Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing Charters reported plenty of action on the sea bass grounds from short fish on Tuesday. They took Monday to rest after a crew trip to the deep for tilefish. Back on the sea bass grounds, they had to work for keepers. The skipper offers clams and squid to customers on board, and makes jigs that resemble sand eels or butterfish readily available to anglers with spinning gear, but keeper sea bass did not show a preference for natural vs. artificial bait. In fact, one customer brought earthworms with him and caught a single keeper, but could have enjoyed more action by opting for one of the captains recommended baits or lures. He said that trips have been light, and while it has been tough to bring back limits, they’re catching more than enough to send everyone home with dinner. The weather doesn’t look great for Friday, but they’ll be sailing the next time conditions allow. Give them a shout to get in on some fun bottom fishing this week!
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke and the guys at Always Bent Fishing OC reported catching some yellowfin tuna and mahi in Washington Canyon, along with some bluefin over a lump slightly inside the 100-fathom line on Sunday and Monday of this week. Bakke said: “It’s good to see the bite is getting a little better for us down here. Baltimore Canyon and Poormans Canyon have been hot too. It looks like we’ve got some rough weather for the tuna tournament this weekend, but we’ll see what happens!”
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Bluefish have moved into the southern part of the Bay with most of them around 2 to 5 pounds. They have been schooled up around the Point Lookout area to Solomons. Striped bass fishing has continued to be an early morning bite because of the warm temperatures. Using topwater walk-the-dog style plugs have been the ticket to get them to bite in shallow water. Most shoreline structure in the rivers can produce some striped bass up to 30 inches, especially on the eastern shore rivers.
Bottom fishing in the Upper Bay continues to produce a mix of blue catfish and some striped bass. Rock Hall and Pooles Island are the hot areas to bottom fish in the Upper Bay, and the Bay Bridge is still a great spot to jig, specially around the pilings.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
As a reminder, all striped bass fishing in the Chesapeake Bay will be on hold from July 16-31 , in order to protect the fishery during what is statistically the hottest part of the year. But even when it is legal to catch one keeper-size striped bass per day, the Department of Natural Resources advises following our Striped Bass Forecast Advisory and avoiding catch-and-release fishing for striped bass on hot days.
Anglers should also be aware of Myobacteriosis, an infectious disease often seen on striped bass when fish are more stressed by high water temperatures. Infected fish may show visible signs of disease including skin ulcers and severe muscle loss. Anglers should release diseased fish when caught, and take precautions when handling fish to avoid infection. Washing hands or using waterless hand sanitizer after handling diseased fish is advised. More information on Myobacteriosis is found on the Department of Natural Resources website.
Lower Bay
Anglers in the lower Bay are enjoying some exciting fishing for a variety of species this week. In the early morning and late evening, anglers working the promising looking shallower waters on both sides of the Bay and Tangier Sound are finding a mix of striped bass, speckled trout, and puppy drum. Most are casting topwater lures over grass beds and working paddletails, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits where grass is not as thick. The slightly deeper waters near Point Lookout, Cedar Point, and the cuts through lower Hoopers Island are excellent places to fish. With the striped bass summer closure starting on July 16, this is the time to enjoy the diversity of alternate species in the lower bay.
Bluefish are being caught along channel edges in the Tangier Sound area and the channel edge from Buoy 76 south to the HS Buoy. Most anglers are trolling a mix of Drone Spoons behind planers and inline weights for the best catches.
Fishing for cobia is steadily improving and chumming has been the most effective way to fish. The area near the Target Ship and Smith Point are popular places to fish this week. Windy conditions have made it difficult for sight fishing. Most are fishing with live eels or fresh cut baits in the back of their chum slicks. Cownose rays are always a pesky problem and there have been reports this week of bull sharks showing up in the area around the Target Ship.
Sheepshead are reportedly being caught near the Target Ship, and it is certainly time for them to show up. Peeler crab is a popular bait to use and can also entice speckled trout, striped bass or puppy drum. Flounder are being caught by those who target them in the Tangier Sound area and near Point Lookout.
Spot are a popular target at the mouth of the Patuxent River, the lower Potomac River and near the Honga and Nanticoke rivers as well as Tangier Sound. In many locations white perch and small croakers are part of the mix. Pieces of bloodworm or artificial bloodworm-scented baits are the ticket for spot. Peeler crab works well for white perch and croaker.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Anglers fishing the beaches of Assateague Island report that fishing for a mix of kingfish and spot has been good but best during the morning hours. Pieces of bloodworm, strips of spot or artificial bloodworm baits have worked best for kingfish. Anglers fishing with finger mullet rigs are catching a few bluefish. A variety of sting rays and inshore sharks continue to go after large cut baits of menhaden or mullet. Casting Gulp baits with a strip of squid is a great way to catch flounder in the surf.
At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, casting soft plastic jigs near jetty rocks, bridge piers and bulkheads is a good way to catch striped bass during the early morning and late evening hours. Those casting metal jigs and Got-Cha lures out in the main current are catching bluefish. Sheepshead and tautog are being caught near the jetty rocks, bridge piers and along bulkheads on peeler crab and sand fleas. The early morning and late evening hours offer the best and safest fishing. It is summer and boat traffic is heavy going in and out of the inlet, so be careful.
Flounder fishing has been good in the back bay channels, some days strong winds can churn the water up and cause cloudy water conditions that can put a damper on the flounder bite. Most anglers want to drift in the channels and boat traffic is busy so be careful. The coastal bay areas behind Assateague Island and in front of the Ocean City Airport tend to have less boat traffic.
Fishing for black sea bass has been good at the offshore wreck and reef sites, and anglers are doing well with traditional baits or with butterfly jigs. There has been some discussion lately and some guidance may be forthcoming about the proper way to measure a sea bass. Usually, it is relatively easy to measure a sea bass using total length, but anglers are urged not to include the trailing caudal fin streamer that some fish will possess when measuring.
The boats heading out to the canyon waters are finding a mix of yellowfin tuna, gaffer size dolphin, white marlin and recently the first reported blue marlin release. Deep drop anglers are bringing some impressive catches of blueline and golden tilefish back to the Ocean City docks.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.