The striper bite continues to be excellent. However, the colder temperatures make the fish harder to find on any given day. The mouth of the Patuxent from Cedar Point to Little Cove Point has schools of stripers daily that may come up and break, attracting birds. The main body of fish has eased a little south in mid-bay near the Targets. They are going fast now, heading towards Point No Point, and will end up in the Triangle area between Point Lookout and Smith Point.
There are still rockfish in the Patuxent, breaking here and there from under Solomon’s bridge to Fishing Point. These are 18-to-22-inch fish. Jiggers, trollers, and casters do well when the fish decide to bite. There are some 30-inch plus fish for blind trollers with patience on the forty- and thirty-foot edges up and down the Patuxent and Potomac.
The season ends on December 10th for Maryland waters. The Potomac remains open until December 31. Two fish per day is the Potomac regulation with a 20-inch minimum. Schools of stripers are all up and down the Potomac in excellent size.
One sea-run fish was reported up the bay near Cedar Point of about 40 inches. More arrivals of pre-spawn stripers will be here soon. There were breaking fish in the 30-inch range near Cornfield Point in the Potomac on Sunday evening. The domestic rockfish are now moving south to the mouth of the Potomac and will be active on their schedule.
You have to hope you get there when they want to bite. Trollers and jiggers can load up in minutes on a good bite.
