To Battle Fall Stripers Choose Your Ground- The Southwest Middle Grounds
By Charlie Petrocci



At right: The author and Crisfield charterboat
Captain show off a typical Southwest Middle Grounds schoolie size rockfish.

With fall fast approaching, all angling eyes around the Chesapeake will soon focus on rockfish as they migrate en-masse down the bay. Following huge schools of bunker and bay anchovies, stripers will stop to feed where these baitfish congregate. And most migrating baitfish tend to gather and orient themselves at, in their world, theoretically safe havens such as high bottom areas. But crashing this annual party will be wads of school sized rockfish that will gorge themselves on the baitfish buffet line. Anglers who know where these baitfish and high bottom areas are, can cash in on some great fall light tackle action. One of those legendary, perennial party Chesapeake Bay hot spots for catching rock is at the famed Southwest Middle Grounds.

The Southwest Middle Grounds can host great fishing action almost year round, with spring and fall being the most productive. Boats from both the western and eastern shore sides of the Bay can access this area fairly easy, though it takes some fuel time. On any given weekend during the fall, it’s not uncommon to see 20 to 30 boats all vying for position around the hump.

Above: Sometimes record sized rockfish can be picked up in the chum slick. They are great on light tackle.

Rules of engagement for boats calls for anchoring up to form a picket line of ambush. The preferred method of angling here is to sling chum, using either ground bunker and razor clams or sometimes both. Slinging chum is not for the feint of heart, though I have to admit it’s fun -especially when it flies up the line and covers a few brand new rods in the process. The only thing worse maybe is trying to grind chum during a pitching sea (been there, done that during my days a mate on a party boat). It isn’t pretty and you can usually loose a few anglers to the head pretty quick. Thus its best to grind and pack enough before the trip or just bring the pre-packaged stuff.

Chum is the glue that holds fish to the stern of the boat. Once you get the hook on the bottom and the boat set up, its time to ladle some chum out and get fish in the slick. If the bite is on, it usually doesn’t take any time at all to see fish breaking behind the boat. The bait of choice is of course cut bunker chunks. A few handfuls thrown out in the slick will let you know quickly about any fish reaction and this feeding frenzy is usually marked by scores of screaming gulls and terns.

CHOOSE YOUR GROUND
The Southwest Middle Grounds are located approximately 15 miles west of Crisfield, which is the port I usually sail from. To get there via Kedges Straits, boats must first pass over the deeper Mud Leeds area. Looming in the distance will be the old target ship. What makes the SW Middle Grounds productive is that it is relatively shallow being so close to the shipping channels. With a depth of approximately 14 to 20 feet deep it attracts baitfish not only because of its bottom contour, but also because it’s defined by a shell and round stone bottom. Legend has it that the stones are actually ballast stones, cast overboard by the British fleet enabling them to cross the bar during their invasion of nearby Tangier Island in the summer of 1814 (War of 1812). It’s not uncommon to snag some of these stones on your anchor when you pull it up.

Because of this rough bottom anomaly, there are usually other fish in residence in this area besides rockfish. Hordes of voracious bluefish in the 2 to 4 pound range gather here and can make short work of baits and mono line. They make for great fast action and are just the right size to fit on the grill. Anglers will also fish baits such as fresh clam or peeler crab “dead sticked” on the bottom, which can also bring in fat tautog or channel bass over the rail as well. And on the way across the Mud Leads, keep your eye out for breaking fish or birds as this is a favorite area for Spanish mackerel to hang out in.

Working the chum line out at the Southwest Middle Grounds calls for relatively light tackle. Most of the rockfish caught here will be in the 16 to 30 inch range, so many anglers prefer using spinning rods with 12-17 pound test mono or braid line. I prefer to use an All Star Instinct rod with a Pflueger Echelon baitcast reel or a 7ft. Pflueger Infusion combo spinning outfit. Both provide great lightweight action. A single 2/0-circle hook connected by barrel swivel to a 20 to 25 pound fluorocarbon leader will get your bait into the strike zone. But depending on wind and tide, which can run hard in here at times, a small shot of weight my be needed to keep the bait down and away from diving gulls. Also try tossing jigs, bucktails or even streamer flies into the mix, which will at least get you a peel off by a fat little bluefish.

One problem about fishing the Southwest Middle grounds is that sometimes the fishing is so fast, that by mid-morning you can have your limits of two fish per angler. Then its time to look for trout, redfish and maybe the last of the migrating hardheads on the way back in to round out the day. But another bonus is that if you pass through the Smith Island thorofare instead by Kedges Strait on the return trip, you can stop on the island for lunch. While inhaling a big crab cake sandwich sitting on the waterfront, you can plan your next adventure back to the famous Southwest Middle Grounds.