First Week of Fall

Type: Nontidal and Tidal
Region: Eastern
Location: Somerset, and Dorchester Counties

The fish seemed to be cooperative when I hit a few spots last week. Despite some rainy, cooler conditions early in the week, the bite was really good. I caught several good size white perch in the salt marshes of Somerset county. Lots of rockfish (striped bass) and seatrout destroyed my lures agressively, right alongside them. All the rockfish and sea trout where released, though. I also caught what looked like small spotted seatrout or weakfish (with no spots) on fishbites too. They had fins with a yellow orange hue, and the canine teeth�but no visible spots.

I also spent a day fishing near Blackwater in Dorchester County and landed a 28" - approximately 7-7.5lb snakehead. The snakeheads were active, but challenging to hook. They seemed to "short-strike" the lure. The rainy and overcast conditions proved to be a winning combination. DNR Answer: the fish which looks like a small seatrout or weakfish is actually a silver perch.