November 13, 2019 - November Rockfish

The stripers are in the Patuxent, Potomac, and bay in good numbers everyday. The fish are breaking drawing plenty of seagulls to mark the schools. The keeper fish are either under the top frothers or off aways from the gull frenzy. The fish range up to 30 inches, but most of the keepers are in the 22 to 24 inch range. Trollers using small umbrellas and ten to twelve ounce in line weights can catch them two at the time.

The opportunities for shore fishermen to get in on this abundance of fish is finding and ever decreasing window as the water cools, the waterline recedes, and the water becomes crystal clear. There were stripers caught off the Point Lookout Pier several evenings last week by both bait fishermen using blood worms or cut bait, and lure casters using surface poppers, bucktails and jigs.

Some hefty rock are in the mouth of the St. Mary's River off the Potomac for trollers in both the shallows and on the 20 foot edges.

The air is full of birds over breaking fish in the lower Potomac from Ragged Point to Vero Beach.

A pair of rock caught on a Hard Head Custom Bait umbrella rig in the Patuxent. Look carefully in the upper right hand corner to see seagulls

Fred Hepler and Brady Bounds show off rockfish from the bay and salt islands around Kedges Straits. These were caught casting lures around s

Michele Chelednik with a pair of big rick from the Patuxent.

Wes Boyer and his 32 inch striper from the Patuxent.