The month of May generally marks the beginning of bottom fishing in the bay area. The first species to arrive in the area is Croaker. Early on, these fish swim up the rivers to shallow water in search of food along the bottom. As the water warms, they migrate back out to deeperwater and distribute themselves into large schools throughout the bay during June and July. The Croakers remain until the cool weather arrives in October. These hard fighting fish are great fun to catch on light gear and make good table fare.
Spot, a cousin of the Croaker, begin to show in decent numbers toward the end of July and continue through the hot summer months. The much anticipated "yellow-belly" arrives in September. These easy to catch and tasty fish remain with the croakers until the arrival of cool weather in October.
Keeper-sized Gray Trout are the last to show and the last to leave of the bottom fishing species. They are often mixed-in and caught along with croaker and spot. Gray Trout can be caught well into November if conditions are right.
Flounder season peaks in July and can remain steady through the beginning of October depending on the summer's weather. These bottom-dwelling flatfish can be caught using a variety of techniques and baits. They can be challenging to catch and under certain circumstances, a large flounder will be on the line without the angler knowing it. To many, the flounder is the best-eating fish in the bay.

It does not look like much, but the Spadefish is both hard fighting and great to eat. Toward the middle part of June,  they begin to congregate in large schools around wrecks and other structures located in the bay. Fishing for these Spades can present a challenge for the angler. He or she must pay close attention and pull the fish away from the structure as soon it is hooked so that the line does not break or get fouled. Once it's free of the structure, hold on!
Rockfish season opens in the first part of October. During this early part of the season, keeper-sized fish can be caught around structures using live bait or jigging under schools of baitfish.

As the Bay water temperature begins to peak in August, so does the fishing for Spanish Mackerel. These sleek and torpedo-like fish are the most colorful fish in the area. They travel in large schools in search of baitfish, so when they are located while trolling, many can be caught in a short period of time.
Late summer and early fall can yield nice sized Bluefish. Many times they are mixed in with schools of Spanish Mackeral, as they feed on the same baitfish. Often times during this time of year "blues" are caught while bottom fishing. Also, it is not uncommon to reel in a spot that has been bitten in half by these ferocious eaters.
As the nights begin to cool, the Rockfishing heats up. By Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter, schools of large ocean rockfish enter the bay to feed on menhaden and other species of baitfish. The later part of December is always the best part of the open-season for catching the big ones in the mid-bay area.

The hardest fighting fish on the Chesapeake Bay is the Cobia. These fish cruise along shallow water plateaus in search of crabs and fish to eat. They can also be found in open water hiding under navigation buoys. The crew's preferred method for catching Cobia is to use live bait within a chum-line. This method is successful for catching Cobia, as well non-target species such as Sharks, Stingrays, and Bluefish.