Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported some tough conditions toward the end of last week, with strong currents requiring heavy sinkers—up to 12 ounces, at times—but they managed to pick away at some quality fish on rigs. When the current became too much to hold bottom, the skipper moved to some different structure where anglers were able to drop jigs. The average size of fish seemed to have increased based on the photos the captain shared to their Facebook page. Plus, their anglers continue to find red hake on the hooks while sea bass fishing, which have made for a nice bycatch to complement the sea bass fillets. Good fishing carried into the weekend and, with the wind having died off a bit, the captain continued to search for mahi, but to no avail. They were still battling strong northeast current on Saturday but managed to pick off some good sea bass and bonito, and two anglers tied for the pool money. Sunday brought beautiful conditions and a light crowd of only six anglers, but they had sea bass chewing on almost every drop on jigs and rigs. The conditions wouldn’t hold though, as Monday brought stiff south southwest winds that made bottom fishing challenging and mahi fishing next to impossible. Thankfully, Tuesday and Wednesday brought a better bite with lots of short fish and a good mess of keeper sea bass in the mix. If you’ve got a hankering for a sea bass dinner, give them a shout to get in on the action this week!
In Ocean City, Taylor Bakke from Always Bent Fishing OC reported on behalf of their fishing crew. Taylor said inshore, they’ve been catching stripers with bluefish mixed in and, more recently, red drum have joined the party. They’ve been fishing the local channels via kayak and from the bridges. Outside of the Bay and offshore is a different story; he said the fishing has been rather inconsistent. They had some white marlin come through a few days ago with a few tuna caught during the HUK Big Fish Tournament, but overall, there hasn’t been a ton of activity to make the long runs offshore worth it. Give them a follow on Instagram @alwaysbentfishingoc to stay up to date with what they’re catching in the OC area, and check out their website for membership options to get detailed offshore fishing reports each week.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Striped bass season opens back up on Friday in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Places to look for striped bass in the middle to upper Bay areas would be Poplar Island around the rocks in the early morning, casting topwater plugs and subsurface plugs like Rapala X-Raps. The Bay Bridge should be holding fish too, especially around the eastern side of the bridge in 10 to 30 feet of water. Live-lining spot around the pilings is a great way to get striped bass to bite when the tide is slowing down or when there is a lot of fishing pressure.
Mid-size bluefish have shown up in good numbers in the southern part of the bay and in some areas around the middle section of the bay. The most consistent fishing for bluefish in the middle Bay also happens to be in the waters around Poplar Island. Scan for bait balls around the channel edges and you will find blues around them. At times, you’ll be able to find them breaking on the surface, and a well-placed jig or topwater plug will rarely go unnoticed.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The Chesapeake Bay striped bass season reopens August 1, and although it is legal to fish for striped bass, anglers are urged to practice the most careful catch-and-release practices possible. Water temperatures are in the low 80s this week and low dissolved oxygen levels tend to be at cooler depths, making it difficult for fish to recover effectively. The Department of Natural Resources website provides a good overview of catch-and-release practices.
The Potomac River striped bass fishery (managed by the Potomac River Fisheries Commission) remains closed to recreational fishing through Aug. 20. Virginia waters of the Chesapeake Bay remain closed to recreational striped bass fishing through October 3 and the Virginia fall season opens on October 4.
Lower Bay
The lower Bay is exploding with fish and opportunity this week. Perhaps the most exciting news is the arrival of large numbers of Spanish mackerel in the region. They are being caught by trolling at a good clip with number one planers and small Drone or Clark spoons. Placing a couple of surgical tube lures in one’s trolling spread is a great way to catch the large bluefish that are in the area. The east side of the bay tends to have the greatest numbers of Spanish mackerel at this time.
Anglers fishing the shallower Bay shore waters are catching a bounty of slot sized red drum this week by casting spinnerbaits, paddletails and soft plastic jigs. Others are drifting soft crab or peeler baits at the mouths of tidal creeks and the Hoopers Island cuts. Small to medium black drum and speckled trout will often be part of the mix when fishing bait.
Large red drum are very common in the lower bay region currently and are providing a lot of fun catch and release action. They are often being spotted on the surface chasing bait or noticing slicks or disturbed water. Casting large soft plastic jigs is a popular way to fish for them.
Fishing for cobia is reported to be slow lately and most anglers fishing for them are setting up chum slicks near Smith Point, the Target Ship or Mud Leads above the Target Ship and drifting cut bait or live eels to the back of their chum slick.
Sheepshead are being caught near the Target Ship by anglers using peeler crab for bait. Small spot and croakers are being caught at the mouth of the Patuxent River, the lower Potomac River just north of Point Lookout and Tangier Sound. Fishing for white perch remains good in the region’s tidal creeks and rivers.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf anglers are finding a mix of kingfish, spot and croakers along the beaches of Assateague Island. The best fishing success is reported to be early in the morning, bloodworms, peeler crab and artificial bloodworm baits are being used. Those using larger baits are catching bluefish and catching and releasing large red drum.
At the Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, anglers are enjoying good fishing for bluefish and striped bass. Casting soft plastic jigs has been popular for those fishing for striped bass, bluefish like those jigs also but tend to chew them up and Got-Cha lures can be a good alternative. Others are having good luck catching bluefish by drifting cut bait in the currents. Sheepshead are being caught near the South Jetty and inlet bulkheads and bridge piers with peeler crab and sand fleas.
Flounder fishing has been good at the inlet and back bay channels when water clarity is good. Larger baits tend to catch the largest flounder and anglers are using Gulp baits and being inventive with live or fresh small spot, finger mullet and large silversides. Traditional baits of squid and minnows will always be a good choice for flounder fishing, but there are a larger number of undersized throwbacks. Anglers using squid baits often will deal with hungry juvenile black sea bass and croakers.
The for-hire boats headed out to the offshore wreck and reef sites are finding good fishing for black sea bass for their patrons. Most are using traditional baits of squid and sometimes clams, while others have excellent results by jigging with butterfly jigs. Flounder and chicken dolphin are always a welcomed addition to the catch.
White marlin have arrived at the canyons this week and providing plenty of fun catch and release fishing, a few blue marlin are also being encountered. A mix of yellowfin and bigeye tuna are providing plenty of meat coming back to the docks along with chicken or small dolphin. Deep Drop fishing for a mix of blueline and golden tilefish remains good.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.