Poplar Island

Poplar Island, a few miles northwest of Tilghman Island, is being rebuilt with dredged material into wetland and upland wildlife habitat, and the rock walls and breakwaters armoring it have become one of the middle Bay's favorite light-tackle striped bass spots. DNR's weekly report names "the Poplar Island rocks" nearly every week from May to November as a place to cast topwater lures and paddletails at dawn and dusk. The island itself is an active construction site, but the water around it is open to boaters.

When to fish

• Spring: shallow-water stripers along the rocks, catch and release until the main-Bay harvest season opens in May.
• June and July: the rocks fish best at first and last light and on a high flood tide. Speckled trout sometimes join in.
• High summer: go before sunrise; the bite tends to shut down once the sun is up. Bluefish and Spanish mackerel run the nearby channel edges. August is closed to striped bass fishing.
• September to November: a peak season on the rocks with poppers, jerkbaits and paddletails, then jigging along the rocks and nearby edges toward Buoy 83 as fish move deeper. The season is catch and release only from December 6.

Where to fish

• The rock walls and the breakwater on the west side of the island: the heart of the fishery.
• Poplar Harbor and the embayments around the island: open to the public.
• The shipping channel edges to the west: trolling for bluefish and Spanish mackerel in late summer, and a search area for fall stripers.

How to fish it

Cast poppers, paddletails, jerkbaits and twitchbaits tight to the rocks at dawn and dusk, choosing the lure by water depth and how much grass there is. Soft plastic jigs work along the drop-offs and, in fall, jigged along the base of the rocks. For bluefish and mackerel on the channel edges, troll small spoons behind planers at a fast clip.

Getting there

Poplar Island is boat-only. The closest public ramp is Talbot County's Dogwood Harbor on Tilghman Island, which reaches the Bay through Knapps Narrows; Kent Island and Eastern Bay ramps are farther north. Don't land on the island or tie up at its work dock; you can visit only on a scheduled tour. You need a Maryland Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing License.