Maryland Chesapeake Bay
Some of the Best Fishing on the Atlantic Coast
The Chesapeake Bay is a truly special body of water where saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean blends with the many freshwater rivers and streams that feed this diverse estuary. This saltwater and freshwater mixture is home to a vast array of marine life including tiny minnows, crabs, oysters, and of course several species of gamefish. Because of this special blend of water, the Chesapeake Bay offers some of the best and most consistent fishing action found anywhere on the Atlantic Coast.
The sought after gamefish species that populate the Chesapeake include Striped Bass (Rockfish), Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, Flounder, Sea Trout, Croaker, and Spot. Because of the abundance of these species and our love for fishing, Miss Susie Charters offers fishing charters departing from Solomons Island, MD, Deale, MD, & Arnold, MD fishing the bountiful waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
Types of Fishing on the Chesapeake Bay
Capt. Greg aboard Miss Susie II & Capt. Steve aboard Miss Susie III will employ whatever method and type of fishing needed to provide the most successful catch. Capt. Greg & Capt. Steve pride themselves on being absolutely top notch at all methods of catching Rockfish so they don’t let stubbornness in any one method limit what they can catch. Using light tackle and live bait is their preferred method of catching Stripers and as long as the live bait (Norfolk Spot) is available and the
Rockfish are setting up in numbers on places making them catchable, they will be light tackle live lining. Here is the seasonal breakdown…



Mid April----Mid May (Solomons, MD): Trophy Season Trolling using large lures and a bunch of lines in the water to target the over 35 inch “Keeper Sized” Rockfish
Mid May---Mid June (Deale, MD): Trolling and Light Tackle Jigging using slightly smaller lures for Rockfish 20 inches to about 38 inches
Mid June---Late August (Arnold, MD): Trolling using smaller lures for Rockfish 20 inches to about 38 inches and as soon as the Live Norfolk Spot become available we start light tackle live lining using them as bait. This time of the year also features the very best bottom Fishing for White Perch known to man.
September 1---Mid October (Deale, MD): As summer stretches on the “Above the Bay Bridge” bites starts to become inconsistent and we head back to Deale, MD for a light tackle live lining bonanza on Rockfish 20 inches to about 26 inches in length. We don’t see many large Stripers this time of year but the consistency and action are there daily along with good bottom fishing for Norfolk Spot and White Perch. Some years Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel make impressive showings late summer into early Fall.
Mid October---Mid November (Solomons, MD): Excellent light tackle live lining on Structure using Live Norfolk Spot to catch Rockfish 20 inches to about 40inches. Before the water cools off too much, there is often impressive bottom fishing for Spot & Perch.
Mid November---December 31 (Ridge, MD): Trolling with a spread of 8 to 10 lines, often chasing schools of feeding Rockfish that have massive flocks of birds feeding above them picking up scraps. Late December we often troll with the full spread and occasionally manage to catch a Trophy Sized fish over 40 lbs mixed in with the rest of the 20 inch to 36 inch fish.