I was surprised with a packed house.  Thanks to everyone who turned out.  I gave a “chalk-talk” about what a typical fishing trip to the Bay Bridge might be like.  Most of my speech was about jigging the pilings, but I finished by advising a shot at top-water fishing in low-light situations.  That’s what it took to get the fish this week. Read More!

Lately I’ve been walking around with a big smile on my face humming Bob Seger songs. Fifteen knot sustained northeast winds with rainy, overcast skies since Saturday are enough to keep most people off the Bay.  If they only knew what they’re missing.  A low pressure system stalled off the Atlantic Coast is churning up the waves and driving them into the Chesapeake Bay.  Last weekend’s full moon pushed even more water into the area.  The end result is that there are coastal flood warnings posted for Annapolis, Baltimore, and all along the western shore.  The other result is that the fish are going nuts!  ♣  I’ve been hanging out the last couple of evenings at my very favorite fishing spot on the Bay.  The William Preston Lane Jr Memorial aka, Bay Bridge.  The fish are hanging out there too.  The northeast wind is pushing directly against the strong incoming so the net is that a boat can stay almost stationary at any given location.  There’s a little bouncing to put up with, but it creates the optimum situation for fishing the pilings and underwater structure near the bridge. Read More!

Temperatures have cooled dramatically in the past couple of days after Tropical Storm Danny pushed on up the coast and a strong cold front moved across the Bay. I wanted to see what change the cooler weather might have made to the Mid-Bay bite we’ve been following since March.  My buddy Rich and I launched at the Shipping Creek ramp into a very strong outgoing tide and ran south about ten miles until we caught up with the leading edge of the current.  Along the way we encountered about 25 boats, many from the charter fleet, livelining and chumming on the north end of Poplar Island.  Considering how good the casting bite has been this summer, I wondered if they know what they are missing by sitting in one place and soaking bait. Read More!