Circle hooks allow bait-fishermen to catch and release striped bass, as these hooks will catch in the corner of the fish's mouth instead of down its gullet. Photo by Ken Freel

By C.L. Marshall

According to a recent report from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the striped bass fishery continues to thrive, especially when it comes to the number of adult stripers that constitute the spawning stock. These are fish that enter Chesapeake Bay during late fall and through much of the winter, eventually ascending their natal rivers to spawn.

When water temperatures reach an average of 53 degrees, the spawning ritual begins. This activity usually begins sometime in late April, continues through May, mostly concluding by early June. Keep in mind, however, that these dates are not etched in stone. They can vary a couple of weeks in either direction, depending mainly on water temperature and the amount of rainfall or run-off that takes place during March and April.

Traditionally, the summer striped bass season does not open until June 1, which is when the Fisheries Service of Maryland's Department of Natural Resources figures most of the larger rockfish (stripers) have already completed their spawning cycle and are migrating out of Chesapeake Bay. After June 1, anglers are permitted to keep two fish measuring 18 inches or larger, only one of which can measure larger than 28 inches.

Additional protection to spawning stocks is afforded by limiting all fishing activity during the spring striped bass season to the open waters of Chesapeake Bay only, in an area that ranges from the Brewerton Channel Light south to the Virginia state line. All tributaries and the entire upper bay north of Brewerton Channel Light remain closed to all striped bass fishing until the June 1 opener.

This year, for some unexplained reason, though, the DNR seems to have changed its posture when it comes to the spawning cycle timetable, at least when it comes to bag limits. While the 2004 summer striped bass season still does not open until June 1, a two-fish bag limit is in effect, which began back on May 16, two weeks earlier than normal. During the spring season (April 17 to May 15), anglers are permitted to take one fish daily measuring 28 inches or larger from the bay's open waters. The Atlantic coastal waters remain open year 'round with a two-fish bag limit and 28-inch minimum size.

Because the winter of 2004 was colder than normal and quite snowy and wet, the Chesapeake's tributaries were running at record-high flows, while water temperatures were several degrees below normal. This will likely prolong the spawning run, stretching it well into late April or even early June.

Consequently, there should be more spawners lingering in the bay's middle and upper reaches, fish that can easily tip the scales at 25 to 45 pounds or more. While the odds of catching a fish of this proportion are never good, there are a few locations where you can always count on hooking up with larger-than-average striped bass. The following is only a partial listing of striper fishing hotspots based on information gleaned from individual anglers, charter captains and local tackle shops.

During the spring and summer of 2003, the entire upper bay was essentially a sea of muddy water that was littered with huge amounts of flotsam and other forms of debris. This drove most anglers to more southerly regions of the bay, but not all.

"We had some fairly clean water at the mouth of Furnace Bay, probably because it was being filtered by aquatic grasses, and all those freshwater clams we've been seeing for the past couple of years," Captain Mike Benjamin said. "Dad took me to his honeyholes and taught me how to fish each and every one of them. That's how I found out about rockpiles, small channels across the flats, and where not to be when the tide was beginning to fall. If you're at the wrong place on the flats when the tide runs out, you could end up spending the night with the gnats and mosquitoes," chuckled Benjamin.

When the June 1 season opens, Captain Benjamin can usually be found near the North East River's mouth at Rocky Point. The depths here fall off to about 12 feet at mid- channel, and quickly rise to just 3 feet a short distance away on the flats.

"Most of the time we'll catch rockfish measuring 18 to 22 inches here, plus a fair number of throwbacks, but if the weather has been cold during the spawning run, we'll still have some 20- to 30-pounders hanging around here," Benjamin said.

His secret to success varies to some degree, but most of the time he's casting 4-inch Opening Night patterns of Bass Assassins rigged to 1/2-ounce leadheads, working them slowly, close to the bottom. If water temperatures are below 62 degrees, the strike can be nothing more than a slight change in line tension, especially when there's an exceptionally large fish at the end of the line. For some strange reason, the smaller fish will smack a lure hard and take off like a shot.

As the season progresses, Benjamin will spend a bit of time fishing other nearby locations such as Furnace Bay, Red Point, Battery Island Light, and a narrow trough that runs north to south across the flats and parallels the main shipping channel. At high tide, the ditch is about 5 to 7 feet deep, while the surrounding waters range just 2 to 3 feet deep at best. When the grasses are thick, he merely removes the leadhead from his lure, then rigs it weedless with a 3/0 stainless, wide-gap hook and floats it over the top of the grass. The technique is most effective early and late in the day.

While most of the charter boats will begin their season trolling a vast array of large lures to catch the season's largest stripers, by mid-June most will have switched over to chumming. A handful of anglers will continue to target those larger stripers; however, they'll use a technique that has only recently been introduced to Chesapeake Bay rockfish anglers: vertical jigging.

"I can catch big rockfish pretty much year 'round using jigging spoons," said Easton resident Jim Price. "The bigger fish tend to follow the bay's channel edges, and most of the time I'll find them just west of Tilghman Island near the Choptank River's mouth. Sometimes they're scattered and you have to look around before you find a pod of larger fish, but eventually I'll find them somewhere along the bay's channel edges.

"A lot of people believe that all the big spawners leave the bay after spawning, but that's not the case. There seems to be a significant number of bigger fish that stay in the bay all summer long and never leave. They have different feeding habits than the smaller fish, and when you find a school of breaking rockfish on the surface, fish that only measure 12 to 20 inches at best, more often than not, you'll find some 32- to 36-inchers tight against the bottom directly below the breaking fish. Granted, the little fish are easy to catch and lots of fun on light spinning tackle, but the bigger fish are a real challenge."

Price uses a lure called a Jackie jig, which in some ways resembles a hybrid between a Hopkins jig and diamond jig. The lures range in size from 2 to 4 ounces; they have a slight fluttering action when jigged and most of the time, they're hit during the drop. Essentially, the lure is lowered to the bottom, and then lifted with a quick, jigging motion of the rod. When you feel a slight change in line tension, or the lack of weight, set the hook and hang on. Six chances out of 10, you'll be fast into a big rockfish.