Chesapeake Bay Fish
Atlantic Croaker
Atlantic Croaker or “hardhead” are popular saltwater fish common along the mid atlantic USA coast. They are known to have wild population flucuations. The fish get their names because of the “croaking” noise the make when removed from the water. Croakers are hard fighters and prolific feeders. They are caught on a variety of baits and lures.
Flounder
Chesapeake Bay summer flounder are primarily found around channel edges, drop offs. Flounder are not born with both eyes on one side. During growth, the “bottom” eye migrates to the upward-facing side of its body. This allows the flounder to lie on one side, burying in the sand where it can ambush its prey. Flounder in the Chesapeake feed on a variety of small fish, crabs shrimp and other crustaceans.
Spot
Spot are fun to catch and a great fish for anglers of all ages. Anglers use standard 2 hook rigs, using small hooks and small pieces of bait. Popular baits include bloodworms, shrimp, clam and a synthetic product called “Fish Bites” hat works very well.
Larger fish for the table are best caught with the standard 2 hook rig, but sometimes fishermen in need of bait also use a sabiki rig to catch large numbers of small spot. The rig has multiple hooks, adorned to resemble small shrimp. Most anglers will tip the hooks with tiny bits of bloodworm, although the sabiki rigs will catch fish even unbaited. Sabiki rigs seem to work best if slowly
jigged near fishing piers or other pilings.
Spot are a great fish to catch on fishing piers. The Virginia Beach fishing pier, Saxis pier, Sea Gull fishing pier, Cape Charles fishing pier, Crisfield Pier, Choptank Pier and other Chesapeake Bay piers are all good places to fish for spot.
Striped Bass
Striped bass, also known as “rockfish” are among the most common fish in the Chesapeake Bay. They are caught from the Susquehanna River down to the Chesapeake BayBridge Tunnel and beyond.
Cooks have a variety of favorites for cooking rockfish. Whole fillets of school sized fish or steaks of larger fish are delicious fried. Other choices for cooking striped bass include grilling, broiling, fish cakes and more. For top quality striped bass or “rockfish” as table fare, it’s important to take care of the fish prior to cooking. The fish should be chilled on ice and laid out flat until cleaned. Once the fish is home, it can be rinsed thoroughly and filleted.
Several cleaning methods exist and each angler learns their favorite style. The fish can be scaled and the skin left on, filleted and then skinned or the skin can be cut around the perimeter of the fish and pulled off with pliers. The skin-on version is nice when baking or grilling smaller fish. Skinning the fish before filleting has some advantages, the most important being speed.
Filleting the fish and then cutting the skin off removes the most dark meat and leaves the highest quality portion, although some fish is lost in the process.
Black Sea Bass
Black sea bass are found sporadically in the bay, mostly around structures such as artificial reefs or oyster beds. Sea bass are excellent table fare. The meat is firm, white and delicious, served fried, grilled, baked or broiled. Sea bass are easily skinned and filleted. They are best fresh and do not freeze well.
Tautog
Tautog are another Chesapeake Bay fish, although less known by novice anglers as these fish tend to be very secretive and hard to locate. Tautog are structure seeking fish, normally living in reefs, shipwrecks and in habitat such as mussel beds or deep water oyster beds.
Tautog are excellent table fare. These fish are very slippery! It is best to rinse them thoroughly and lay them out on a rough surface. A sharp fillet knife is needed to cut around the outline of the fish, making the front cut behind the head and pectoral fin. Then the skin can easily be peeled off by using pliers and peeling from the head to tail.
Once the skin is off the fish can be filleted normally. There are a few rib bones which can be cut out after filleting. The meat is firm, white and mild flavored. Rinse the fillets and immediately store on ice or refrigerate them. Tautog is delicious fried, baked or grilled.
White Perch
White perch are small but tenacious fish that are common in parts of the bay and its rivers. The fish are caught with small baits such as grass shrimp or bloodworms, or by casting artificial lures or flies. They are sometimes found together with yellow perch.
Yellow Perch
Yellow Perch are found in most rivers that feed the Chesapeake Bay. They are prolific fish and very adaptable. Perch fishing is fun filled and in some cases anglers gather in great numbers in the early spring when yellow perch school up before spawning.
Yellow perch are caught all season and are also caught ice fishing in the winter. They feed on small fish, insects, worms and crustaceans. Anglers use bait including minnows, grass shrimp, nightcrawlers or grubs or fish with a variety of small artificial jigs and lures.
