Ken Lamb of the St. Mary’s Tacklebox in Lexington Park says Spanish mackerel have arrived in the bay in big numbers this week — and both Maryland’s own fisheries data and independent charter-captain reports back him up.
According to Lamb, the mackerel are scattered up and down the Ship’s Channel as far north as Chesapeake Beach, with the most productive stretch running from Hooper’s Island Light to buoy 72. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are mixing on the Chinese Muds near the mouth of the Patuxent, Lamb reports, with the blues showing up in all sizes. Maryland DNR’s own Aug. 5 weekly fishing report independently confirms the trend, noting Spanish mackerel are “becoming more common in the lower bay this week near the mouth of the Potomac River and along channel edges in the Bay,” often mixing with bluefish as both species chase schools of bay anchovies.
Regional reporting from OnTheWater adds that bluefish in the lower Bay currently range from about a pound up to 10 pounds or more, with smaller fish concentrated in shallower tidal rivers and the biggest “gator” blues out in open water.
Lamb also reports schools of bull redfish moving through the area — sometimes as many as 1,000 fish in a single fast-moving school — that can suddenly swarm trolled lines and take every lure in the water at once. When the schools stick around long enough, which he says is rare, anglers can even hook a bull red on a cast spinning lure. St. Mary’s County’s official tourism fishing report independently corroborates this pattern, describing bull reds and cobia coming aboard Miss Susie Charters out of Solomons and noting it’s common for “all trolled lines to load up on bull reds at the same time” when a school passes through — matching Lamb’s description almost exactly. If conditions hold, Lamb says that action could continue well into September.
Spot are everywhere and getting bigger by the day, per Lamb’s report, showing up at Ragged Point in the Potomac and around St. George Island, where good-sized croaker are mixed in. In the Patuxent, he reports spot running from Drum Point and the Three Legged down to Benedict, and advises anglers to bring plenty of bait and a big cooler with plenty of ice. Separately, the tourism board’s roundup reports a Patuxent River double-header of keeper croaker aboard Captain Bernie Shea’s charter out of Solomons, and shore angler Chris Madere landing trout, redfish and rockfish casting swimming plugs from the shoreline around Cedar Point — additional, independently sourced evidence of an active week on the water.
Croaker have been harder to pin down, Lamb says, but showed up south of Ragged Point in the Potomac last week with solid catches reported.
Striped bass, or rockfish, remain off-limits in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and tidal tributaries through Aug. 31, reopening Sept. 1, under DNR’s statewide summer closure. The tidal Potomac has been closed since July 7 and reopens Aug. 21. DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz has framed the closure as an opportunity, noting red drum, Spanish mackerel and bluefish are among the species “visiting the bay” this time of year to help fill the gap.
Red drum anglers should also note a regulation change Lamb flags in his report: the slot limit is now 18 to 26 inches, with a bag limit of three fish per day, up from Maryland’s previous one-fish limit. The change, driven by a multistate fisheries agreement aligning Maryland, Virginia and Potomac River Fisheries Commission waters, does raise the number of fish anglers can legally keep — but Lamb argues it may not translate to more fish actually coming home, since most local redfish run either 10 to 15 inches (under the slot) or 35 to 50 inches (over it). He’d prefer a slot closer to 14 to 25 inches, pointing to Georgia’s current limit of five fish per day in a 14-to-23-inch slot as one model, and floated the idea of a paid tag system letting anglers keep one true trophy red drum per season.
Cutlassfish have schooled up in several spots recently, Lamb reports, including near Drum Point, where feeding frenzies broke the surface long enough to draw diving gulls. They’ll take most lures but seem to prefer shiny spoons and jigs.
Blue catfish remain plentiful in the upper reaches of both rivers, per Lamb — starting around Benedict on the Patuxent and Cobb Island on the Potomac.
Looking ahead, marine-area temperatures are expected to run from the mid-70s to low 90s through the coming week, with the best (lowest) rain chances Wednesday and Thursday and wetter conditions likely Tuesday and again Friday — worth factoring in for anyone planning a trip around Lamb’s hotspots.
