Terrapin Bay Fishing

Chesapeake Bay Fishing Reports

July 2010 - Blitzing fish are becoming more and more consistent in mid Chesapeake Bay. These fish are prime for topwater and fly fishing. They are mainly on bay anchovies so small flies and surface poppers are the ticket. There are some quality fish out there also, up to 32", and average size is around 22", which is great for this time of year. Look on channel edges on the tide changes. Bluefish are starting to show up in fair numbers, but we are still looking for the spanish mackeral. They should start to show in August. If this July is a sign of things to come then late summer and fall should be off the charts!

June 2010 - We had quality jig fishing in the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries well into June this year. Fish tended to be on the deeper channel edges towards the mainstem of the Bay. Water temperatures seemed to be the key some days. As cooler water flooded into the tributaries from the depths of the Bay, fish set up on channel edges to intercept baitfish.

May 2010 - Light tackle jigging and fly fishing in May was a little more inconsistent than in years past, but some quality rockfish to 25 pounds were still caught. Fishing was slower most likely due to the early May worm hatch.

Water temperatures were higher than normal in late April, but did eventually come back down mid-May. There was a ton of menhaden out there and sometimes it was just a matter of waiting out the fish. Even still, during the height of the May worm hatch we could mark fish, watch the jig go right in front of them on the fish finder , feel them bump the jig, and still not catch them.

The most productive technique during these conditions was going to the smallest jig head possible given the wind and current, and then just barely twitch the lure and wait to feel the weight of the fish before setting the hook. Sometimes it wasn't even the 2nd time the fish hit, but the 3rd or 4th. I found that a pink 6" BKD worked well for light tackle, while a small clouser worked well on the fly. Good friends and clients Ernie and John figured out the bite pretty well:

But of course it is always the guest of good clients who catches the biggest fish of the day:

The big fish also came up on the menhaden a few times this spring also. Keep an eye out for any surface activity, sometimes the menhaden have been flipping on their own, but if you see a bigger splash or two, its game on. We had some amazing blitzes that only last a few minutes, but it's well worth the wait when it happens as large fish to 40" crash bait right at and just under the surface.

Smaller fish have dominated the catches though, and the fish are in great shape for the most part. They are all fat from the May worms and very feisty, with fish in the mid-20's getting on the fly reel and some pushing 30" even getting into the backing. There is still plenty of bait out there as the bay anchovies, or rain bait, have shown up in mass alongside the menhaden. As we transition to summer look for the resident fish to begin blitzing the anchovies as the water warms. Good luck and hope to see you out there later in the summer!

Susquehanna Flats 2010 - The Susquehanna Flats season was much improved over the past few years, but the Flats was still the Flats and it was a somewhat inconsistent bite. The weather mostly cooperated as there were not any large storms that caused the Conowingo Dam to open multiple spill gates and muddy up the Flats. The wind was generally reasonable also and most days were fishable, while water temperatures were generally in the upper 50’s and lower 60’s.

We mostly had pretty good days with smaller males showing up again in abundance, had some great days that you only dream about with fish on top for hours, and had a couple downright slow days. That's why they call it fishing and not catching. But as inconsistent as the Flats can be, there is always a chance of catching a 20 pound plus fish on fly or light tackle in less than 5 feet of water, and that chance alone is worth the trip to most serious anglers.

We had tons of blowups on Stillwater Smack-it poppers this year, but more often than not the fish missed the lure entirely. Even still, really big fish missing a popper is still a sight too see, and the ones that did come tight were well worth it. One thing to remember is that in skinny water large striped bass will dive into the mud repeatedly once hooked to try and dislodge the hook, much like a bonefish in the Caribbean or Florida Keys. Remember to keep as much pressure on the fish as possible once hooked, and try to keep its head up. It doesn’t hurt to have 20 or 30 pound test braid with a 20 pound test monofilament or fluorocarbon leader, just be careful not to put too much pressure on the rod with this set up. Here's one that we got to the boat, it was his first striped bass of any size:

Fly fishing was generally good, and we had plenty of fish most days. Remember that covering water is extremely important at the Susquehanna Flats, and that you need to be able to cast a fly around 50 feet minimum to be successful most days.

We also had a lot of large fish follow the fly or lure right to the boat and then veer off at the last second as the boat and/or the angler came into view. The last day up there on one of the last casts we had a fish that was 25 pounds if it was an ounce, follow a yellow half and half right to the boat, then turn and splash myself and the angler as it turned off. That’s the kind of fish you dream about, and the reason to keep fishing the Flats every year.

Terrapin Bay Fishing
Captain Sean Crawford
410-490-5942
sc4472@yahoo.com