# Spot and Croaker at PLO or SPSP



## classicist (May 2, 2018)

This is my first time posting here but I wanted to say that I've been lurking around for a while and I have gained a wealth of information from everyone on this board. I live in North Potomac, having moved here in 2015 from Massachusetts. I've been getting used to the Chesapeake Bay fishing. I been introduced to species I've never caught before like spot and croaker and the infamous cownose ray, but I also see some familiar ones like stripers (rockfish in MD) and bluefish, although I am a little sad that the 10-12 pound blues I used to catch from the surf in MA are not nearly as big here. 

I never fished at PLO so I am not sure what's going on there. I was at SPSP last week on a Saturday morning by the jetty with bloodworms on one rod and using shad darts tipped with night crawlers on another rod and caught nothing in two hours. My bloodworms were fished on the bottom and kept getting stolen but I don't know what was eating them. I remember at this time last year I was already catching spot and small croaker from SPSP jetty with night crawlers and bloodworms, but this year nothing. 

About a month ago, I went down to Bushwood wharf and fished the pier there. I caught at least a dozen blue cats on bunker (alewife in MD) and bloodworms. Also caught about half a dozen white perch on bloodworms as well but no croakers or anything else there. That was my first time fishing there.

Does anyone have any idea or heard anything about croakers and spot in those areas? I am thinking maybe all the rain we had is keeping them further south in the bay where there is more salinity. 

Sorry for the long message. Thanks to all who post and provide information and insight to everyone on this board. I look forward to posting reports of my future adventures.


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## Guest (Jun 8, 2018)

PLO is definitely the saltiest place you can go on the western shore of MD. But from what I understand things are slow there as well this year.


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## andypat (Jan 7, 2004)

That was a good post. Thanks 
classicist


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## andypat (Jan 7, 2004)

That is a good post. Did you have white perch in Massachusetts? You like to catch croaker and spot, so you might like to catch perch. Pleanty of places to catch perch. That is the fish for everyone in Md. With or without a boat. Check them out. Also very good to eat.


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## classicist (May 2, 2018)

Thanks for the replies. I have gone for white perch too. I was at North Point State Park yesterday midday from 11:00-1:00 and it was slow. I was using shad darts tipped with nightcrawlers and I got about 5 in two hours. Biggest one was about 8 inches. I was fishing on the long jetty about 1/3 -1/2 of the way out. I did see on each side of the jetty a large water snake swimming around the rocks. Don't know what kind of snake it was but it was cool to watch. 

Most of the fishing in Massachusetts is for rockfish, bluefish, summer and winter flounder. Some guys target black seabass, tautog (what is called blackfish up there) and scup (porgy). White perch is there but is not commonly sought. They don't exist in the numbers that you guys have here. My parents live on the shore in Connecticut, and when I visit them I go primarily for stripers and blues and porgy, catching the occasional summer flounder in between. Some guys I know in CT go for white perch, but they're not that abundant either and they are only targeted in late winter in March and April. Not much more after that. For the past several years whenever I would visit my folks, I would fish a particular jetty near their house, and the porgies have shown up there in July and stayed until September. They are similar to spot and croaker in size and number. They form large schools and are fished with using double hook rigs size 2 or 4. They are fun to catch and its not uncommon to pull up two at a time. You might get lucky and score a 17 inch one, but most of them average 7-10 inches, with anything over 10 inches considered large. When I first started catching spot and croaker here, they reminded me of porgy fishing. They don't get too big, but the constant action is fun, especially with light tackle. My bottom fishing outfit for spot, croaker, and porgy is an ultralight 4'6" st croix trout rod paired with a pfleuger president 6925x with 4 pound mono. It casts the quarter ounce shad darts with ease and it can handle fairly well a 1/2 ounce weight when I am bottom fishing from jetties for spot and croaker. Reeling in a 10 inch white perch or a 10 inch porgy is a blast with this set up. I have also caught rockfish with it up to 12 inches too, which is really fun. Only downside is if you accidentally hook into something big. 

I was at the SPSP jetty by the bridge last June, and something big took by bloodworm. I was hoping I had caught "King Rockfish" but after a few seconds I saw a pair of fins and realized it was a cownose ray. To make a long story short, I had it on for about 2 minutes before it spooled me. Oh well, we can control what bites our lines. The annoying thing was that I had a chunk of spot on the bottom with my other rod which was a 9 foot surf rod and I had 20 pound mono with a Penn 704z as the reel, and nothing took the bait that day.

If you know of any state parks that would be good for white perch or any state parks known to be good for any particular species, I'd love to learn and try them out. Not looking to get someone's secret spot, just public parks that people have experience fishing.


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## andypat (Jan 7, 2004)

You got to go to Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. They have one of have the best fishing pier on the east Coast. All the fish you like are caught there. Also a bait and tackle shop right there. You probably know all this if you read post on this fishing forum. You sound like a fisherman that don't need too much help. Good Luck, and looking forward to your fishing reports and pictures. Andy


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## classicist (May 2, 2018)

Thanks for the info. Next time I have a free weekend I will head over to Cape Henlopen. Since I have this Monday off, I was thinking about going down to piney point landing or PLO which are 1:45 and 2:00 away from me. I was checking the weather and this rain just will not relent. Salinity at the mouth of the Potomac is only at 9.41ppt which is about 25% of seawater. It'll probably go down with more rain. Hopefully there'll be white perch. If the rain isn't too bad I'll go down that way.


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## dcfishman (Dec 20, 2002)

You will run into this situation lots small bait thieves everywhere I use a #6 or #-4 on top position of bottom rig with juicy piece bloodworm 1/o with cut bait on bottom just another option small hooks can catch large fish. Lots of very tiny white Perch feeding on your $13.00 bag of Blood Worms hope this helps


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## dcfishman (Dec 20, 2002)

Google Terrapin state park the walk to the water is a b.... but a very nice place to fish lots and normally lots of little white Perch around and the spot cape Henlopen a great spot but kind of a long drive


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## dcfishman (Dec 20, 2002)

I always use 80lb test braid shock leader and 40lb braid main line cause its always Skate around never had this setup fail lots of large Rock from Surf and large Skate


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## classicist (May 2, 2018)

Thanks dcfishman. Appreciate the info. I’ve been using a size 2 for small fish like spot, perch and a 1/0 like you with cut bait. I’ve caught a few small blues with a 1/0 and my fair share of cow nose rays too. I’ll try the smaller 4 and 6 sizes and hopefully I’ll get more hookups. On my cut bait rod I use 20 pound mono and never had any break offs yet. I use 4lb test for the little guys and as I mentioned in a previous post I’ve been spooled once. I have a light 7 foot rod with 10 pound mono in my basement, maybe I’ll break that out next time I go fishing


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## Danta (Sep 22, 2015)

croaker reports are comming in from solomons island


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## classicist (May 2, 2018)

So I went down to Bushwood wharf yesterday. I was hoping for the rain to move out of the area by the time I got down there. My plan was to catch a mix of blue catfish and croakers, but I was only able to catch the former. I left my house at 5:15 am and made the hour and forty minute drive down to the Wicomico River. It rained the entire way there but I was pleasantly surprised that the rain stopped when I was about 2 miles from the pier. 

I got to the wharf at 7:00 and got all my stuff out of the car and set up shop. I had two rods with me one 8 foot no name rod with a Penn 710 and a 7 foot Mitchell rod with a penn 4400ss. I brought some white perch I had previously caught as bait along with night crawlers and bloodworms. On the 8 foot rod i threw out a 3 ounce sinker and a chunk of cut white perch, on the lighter rod I was using a 1.5 oz weight with a two hook bottom rig size 4. I used night crawlers on one hook and bloodworms on the other hook. After about 15 minutes, I got my first fish on blood worms. It was a catfish of about 14 inches. About 15 minutes later, I got another fish of similar size on the hook with the nightcrawler. The rod with the white perch did not catch any fish, but it did have two small runs. I stayed there until 11:30 am. I caught a total of 6 blue catfish between 14 and 24 inches and about half a dozen small white perch. 

View attachment 56905
View attachment 56907


I also have a TDS meter, which is a total dissolved solids meter. This indicates the presence of dissolved minerals in the water and can be used to measure salinity. I took three readings. One was 2.23 parts per thousand (ppt) another was 2.49 ppt and the third was 2.73 ppt.

Seawater is 35ppt. So this water, averaging 2.5 ppt on the surface (saltwater is denser than freshwater so it sinks making the bottom saltier than the top) is oligahaline (salt content between .5 and 5 ppt). 

I didn't need any more fish for my freezer (I went on a cod fishing trip in the gulf of Maine earlier this year and loaded up on haddock and pollock) so I decided to go home. Plus it started to rain heavily. I had about 8 bloodworms left and 10 night crawlers. I gave them away other fishermen on the pier. Overall it was a good day on the water.


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## classicist (May 2, 2018)

Last image isn't working. Here it is:

View attachment 56911


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## kevd66 (Apr 27, 2015)

When you go to Bushwood, or Aqualand Marina on 301, the best time for croakers is at night. Take plenty of bug spay with you. Croakers are biting off of the Solomons Island Pier.


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2018)

Might as well keep going after the blue cats. They certainly aren't in short supply. If we don't catch them they'll be the only thing left in the Potomac in a few years.


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## shelties1 (Aug 5, 2004)

Danta said:


> croaker reports are comming in from solomons island


Good to know. Wondered if they were going to show up somewhere.


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## classicist (May 2, 2018)

I'll have to try fishing at nighttime. I saw that the solomon island pier is open 24 hours. I didn't know that the croakers would go all the way to the 301 bridge. That's got to be freshwater. One of the things that is difficult about estuary fishing is the fluctuations in salinity. Sometimes the fish are further up the river or the bay than other times. I guess there is not really an established pattern as to where fish can be at any given time.


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## classicist (May 2, 2018)

And the the high number of blue cats in the potomac and its tributaries is frightening. There were other guys catching more than me. It seems like they must blanket the riverbed. Haven't caught a snakehead yet though. That would be cool.


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## Pajigging machin (Oct 3, 2015)

Salinty has definitely gotten less over the years in the Chesapeake. I'm 46 from my preteen to early teen years we consistently caught nice spot and snapper blues as high as Rock Hall and Still Pond on the eastern shore. We caught them from shore late summer early fall. All we had to do was catch the tide right day or night. Been looking for them past few years white perch and stripers only


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## andypat (Jan 7, 2004)

PA, When I was a kid we had a place on Millers Island and people use to catch nice size croakers around Hart and Millers Island. We called them Hard Heads back them. I caught perch, spot, and little rock fish right off our pier. Also nice size crabs with hand lines and fish, or chicken necks. Things sure have changed. PS. Getting ready to go fishing for the best tasting fish in Md. In my opinion. That's large bluegills. I would rather eat a bluegill then a rock fish any day.---------- PA, when are you going to start your Eastern Shore fishing trips? Looking forward to your reports.


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## Pajigging machin (Oct 3, 2015)

Well Andy I was going to start this coming Saturday but reports of spot biting at cape henolopen pier has me egar to try there. The spot haven't arrived this early in a few years. I think cuz the gator blues numbers were less this year. If they not cooperating Sat God willing hitting rock Hall Sunday. Probably gonna take the extra 25min drive and head down your way before summer is out as well.


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## andypat (Jan 7, 2004)

Good plan PA. Fishing was slow for me on this Father's Day. Only three bass and not one bluegill. Two bass on a crappie jig and one on the 7" Grape Worm.


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