Bluefish

Pomatomus saltatrix

1 min read Summer

Bluefish are the Bay's marauders. They travel in schools of similar-sized fish, drive bait to the surface, and feed with a thoroughness that turns a patch of water white — the classic bluefish blitz, visible from a long way off if you are watching the birds.

They are equipped with genuinely dangerous teeth and no hesitation about using them. Wire or heavy fluorocarbon leader is standard, and unhooking one calls for pliers and respect. They will hit almost anything moving fast: metal spoons, poppers, and trolled surgical tube among them.

On the table they are polarising. A bluefish eaten fresh, bled on capture and iced immediately, is rich and good. The same fish two days in a warm cooler is what gives the species its reputation. The difference is entirely in the handling.

Gear for this fish

Strike King Sexy Spoon 4in Green Gizzard

Trolled or cast for fast, open-water feeders.

$10.99

Strike King Sexy Spoon 5.5in Green Gizzard

Trolled or cast for fast, open-water feeders.

$11.99

Nichols Bass Mafia Little Larry Spoon Shattered Glass Silver 3/4oz

Trolled or cast for fast, open-water feeders.

$10.49

Nichols Bass Mafia Little Larry Spoon Chartreuse Shad 3/4oz

Trolled or cast for fast, open-water feeders.

$10.49

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Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis

2 min read Spring and fall

Channel edges, rips, and the Susquehanna Flats

White Perch

Morone americana

1 min read Spring run, then all summer

Tributary mouths, piers, and hard bottom

Blue Catfish

Ictalurus furcatus

2 min read Year-round

Tidal-fresh rivers, deep holes and channel bends

Northern Snakehead

Channa argus

1 min read Late spring through fall

Grass, pads, and shallow tidal-fresh creeks

Red Drum

Sciaenops ocellatus

1 min read Summer into fall

Lower Bay shoals, sand bars, and the inlets

Speckled Trout

Cynoscion nebulosus

1 min read Late summer and fall

Grass beds, marsh drains, and the lower Bay

Tautog

Tautoga onitis

1 min read Spring and late fall

Wrecks, rock piles, and bridge rubble

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmoides

1 min read Spring through fall

Tidal-fresh rivers, pads, docks, and grass

Bluefish

Pomatomus saltatrix

1 min read Summer

Open Bay, inlets, and the surf

Summer Flounder

Paralichthys dentatus

1 min read Late spring through summer

Sandy bottom near inlets and channel edges

Black Drum

Pogonias cromis

1 min read Late spring

Lower Bay shoals and shell bottom

Cobia

Rachycentron canadum

1 min read Summer

Lower Bay, around buoys and structure

Spanish Mackerel

Scomberomorus maculatus

1 min read Mid to late summer

Open Bay, warm clear water

Yellow Perch

Perca flavescens

1 min read Late winter into early spring

Upper tidal rivers and creeks

American Shad

Alosa sapidissima

1 min read Spring

Susquehanna and major tributaries

Blue Crab

Callinectes sapidus

2 min read Late spring through fall

Grass beds, shallows, and piers Bay-wide

Oyster Toadfish

Opsanus tau

1 min read Year-round

Oyster bottom, pilings, and rubble

Atlantic Menhaden

Brevoortia tyrannus

1 min read Spring through fall

Open Bay, in vast schools