Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported some decent sea bass fishing after the passing of Tropical Storm Debby late last week. The captain said the bite left much to be desired, but overall, it was a good day considering they had a boat full of youth anglers under the age of 12. After dropping some reef pyramids they found a patch of flotsam that was loaded with small mahi and some “buoy jacks”—which are typically a mix of lesser amberjacks and banded rudderfish. Once on the sea bass grounds, they had a slow pick of keepers and plenty of shorts both on butterfly jigs and baited hooks. One of the adults on the trip managed to claim the high hook and even won the pool with a 21-inch sea bass. They’ll continue to sail for sea bass and mahi as long as conditions allow, but with Hurricane Ernesto moving up the coast into early next week, some residual storm swells may keep boats at the dock. Give them a call to inquire about upcoming availability.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Lots of exciting things are starting to happen in the lower to middle part of the Chesapeake. We are seeing more Spanish mackerel show up in the lower to middle bay, mainly from Solomon’s to Point Lookout area, with most anglers trolling for them with Clark spoons and #1-2 planer boards. Casting to Spanish mackerel is also an option when you find them on the surface, and any kind of small metal or epoxy jig will get the job done.
Bluefish have been making a strong push as well, and we have seen some big ones show up from the Hoopers Island area to the Target Ship. Most of the bigger ones range from 5 to 9 pounds and anglers have found some of the schools breaking the surface as they feed on peanut bunker. Striped bass can be found around shoreline structure in the rivers or places like Poplar Island during the first light of the day or at sunset. Jigging for striped bass during the day has been productive around the Bay Bridge pilings, especially during incoming tides.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries experienced unusually high tides last week, and the Conowingo Dam had several flood gates open. Conditions are beginning to return to more moderate flows but anglers fishing on the Bay and tidal rivers need to keep an extra watch for floating debris.
Lower Bay
Anglers in the lower bay region are enjoying a wide variety of fishing opportunities this week. Perhaps the fish providing the most fun for light tackle anglers is the abundance of slot size puppy drum. They can be found in the shallower waters throughout the lower bay region, with the mouth of the Potomac, Patuxent and the Eastern Shore providing some of the best fishing. The puppy drum are mostly being caught by anglers targeting striped bass and speckled trout with paddletails and topwater lures, but some are switching to targeting the puppy drum, by using spinnerbaits.
The puppy drum can also be caught by drifting soft crab or peeler crab baits at the mouths of tidal creeks and the cuts through Hoopers Island and out in the bay on promising looking bottom. Speckled trout will be part of the mix and some of the larger speckled trout are being caught by live lining spot. Larger red drum continue to roam through the lower bay region and when spotted on the surface or by slicks and side scan sonar, anglers are jigging with large soft plastics or fishing with bait.
The word has spread through the angling community of a pod of tarpon spotted last week off Hoopers Island. This is an unusual sighting but not beyond the realm of possibilities during the late summer months. The many seashore inlets of the eastern shore of Virginia have long been noted to harbor a few tarpon during the late summer months and it would appear some decided to take the bayside route up to visit us. There are no specific regulations on catching tarpon in Maryland or Virginia but due to the longevity needed to reach large sizes and that they are not edible, catch and release should always be observed if you’re lucky enough to tangle with one.
Trolling for a mix of bluefish and Spanish mackerel has been popular this week, the numbers of Spanish mackerel tend to be less than the hungry bluefish that are being found in the lower bay region. Trolling speeds are faster when trolling for Spanish mackerel using planers and small spoons, slower speeds will allow bluefish to catch up. The mouth of the Potomac and the east side of the main shipping channel have been good locations to troll.
Cobia fishing continues to be slow in Maryland waters and better as one heads south through Virginia waters. Chumming is very popular but during calm conditions sight fishing is good. Smith Point and the Target Ship area are two of the most popular places to look for cobia. Large sheepshead are being caught at the Target Ship on peeler crab baits.
Fishing for a mix of white perch, spot and croakers continues to be good in several locations this week. The lower Patuxent and Potomac as well as Tangier Sound are at the top of the list. Peeler crab baits work well for the white perch and croakers. Anglers are now seeing croakers large enough to keep, the minimum size is 9” and 25 per day. If spot are your target, pieces of bloodworm are the bait of choice.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
There is some beautiful weather in the forecast providing a wonderful time to get out on the water or the beaches of Assateague for some fishing. Surf anglers are catching a mix of kingfish, spot and croakers on bloodworm of artificial bloodworm baits. Bluefish are being caught on finger mullet and cut mullet.
At the Ocean City Inlet, the boat traffic has calmed down a bit and early morning and late evening anglers are catching a mix of bluefish and striped bass by casting soft plastic jigs. Drifting cut bait in the outgoing tide has also been a great way to catch bluefish, especially during the evening hours. Sheepshead are being caught near the South Jetty rocks, bulkheads and the Route 50 Bridge piers on sand fleas and peeler crab baits. Flounder are always moving through the inlet and can be caught on Gulp baits or by live lining spot or other small baitfish.
The back bay channels are popular locations to drift for flounder. The East Channel, the Thorofare are always popular and in front of the Ocean City Airport is another excellent place to fish. Traditional baits of squid and minnows will always catch plenty of flounder but larger baits in the form of live spot or Gulp baits in pink or white often catch the larger flounder.
After the seas calmed down the boats headed out to the wreck and reef sites are finding good fishing for black sea bass and a mix of flounder and small dolphin. Limit catches are not the norm lately but there are enough sea bass to provide some excellent eating possibilities.
Boats who are trolling within a few miles of the coast are catching false albacore, Atlantic bonito and bluefish by trolling. The boats heading farther offshore are finding a mix of yellowfin and bigeye tuna, small dolphin, white marlin releases at the canyons. Deep dropping for blueline and golden tilefish is also helping fill fish boxes.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.