Summertime fishing is in full swing this month, throughout the Chesapeake Bay Region. With Rockfish (striped bass) seasons still open in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, it’s tributaries and tidal Potomac River waters, “lineside” interest continues at an ongoing seasonal high. Most of the big lunker rock may be gone from the Chesapeake for the summer but they are replaced by large schools of foraging stripers running 18 to 22 inches, with some larger ones mixed in. Chumming is the predominant method of catching rockfish in Bay waters this month and many a pound of ground menhaden will get dribbled overboard to create a slick worthy of hungry, feeding stripers, blues and even trout and croaker. Spinning tackle sturdy enough to handle rockfish of a few pounds or more are the rod and reel choice. Couple this with a hook tied directly to 15 to 20 pound test line and just big enough to bury inside a small, cut chunk of menhaden and you are ready for the best way to fish the slicks. No terminal tackle needed for this method of fishing. With baits at times floating just a few feet below the surface, any additional hardware could spook the catch.

     Another possible visitor to the chum slicks this season is the summer flounder. When the tide runs slack and chum line baits sink deeper, chances of catching this bottom hugging predator are more likely. Keep the net handy in the event of a “flatfish” surprise which is a prize meal catch, even in competition with the ever popular rockfish. While flounder have been known to take the same baits fished for rock and bluefish, consider using a longer strip bait, for times when the tide goes slack and hooks sink nearer the bottom. You can also rig up one line with a small sinker to get the bait a little deeper but avoid terminal tackle such as snap or three-way swivels whenever possible, while chumming. If you intend to go fishing with flounder being your prime catch of choice, drifting baits on the bottom is one of the best tactics. Live minnows and strips of cut squid fished either on a hook or bucktail lure are favored drift rigs for flounder. 

     Current 2003 Chesapeake Bay recreational fishing regulations for flounder vary between Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC) waters. In Maryland, the minimum size is 17 inches with an 8 fish per person daily limit. Call 1-800-688-3467 for additional information or visit their website at; www.dnr.state.md.us. Virginia’s 2003 flounder season has a 17 1/2 inch minimum size limit and an 8 fish per person possession limit. For additional information in Virginia, call (804) 247-2200 or visit the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) website at www.mrc.state.va.us. The 2003 PRFC recreational flounder season calls for a 17 inch minimum with a daily limit of 8 fish per person per day. For information on PRFC fishing regulations, call 1-800-266-3904 or visit their new website at. www.prfc.state.va.us. 

© 2003 Chelly & Steve Scala All Rights Reserved
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Mr. Robert Barry of Laurel, MD caught this 21", 3.3/4 pound flounder while bottom fishing at Buoy 84 aboard the Charter boat, Jil Carrie". The "Doormat" took a peeler crab bait fished from a standard bottom rig on light spinning tackle. Photo by Jim Brincefield