05/28/2026
Southern Maryland Recreational Crabbing & Fishing Report
Thursday, May 28, 2026 10:15am
Customer/Store Reports
1. I have been receiving a lot of interest in the sea urchin style soft plastic baits. Unfortunately, our biggest manufacturers and distributors do not have them in-stock as of yet and some will be released after the June/July timeframe. Some range in retail pricing $12.99 - $19.99. More to come on this.
2. Catfish has been the go-to species of fish to catch over the past few months. I have been stocking A LOT of catfish baits, combos, hooks and rigs. Our Pink Fury catfish bait has been selling out every weekend (I do have some in-stock now).
3. Rockfish season has started in the Patuxent (south of Point Patience, into the mouth of the bay), in the Potomac (south of the 301 bridge) and in the Chesapeake Bay. Saltwater bucktails, vertical jigs and poppers have been selling well the past few days. Reminder; if you're using cut bait or live bait to catch Rockfish, you must use a non-offset in-line circle hook (we have plenty in-stock). We also have plenty of rigged umbrella rigs and sassy shads in-stock.
4. Bass and snakehead lures also have been a top seller the past few weeks. Hopefully now that the weather is turning warmer and "hopefully" no long periods of rain, the bass and snakehead strikes will become better. Top selling lures have been topwater frogs, Booyah Magic Buzz baits, Z-Man chatter baits and Crush City Freeloader and The Mayor soft plastics.
5. We now have a new V.I.P program available. If you purchase bait or any products from our shop and use them to catch your next crab or fish, take a photo of the product being used and send it to us via direct message or text message. Please share a generalized location of where the crab or fish was caught (i.e. Lower/Upper Patuxent, Lower/Middle/Upper Potomac, etc.). I know a lot of anglers do not like sharing exact locations.
Once you've shared your photos for us to use as advertising, your next purchase here at the shop, you will receive 10% off your full purchase.
6. We no longer carry live minnows. Late February - early April is the only time we carry minnows for the yellow perch run. We also do not carry bloodworms, eels, grass shrimp or spot. Our bait list is updated weekly at the shop or here on Facebook.
7. As of this post (10:00am) we are 16 followers away from 1,000 on our TikTok page! If you're on TikTok, make sure to follow us! Our TikTok handle is .
8. Monday started our new summer hours for the shop. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 8:00am - 6:00pm, Tuesdays remain closed, Fridays 7:30am - 6:00pm, Saturdays 6:30am - 4:00pm and Sundays 6:30am - 2:00pm. Once full summer starts (schools closed) our Friday, Saturday and Sunday hours will change, while Monday - Thursday hours remain the same, until school goes back in-session.
Current Storewide Sales
a. PAKBAK 60-Quart Seafoam Hard Cooler with portable vacuum sealer and detachable table 50% off! Now $299.99 plus tax. One available.
b. All in-stock boots and footwear 50% off! Men's and women's sizes, limited quantities.
c. All in-stock rods (casting, conventional and spinning) 20% off. Does not include combo setups, rods only.
Current Bait Availability (Thursday - Monday)
- Alewives
- Bait Shrimp
- Boxed Squid
- Chicken Livers
- Chicken Necks
- Green worms
- Lugworms
- Nightcrawlers (12 and 18 count)
- Peeler Crabs
- Pink Fury catfish bait
- Squid Strips
Plus, plenty of artificial, preserved and synthetic baits for catfish, crappie, panfish and trout.
Top Selling Products (week of May 20 - May 27)
1. Pink Fury catfish bait
2. Power Pro braided line
3. Fishbites bloodworm strips
4. Ghost Custom Lures and Stormborn Baits topwater frogs
5. Peeler crabs
6. Perch Hounders
7. Berkley Gulp catfish dough (Bloody Bloody, Bloody Chicken)
8. In-line circle hooks
9. Bottom rigs
10. J.O. Spice #2 crab seasoning
Maryland DNR Fishing Report (Lower Chesapeake Bay, Patuxent & Potomac Rivers, Blue Crabs and Freshwater)
1. Starting Monday June 1, fishing for striped bass will get a lot easier to understand when all waters of Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay and tidal rivers will open to striped bass fishing until July 31. A 19-inch to 24-inch slot will still be in effect, with a one fish per day limit for anglers.
2. This weekend we’ll see the second full moon of this month, designating it a blue moon. This will trigger the annual May worm swarms and fish will take full advantage of the nutritious feast. Spot have arrived in many portions of the Bay and anglers are reminded that they must use non-offset circle hooks when targeting striped bass with live bait or cut bait.
3. Deeper waters along channel edges are being targeted by anglers jigging with soft plastic jigs or by trolling with umbrella rigs down along the 30-foot edges. It is a good idea to place a few Drone spoons behind inline weights for the bluefish that are in the region. The steep channel edge of the Potomac from St. Georges Island to Piney Point, the lower Patuxent and the eastern side of the bay from Buoy 76 to Buoy 72 are worth exploring.
4. Red and black drum are being found on the eastern side of the Bay from the Middle Grounds up past the Target Ship and Tangier Sound. Finding them on depth finders and dropping soft crab baits to them is the most popular way to fish. Red drum can also be caught by jigging with large soft plastics or trolling large spoons behind inline weights.
5. Spot have arrived in the lower Patuxent River, St. Mary's River, near Hoopers Island, and Tangier Sound, and anglers will begin to live-line spot near traditional channel edges. Anglers must remember to use non-offset circle hooks whenever targeting striped bass with live or cut bait.
6. White perch are steadily moving into their typical summer habitats; some report the process seems a little slower than previous years. Bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm work well in deeper waters, casting spin jigs and small lures in shallower waters can provide a lot of fun fishing.
7. Blue crabs: Many crabbers were out in force over the weekend during foggy and sometimes rainy weather, trying to provide crabs for a Memorial Day Weekend gathering. Most managed to put a catch together in all regions of the Bay. The recreational crabbers in the lower Eastern Shore seemed to do best and most reported 8-12 feet of water was the sweet spot for crabs.
8. Freshwater: Maryland’s spring trout stocking season is now complete. Stocking began in February and wrapped up on May 18. A total of 254,810 trout were stocked; 182,260 trout were stocked into open waters and 72,550 stocked under the closure period. Trout were stocked into 118 waterbodies, including 53 streams and rivers and 65 lakes and ponds. The next period of regular trout stocking will begin in October.
9. Anglers fishing for largemouth bass are enjoying great fishing opportunities this week. The bass are in a post-spawn feeding pattern and are feeding through the day due to cooler water temperatures and overcast skies. The intermediate waters outside of the shallow grass areas are a good place to target with spinner baits, jerk baits, crank baits and soft plastics. The shallower grass beds are a good place to target with topwater lures.
10. Chesapeake Channa, aka snakeheads, will also be found in the grass bed areas in tidal waters, and many are beginning to spawn. Noisy and disruptive topwater lures are a good choice to attract the attention of parent fish who may be protective of eggs or fry balls.
11. Fishing for chain pickerel always provides exciting fishing entertainment and they can be found on the outside edges of grass beds. Crappie can be found holding near structure this month. Various species of sunfish can be found roaming outside the shallower waters.
12. Blue catfish and channel catfish offer plenty of active fishing in the Bay’s tidal rivers and flathead catfish in the upper Potomac are providing action. Blue and channel catfish will be attracted to cut baits and scented baits. The flathead catfish prefer live bait.
28943 Three Notch Road #3
Mechanicsville, Maryland 20659
(240) 466-3959 (shop)
