Photo courtesy of Peninsula Salt Water Sport Fisherman's Association If I were a betting man, I'd double-down on fishing the Bay this weekend, particularly live-lining spot for rockfish in Maryland's Upper Chesapeake. Many summer visitors are here, so there is no shortage of options. Getting on water this week was tough with wind and violent summer storms but the forecast for Father's Day weekend calls for gorgeous with a 100 percent chance for fish.

UPPER BAY

So far it has been a reverse of last year when fishing below and above the Chesapeake Bay Bridges, to put it indelicately, sucked. Chumming and jigging is the ticket to catch keeper rockfish, most of which are schoolies in 18- to 22-inch range. Podickory Point, Hacketts Point, and Mud Flats are hotspots to sling chum. Try jigging leadheads with soft plastic or soaking soft crab around bridge pilings and off the Sewer Pipe. The Hill, inside Eastern Bay, and False Channel are good bets for live-lining, chumming, or jigging up keeper rockfish. From Matapeake south to Kent Point trolling channel edges with four- to six-inch swimbaits and tandem bucktails tipped with six-inch shads is working well, and Billy bar rigs are still a hot lure. You should find decent numbers of small rockfish working birds around Kent Island, off Poplar Island and on the western shore off Breezy Point down to Parker's Creek. Jigging and casting surface plugs has been productive. Small spot for live lining can be caught off the local piers and on hard bottom. Anglers continue to do well trolling at the Radar Towers and “CR” buoy, with a few rockfish better than 36 inches brought in. Hardhead (croakers), spot, and white perch are being caught off “C1” at Breezy Point, Gooses, and Silver Ball using squid. Out of Solomons, jigging and casting to stripers is good in the Patuxent River and open Bay from Cedar Point to the Power Plant. Some redfish are being caught as well but most are too small to keep. Point Lookout area has flounder, stripers and some puppy drum. On the Eastern Shore, the speckled trout are still hitting near grass beds in the Honga River and islands along Tangier Sound into Virginia. Stripers, croaker, and some puppy drum are also in the mix. Don't waste time fishing turbid water; clean water is key to success.

LOWER BAY/ATLANTIC COAST

In Virginia waters, flounder, red drum, and cobia have the attention of many fishermen from Fishermen's Island to Latimer shoals. Offshore of Ocean City the yellowfin tuna bite has been off the hook up and down the line. Inshore, fishermen should catch good numbers of flounder, stripers and sea bass. Don't forget the MSSA's 24th annual "Tuna-ment" is scheduled for June 21-23. Register at mssa.net.