For about two or three falls, we had a great run of sea trout during that span. And it was then that I learned to really fish the game fish attracting structure of the twin spans. The gray trout are long gone, and no one really knows why. But the Bay Bridges haven’t gone anywhere. Today you can routinely catch fat white perch, keeper rockfish, and bluefish, with the occasional black or red drum, by working the Bay Bridges and nearby waters.
The next several weeks are a very good time to work the pilings and stone piles that support the bridges. You can troll, jig, or cast topwater or swimming plugs to the structure. Any conversation about fishing the Bay Bridges would be incomplete without touching base with Captain Ed Darwin of Annapolis. Captain Ed has been fishing the Upper Bay from his homeport of Mill Creek for 55 years, and his charter boat Becky D is a regular fixture from Tolly Point to the Dumping Grounds.
This month, he says, you should be able to find schools of breaking rockfish on either side of the bridges. The skinny bluefish that we caught in July should be fatter by late September, and they too will be heavy on the feed. Captain Ed and others (this writer among them) love to vertically jig feather jigs, tied in tandem. In fact, this technique has been so productive over the decades for Captain Darwin that he told me it is virtually the only way he fishes around the bridges this time of year.
“The jigs work very well because they replicate the silversides and anchovies the rockfish and blues are feeding on,” says Captain Darwin. I cannot argue with that, though for some variety, I will also chuck metal spoons such as Lil’ Bunker or the venerable Crippled Herring. Bass Pro, Hopkins, and Cabelas make similar spoons, and I’m sure they catch fish, but out of habit, I stick with what I know works.
I don’t fish live bait fishing anymore, but as long as it doesn’t get too cold too fast, you may be able to still catch spot to use for live lining. Local tackle shops might even stockpile these rockfish candies. White perch work, too, though not as well. To give the stripers an easier meal to inhale, some anglers clip off with scissors the forward dorsal fin, the spiky one.
Those who regularly fish the twin bridges know that if you don’t have moving water, you’re wasting your time. At slack or near slack, your odds of catching fish drop dramatically. It usually doesn’t make much of a difference if it’s an incoming or ebbing tide, as long as it has pace to it. In fact, some fishermen have told me they prefer a fast current.
Catching a feeding frenzy is the easiest way to catch blues and rock. But if that isn’t happening, maneuver close to the pilings to locate holding fish and forage. Concentrate on the pilings with depths of 35 feet or deeper. Obviously, a quality fishfinder is key to this process. You are not allowed to tie up to the pilings, so you can either anchor up or drift next to the structure. I like to bump the boat in and out of gear to keep me close. I’ve used a drift sock to slow the boat, but that proved to be more hassle than it’s worth in such close quarters.
Two public ramps, both requiring a fee, are within easy striking distance of the Bay Bridges. On the Bay’s western shore, just before the toll plaza, stands Sandy Point State Park. Find Matapeake State Park on the Eastern Shore, several miles south of the bridge once you cross over.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014 - 08:48
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. In the late 1990s, I lived in a community near Maryland’s Bay Bridges that had a boat ramp with quick access to the mouth of the Magothy River. Back then I had a job which on some days let me get off work by 3 p.m. That meant I could hustle home, hitch the 17-foot Whaler to the truck, and be fishing by 4 p.m.
For about two or three falls, we had a great run of sea trout during that span. And it was then that I learned to really fish the game fish attracting structure of the twin spans. The gray trout are long gone, and no one really knows why. But the Bay Bridges haven’t gone anywhere. Today you can routinely catch fat white perch, keeper rockfish, and bluefish, with the occasional black or red drum, by working the Bay Bridges and nearby waters.
The next several weeks are a very good time to work the pilings and stone piles that support the bridges. You can troll, jig, or cast topwater or swimming plugs to the structure. Any conversation about fishing the Bay Bridges would be incomplete without touching base with Captain Ed Darwin of Annapolis. Captain Ed has been fishing the Upper Bay from his homeport of Mill Creek for 55 years, and his charter boat Becky D is a regular fixture from Tolly Point to the Dumping Grounds.
This month, he says, you should be able to find schools of breaking rockfish on either side of the bridges. The skinny bluefish that we caught in July should be fatter by late September, and they too will be heavy on the feed. Captain Ed and others (this writer among them) love to vertically jig feather jigs, tied in tandem. In fact, this technique has been so productive over the decades for Captain Darwin that he told me it is virtually the only way he fishes around the bridges this time of year.
“The jigs work very well because they replicate the silversides and anchovies the rockfish and blues are feeding on,” says Captain Darwin. I cannot argue with that, though for some variety, I will also chuck metal spoons such as Lil’ Bunker or the venerable Crippled Herring. Bass Pro, Hopkins, and Cabelas make similar spoons, and I’m sure they catch fish, but out of habit, I stick with what I know works.
I don’t fish live bait fishing anymore, but as long as it doesn’t get too cold too fast, you may be able to still catch spot to use for live lining. Local tackle shops might even stockpile these rockfish candies. White perch work, too, though not as well. To give the stripers an easier meal to inhale, some anglers clip off with scissors the forward dorsal fin, the spiky one.
Those who regularly fish the twin bridges know that if you don’t have moving water, you’re wasting your time. At slack or near slack, your odds of catching fish drop dramatically. It usually doesn’t make much of a difference if it’s an incoming or ebbing tide, as long as it has pace to it. In fact, some fishermen have told me they prefer a fast current.
Catching a feeding frenzy is the easiest way to catch blues and rock. But if that isn’t happening, maneuver close to the pilings to locate holding fish and forage. Concentrate on the pilings with depths of 35 feet or deeper. Obviously, a quality fishfinder is key to this process. You are not allowed to tie up to the pilings, so you can either anchor up or drift next to the structure. I like to bump the boat in and out of gear to keep me close. I’ve used a drift sock to slow the boat, but that proved to be more hassle than it’s worth in such close quarters.
Two public ramps, both requiring a fee, are within easy striking distance of the Bay Bridges. On the Bay’s western shore, just before the toll plaza, stands Sandy Point State Park. Find Matapeake State Park on the Eastern Shore, several miles south of the bridge once you cross over.
For about two or three falls, we had a great run of sea trout during that span. And it was then that I learned to really fish the game fish attracting structure of the twin spans. The gray trout are long gone, and no one really knows why. But the Bay Bridges haven’t gone anywhere. Today you can routinely catch fat white perch, keeper rockfish, and bluefish, with the occasional black or red drum, by working the Bay Bridges and nearby waters.
The next several weeks are a very good time to work the pilings and stone piles that support the bridges. You can troll, jig, or cast topwater or swimming plugs to the structure. Any conversation about fishing the Bay Bridges would be incomplete without touching base with Captain Ed Darwin of Annapolis. Captain Ed has been fishing the Upper Bay from his homeport of Mill Creek for 55 years, and his charter boat Becky D is a regular fixture from Tolly Point to the Dumping Grounds.
This month, he says, you should be able to find schools of breaking rockfish on either side of the bridges. The skinny bluefish that we caught in July should be fatter by late September, and they too will be heavy on the feed. Captain Ed and others (this writer among them) love to vertically jig feather jigs, tied in tandem. In fact, this technique has been so productive over the decades for Captain Darwin that he told me it is virtually the only way he fishes around the bridges this time of year.
“The jigs work very well because they replicate the silversides and anchovies the rockfish and blues are feeding on,” says Captain Darwin. I cannot argue with that, though for some variety, I will also chuck metal spoons such as Lil’ Bunker or the venerable Crippled Herring. Bass Pro, Hopkins, and Cabelas make similar spoons, and I’m sure they catch fish, but out of habit, I stick with what I know works.
I don’t fish live bait fishing anymore, but as long as it doesn’t get too cold too fast, you may be able to still catch spot to use for live lining. Local tackle shops might even stockpile these rockfish candies. White perch work, too, though not as well. To give the stripers an easier meal to inhale, some anglers clip off with scissors the forward dorsal fin, the spiky one.
Those who regularly fish the twin bridges know that if you don’t have moving water, you’re wasting your time. At slack or near slack, your odds of catching fish drop dramatically. It usually doesn’t make much of a difference if it’s an incoming or ebbing tide, as long as it has pace to it. In fact, some fishermen have told me they prefer a fast current.
Catching a feeding frenzy is the easiest way to catch blues and rock. But if that isn’t happening, maneuver close to the pilings to locate holding fish and forage. Concentrate on the pilings with depths of 35 feet or deeper. Obviously, a quality fishfinder is key to this process. You are not allowed to tie up to the pilings, so you can either anchor up or drift next to the structure. I like to bump the boat in and out of gear to keep me close. I’ve used a drift sock to slow the boat, but that proved to be more hassle than it’s worth in such close quarters.
Two public ramps, both requiring a fee, are within easy striking distance of the Bay Bridges. On the Bay’s western shore, just before the toll plaza, stands Sandy Point State Park. Find Matapeake State Park on the Eastern Shore, several miles south of the bridge once you cross over.