Outdoors: Spanish mackerel on move in bay

The big news on the fishing front is that Spanish mackerel in recent days have made a big move up the Chesapeake in great numbers and some of them real big. With any luck, they'll perk things up in the upper bay for the weekend - just what we need these days.

Bluefish of the mid and upper bay have become bigger, bolder and in abundance, rockfish are around though it can take some looking to find the better ones. The biggest kind of white perch are hungry and everywhere - and with spot wanted for both eating and live-lining bait it's catch all you want. The missing ingredient? More fishermen. 

As for the popular Spanish mackerel, you might say there was an explosion of them from the mid-bay up to the Poplar Island sector, some being caught at the mouth of Eastern Bay. Hank Truitt of Baltimore took a 51/2-pounder while jigging a feathered jig just north of Gum Thickets. The Department of Natural Resource's Keith Lockwood reports there are 5- and 6-pounders mixed in - also that trolling hasn't been the only way to latch onto one. Some have been taken by live-liners, others by jiggers.

Unless one wants to contend with pesky bluefish, chumming is not the way to go for stripers, which are scattered - and breaking water from Pooles Island southward. Jigging, trolling and live-lining are recommended for rockfish, mixed in will be some blues scattered everywhere and from 10 to 24 inches. If you want topwater action check out the Smack-It, a plug that seems to be bettering the old tried 'n true Atom plug for surface catching.

The Smack-It comes in two sizes, the Junior is of three-quarter ounces, the regular of 11/4 ounces. Charlie Ebersberger of Anglers has been using them and recommends the smaller on at present. This bait is lighter than an Atom popper of comparable size so it doesn't have to be worked so fast to keep it on the surface.

The Bay Bridge has its ups and downs for jiggers and live-liners though it wasn't at its best the past weekend. Love Point can be a good bet for those chumming for bluefish, some rockfish mixed in. Don't overlook the mouth of the Chester, Gum Thickets continues to bless trollers and live-liners. Surprise: Belvedere Shoals is turning up some catfish of up to 10 pounds. Something else different, if you catch in the tributaries what seems to be a hardhead with a spot on its tail, measure it. It's probably a red drum (channel bass) and can be kept only if it is between 18 and 27 inches.

Bud Hein of Fishbones, Pasadena, reports stripers of from 18 to 28 inches are in the Podickory area. He also suggests the mouth of the Chester. For Bay Bridge action head to the Eastern Shore side. Other suggestions include Swan Point, Love Point and Sandy Point Light on the channel edge and inside northward.

Farther south it's live-lining at Thomas Point, the Hill, Radar Towers to Parkers Creek, sometimes at the False Channel and off the LNG plan. Many boats are trolling the Stone Rock sector north for a mix of blues, stripers and mackerel. Use surgical hoses or Tonys of Nos. 14 and 15. For mackerel, nothing beats the Clark spoon. A few flounder are turning up at the James and Taylors Island and Sharps Island Flats sector. Remember, the limit is one a day and it's gotta be 18 inches.

In the lower bay it's flounder at Point-No-Point, Point Lookout, Mud Leads and Cornfield Harbor area of the Potomac. The mackerel fishing is hot, chumming takes bluefish and stripers, some boats troll for a better class of fish. Good fishing.

At the ocean, flounder catching is picking up a bit, some of the best catches come via live-lining spot. At the Harry Kelly Bridge and other spots near the inlet the targets are rockfish and a few sea trout of bragging size at night. Headboat fishing is so so, the same with surf sticking. Offshore its a mix of dolphin, billfish and a few tuna for about $3,600 a trip. Word from North Carolina is the catch of a blue marlin of better than 1,200 pounds.

WRONG PLACE: Each Year Bunky George, retired chief deputy sheriff at Anne Arundel Count Circuit Court and member of the Liquor Board, and families head to distant waters for a vacation. This year at Punta Cana of the Dominican Republic his son Stephen whipped a 92-pound white marlin, which is good for any waters anywhere.

Had he caught it off Ocean City at the time it would have been worth more than a million bucks as top fish in the White Marlin Open.

Bunky has been spending much of his time of late with the Bay Country Sporting Club and its 13 members at the club's grounds at Ridgley on the Eastern Shore where deer, geese, squirrels and rabbits are on the hunting menu. It's sure nice to note that some clubs still target small game; everything isn't just deer, honkers and turkeys. A rabbit hunt is as pleasurable a day as a nimrod can experience.

OUTDOORS CALENDAR

Friday-Sunday: MSSA Offshore Tournament hosted by AKE Marina, West Ocean City. Go to mssa.net

Aug. 30: Boat auction, 1-3 p.m., Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels. Go to cbmm.org/boats-for-sale.html

Sept. 6-7: Deal Pro-Am sponsored by the Deale Captains Association; fish anywhere in the bay for $75 a day entry fee for stripers, blues and Spanish mackerel. It's the first of a planned annual affair and should be a great mix for fun 'n profit. Call Capt. Henry Muse, 800-381-2727.

Oct. 5: Coast Day at Lewes, Del., (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) a popular annual event that features research demonstrations, exhibits, ship tours, marine critters touch tanks, crab cake cook-off, nautical crafts show and many children's activities. A great family affair. Free. Call 302-831-8083. On the web its www.deseagranorg/coastday

Send outdoors news to Bill Burton, PO Box 430,Pasadena, MD 21123-0430; fax to410-360-2427, or e-mail burtonoutdoors@yahoo.com.