Calvert Cliffs and Cove Point

At the southern end of the Calvert Cliffs, the Bay's western shore runs past the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and Cove Point toward the mouth of the Patuxent. Two very different fisheries share this stretch. In the cold months, the plant's warm-water discharge draws a fleet of boats drifting and jigging for catch-and-release stripers, sometimes with a speckled trout or puppy drum mixed in. From late spring to December, the 30- to 45-foot channel edges off Cove Point and south to Point No Point are classic trolling, live-lining and jigging grounds.

When to fish

• December through April: catch-and-release jigging in the discharge current, the main event in early spring as pre-spawn stripers move up the Bay.
• May: harvest season opens in the main Bay; trolling umbrella rigs and jigging the Cove Point edges, with more boats still working the discharge.
• June and July: live-lining spot along the 30- to 35-foot edges at Cove Point and Point No Point; bluefish crowd in by midsummer. August is closed to striped bass fishing.
• Late summer and September: drifting live spot at the discharge can produce stripers, speckled trout and even flounder; bluefish on the west side of the channel; schools of big red drum near Cove Point.
• November and December: stripers hold near the bottom on the deepest channel edges from Cove Point to Point No Point.

Where to fish

• The Calvert Cliffs power plant discharge current, just outside the security zone in front of the plant.
• The 30- to 45-foot edges off Cove Point.
• The western channel edge south to Point No Point.

How to fish it

• At the discharge: drift through the current and jig large soft plastics (6 to 8 inches on 1.5-ounce heads) near the bottom. Watch the drift line before joining it, and never anchor or hold position with a trolling motor.
• On the channel edges: find suspended fish on the depth finder, then jig soft plastics (6 to 10 inches in late fall), live-line spot, or troll umbrella rigs and tandem-rigged bucktails or swimshads behind inline weights.
• Bluefish: they'll take live spot and chunks; cast metal jigs into breaking fish.
• Red drum: jig large soft plastics or fish cut spot, menhaden or soft crab once a school is marked, and release them.

Getting there

This is boat-only water; the nearest public ramp is at Solomons, and Calvert Cliffs State Park allows fishing only in its one-acre pond (with the area under the cliffs permanently closed). A small Coast Guard security zone covers the water directly in front of the power plant: stay out of it unless the Captain of the Port gives permission on VHF channel 16. You need a Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License.