October 14th, 2020 - Rain and Storms

Before the storm arrived we had some extreme low tides that tangled up the fishing patterns and shortened the bite times. The front passing through changed all that and brought the water back to high levels overnight. So, now the fish will be in some new pattern of feeding that will make us all pioneers when we can get out Tuesday when the sun returns.

Rockfish are the prime target now with good catches just about everywhere for trollers in bay, Potomac and Patuxent. They love the smaller Hard Head Custom Bait umbrella rigs, tandem bucktail rigs, bucktails, jigs and spoons.

There was good success in the Patuxent from the mouth of St. Leonard Creek to Sheridan Point for early morning trollers. The bite was short, about twenty minutes at day break. Late comers got skunked. The tied was low and lower making the shallow water fishermen's life miserable. The flood tide on the storm's back will change all that making lure casters from the shore reap a bonanza of feeding fish.

The Potomac has seen most of the action on the Virginia side in about thirty feet of water from Dolly Parton to Ragged Point. Now, there will be good catches made on both shorelines as the frothy water surges in with bait fish. This week will be some of the best fishing all season. With the Potomac's lenient two fish per day and 20 inch minimum, there will be plenty to make dinners for the winter.

Spot are still in both creeks and rivers and act like they may want to take up permanent residence. The stripers eat them like candy and they will be hungry to feed up before the cold.

White perch will take this high water to invade the shallows of the creeks, Bait fishermen and lure casters will be very successful. Once the water cools and the water clears, the perch will school up and retreat to the rivers in 30 to 90 feet depending on the cold.

Occasional sea trout and weakfish are mixed with rockfish in the salt islands. Reports of a flounder or two are trickling in. Swimming lures like Bomber Wind Cheaters will produce plenty of strikes.

There are still plenty of bluefish for lure casters, trollers and shore fishermen. Surf casters at Point Lookout caught spot, perch, rockfish and blues this week.