Pooles Island

Pooles Island, a small, off-limits island in the upper Chesapeake off the Gunpowder Neck, is surrounded by some of the most consistent striped bass fishing in the upper Bay. DNR's weekly reports name it again and again: stripers hold on the lumps and channel edges around the island from late spring through fall, and anglers live-line spot in summer and eels in fall. The catch is that the island and its waters are part of the Aberdeen Proving Ground's restricted area, so you can fish there only when the Army opens the water, and you can never land.

When to fish

• Late spring: light-tackle jigging and casting around the island; trolling umbrella rigs along the 30-foot channel edges finds scattered fish.
• Summer: live-lining spot on the lumps and edges. August is closed to striped bass fishing baywide.
• September through November: some of the upper Bay's best fishing, with live eels, jigging and morning topwater. Large blue catfish sometimes take the live baits.

Where to fish

• The lumps around the island: DNR suggests locating fish on a depth finder first.
• The 30-foot channel edges nearby: trolling and live-lining.

How to fish it

• Live-lining: spot in summer and small eels in fall are DNR's most-mentioned baits here. Use non-offset circle hooks (required for live-lining and bait fishing for stripers) and don't use eels in catch-and-release seasons.
• Jigging and casting: soft plastic jigs on marked fish, and paddletails or topwater around the shallower edges in the morning.
• Trolling: umbrella rigs along channel edges when fish are spread out.

Getting there

This is boat-only water, a run from ramps on the Gunpowder and Middle rivers or Baltimore County's Back River parks. Pooles Island lies inside the Aberdeen Proving Ground restricted area: the public may fish from boats only when the area is open (normally weekday evenings and nights, weekends and federal holidays), it closes during testing, when patrol boats turn boats away, and landing, docking or grounding on the island is prohibited at all times because of unexploded ordnance. You need a Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License (or a boat license and passenger registration).