Farther south, the northeast end of Tayplors Island is loaded with downed timber and underwater stumps. Here, a weedless surface lure is a must.
Next up is the Honga River. The mouth of the Honga is a favorite breaking striper spot year-round, but particularly in fall at both the mouth and farther upstream. The shoreline has loads of structure, and many points and little bays offer a lee from the wind. All in all, it's a terrific spot.
The lower Bay's western shore, from the Potomac to the mouth of the Bay, offers fantastic fishing from mid to late fall. It's a hotspot for breaking stripers and blues, and in early fall, Spanish mackerel should be plentiful. As the season progresses and these speedsters move out, fishing for breaking stripers and blues, and deep-jigging for seatrout just gets better.
Along the eastern shore from Crisfield to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, not only are breaking stripers plentiful, but October and early November offer some fabulous structure fishing. Most of the islands have underwater stump fields that hold numerous striped bass. Great Fox Island, south of Crisfield, has stump fields along most of the western side and around the southern tip. Casting right into these stumps can produce breathtaking strikes. Two cautions-be very careful that you don't hit one of these stumps with your boat, and use weedless lures. Watts island, south of Great Fox Island, offers similar structure along its west side.
Smith and Tangier islands, in mid Bay, both sport fabulous shoreline structure consisting of undercut banks, shallow flats and underwater stumps. In addition, both islands have channels defined by rocky jetties at their entrances. Fish right against the rocks on a moving tide.
As is the case anywhere north of Florida, winter is the poorest time for fishing the Chesapeake. However, a few places hold fish, mostly along the western shore. On mild days, you can find stripers around power plants. In the upper Bay, try the Carroll Island Power Plant near the mouth of the Seneca River, or better yet, Baltimore Harbor. I'm not fond of fishing in such an industrial setting, but in winter, sometimes it's the only game in town.
By spring, two species dominate. The annual shad run of both hickory and white shad in the Susquehanna River, at the top of the Bay, draws anglers from near and far. Deer Creek and Octoraro Creek, two tributary streams a mile or so below Conowingo Dam, have good runs of hickories, while the main river has both hickories and the larger white shad.
But the main event is the 6- or 7-week catch-and-release season for striped bass on the Susquehanna Flats. Usually beginning about March 15 and ending in early May, this season increases an angler's chance of catching a really big striper on light tackle. However, heavy spring rains upstream in Pennsylvania and New York can turn the flats into a muddy debris-filled mess; but when the water clears the fishing can be exceptional.
Once stripers complete their spawning activities in the upper Bay, most follow deep channels to migrate northward up the coast, and are targeted by anglers trolling deep with multi-line umbrella rigs on heavy tackle. This practice is something that I feel should never be allowed. This is Maryland's so-called "trophy" season. The targets are the largest brood fish, needed for the continuation of the species, and those most in need of protection. This season was created purely to serve the interests of commercial watermen who weren't making enough money to suit them. Personally, I'd like to see striped bass managed the way they were years ago when one couldn't keep a fish over 15 pounds.
A little farther south, the Cris-field area offers the same smorgasbord, and some of the shallow flats around Janes Island and Fox Island offer an opportunity to take croakers on artificials in shallow water. Considered a bottom fish, these tough fighters feed in the shallows much like their larger redfish cousins. By early June, seatrout will be available at many locations from the Crisfield area to the mouth of the Bay, and, beginning around Memorial Day, spotted seatrout become the most popular quarry for many Virginia light-tackle fishermen. These beautiful fish are widespread, but the cuts and channels of Lynnhaven Bay, right below the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, can be best.
Good-eating tautog are also available if waters stay cool. One popular spot is by the sunken World War II concrete Liberty Ships that forms the breakwater near Kiptopeake Campground near Cape Charles on Virginia's eastern shore. Bait up with sand fleas or bits of hard shelled crab and fish right on the bottom as close to the hull as possible.
Any of the spots that produce during the fall will hold fish in summer as well, but if there is one summer pattern to remember it is to fish during the cooler morning and evening hours. For whatever reason, by summer the "sub-aquatic vegetation returns to the popular Susquehanna Flats. Gone for almost 30 years, largely due to efforts by the state to control the grasses somewhat, the last two years has seen an enormous resurgence. By July, you can practically walk on the stuff, and it's difficult, though possible, to work a boat into the area. Because of the grass, the water is clear and full of baitfish, stripers and largemouth bass. Weedless lures fished to open pockets is the ticket. A flyrod popper would excel here if cast to the far side of a pocket, then picked up without getting in the grass at all.
In recent years, croaker numbers have skyrocketed, and are widespread from early June through August around bottom structure. Try casting around the rocks of any of the area lighthouses, especially in late afternoon. We've observed an interesting phenomenon when fishing for croakers. As long as there is some light, artificials and bait produce equally but after dark, bait definitely rules.
Summertime also features Spanish mackerel chasing baitfish around tide rips. The farther south you go in the Bay, the more prevalent the Spanish are. These toothy fish have excellent eyesight and are generally leader shy. Fluorocarbon leader material, because of its abrasion resistance and reduced visibility, outfishes either wire or monofilament.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) is essentially a 17-mile-long fish magnet. The longest bridge-tunnel in the world, it's undoubtedly the most productive manmade structure in the Bay. Rocky riprap forms islands that support the bridge and the bridge pilings hold fish almost year-round. In all but the coldest weather, striped bass are caught here on large plugs right against the rocky shorelines of the manmade island supports. From spring through fall, a cast right against the rocks will almost always result in a striper. From November into late December (and sometimes later) bigger stripers move into the deep holes to winter-over. It's an opportunity to tangle with some real "tackle busters" if you can deal with cold, windy weather. Since this is a lighted bridge, nighttime is a weird, but spectacular time to fish. Where the bridge is closest to the water, striped bass line up at the shadow line waiting for baitfish to be swept into range. If you anchor up in the shadows and fish uptide, you will actually be able to see the lurking fish take your offering. SWA
