HURRICANE HOLES AND GREAT FISHING
By Steve and Chelly Scala
ST. MARY'S TODAY
 

Summertime fishing across Southern Maryland waters is in full swing. Flounder, croaker, striped bass and blues are all in the sights of those fishing the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. Big water fishing with chumslinging ground menhaden on the Middlegrounds or trolling for blues and rock near Buoy 72 continue to be favored tactics. Drifting the channel edges for big hardheads or summer flounder is another favorite fishing time. So if the wind blows and kicks up two to three foot swells, does that mean the end of safe and enjoyable fishing? Maybe for the open bay waters or wide reaches of the Lower Potomac, but this time of year, there can be some great fishing close to shore and away for the wind.
Flounder Holes
Cornfield Harbor is just inside the mouth of the Potomac River and a short distance from Point Lookout. It not only offers significant protection from onshore winds from the Southern Maryland landfall, but remains popular for flounder anglers. Other locations that offer similar protection from wind and waves include inside the Patuxent River at Drum Point. Drifting is the best tactic for catching flounder. Look for locations that provide cover and relief from strong tidal currents. Baitfish will congregate here. Another area to drift for flounder is where the confluences of rivers or tributaries meet larger tidal waters. This time of year, bright colored spinner hooks baited with minnows or squid strips are the best combination and should be fished right on the bottom. Flounder can be caught during all times of the tide, but we prefer the first two hours before and after high tide.
Keep Rockin’
South of the Maryland line, the Virginia recreational striped bass season is closed until October 4. That doesn’t present too much problem for Southern Maryland anglers as there is plenty of striper action in the Lower Potomac, Patuxent and Chesapeake Bay waters. Chumming remains the favorite, but trolling or casting into breaking schools of fish is becoming the more likely strategy during the early morning and evening hours. Spoons and stingsilver jigs are good choices as toothy bluefish are mixing in with the rockfish. Surgical hose lures are also good to troll with when you suspect the blues are around as stripers will also hit these lures.
More Rock worth $ Are Released
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Service continues to release a $25,000 Diamond Jim Striped Bass on a weekly basis as part of the 2006 Fishing Challenge. Once released, the tagged stripers are eligible for a two week period, if caught by an angler in Maryland waters. During the 13-weeks of the tournament, a striped bass with a special green tag is released.
9 Anglers Qualify for Big Prize
A Maryland DNR press release announced that nine Maryland anglers caught tagged fish during the first week of the 2nd Annual Maryland $1,000,000 Fishing Challenge. This qualifies them for a chance at $1 million cash, a 20-foot center console Sailfish 206CC motorboat and trailer, an 18-foot 7-inch Tracker Nitro 591 motorboat and trailer, and two 2006 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 pick-up trucks. Those who caught tagged fish on June 3 are, Chris Snider of Germantown caught a largemouth bass in Little Seneca Lake; Eli Golfer of Gaithersburg caught a largemouth bass in Little Seneca Lake; Richard Zimmerman of Pocomoke City caught a largemouth bass in the Pocomoke River; Robert Wiley of Catonsville caught a bluegill in the Susquehanna River below Conowingo Dam; and Brian Lee of Bowie caught a sunfish from Allen’s Pond in Prince George’s County. On June 4, Edward Clays of Pasadena caught a largemouth Bass from Lake Waterford and Don Store of Eldersburg caught a largemouth bass near Broad Creek on the tidal Potomac River. On June 5, Eric Bartlett of Ferndale caught a largemouth bass from Lake Waterford. On June 6, Darin Magee from Frederick, MD caught a brown trout from Owens Creek near Thurmont, MD.
Tournament Info
Maryland’s 2nd Annual $1,000,000 Fishing Challenge continues through Monday, September 4. The DNR notes that over the course of the 2006 tournament, hundreds of tagged fish will be released. The prize winning fish are being released in Maryland non-tidal lakes and streams as well as the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. For information on the species of fish that are being tagged and how to contact Maryland officials if you catch one, visit their website at; http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/fish4cash/