Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported that they have not been out since last Thursday as the northeast winds have kept them at the dock. However, on their last outing, the skipper said sea bass fishing was good. Unfortunately on the way out, the captain lost his port-side turbo, so they charged folks on board only half the fare for a sea bass trip, which boded well. The sea bass were feeding heavily before the blow, so everyone went home with some meat for the table. They left early, came in late, anglers paid half fare and had good fishing almost all day. Give them a call for upcoming availability!
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC reported: “We’ve had some rough conditions for offshore fishing so there’s not to much to report on that front, but inshore, the weakfish bite continues with some 25- to 30-inch fish in the mix. The weakfish bite is the best we’ve seen it in the last few years with more big fish than usual. The sheepshead bite in the bays been good too, with some nice tautog coming up as well. Striper fishing also continues to pick up with lots of 28- to 31-inch slot fish being caught, which is nice to see! There are some speckled trout and red drum in the mix too! Fall fishing is in full swing in Chesapeake Bay.” Check out their website for more detailed inshore and offshore fishing reports.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Fishing has been great in the upper Bay this past week with lots of topwater action during the morning hours and breaking fish during some of the tide changes. Fishing from the Severn to Patapsco River has been solid; anglers reported some breaking schools of striped bass at the mouth of the Severn River and some good topwater action in the Patapsco River from inside the Key Bridge to the inner harbor fishing structure.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
September is a very special month in Maryland for anglers; the weather is pleasant, and water temperatures are slowly cooling. Fish everywhere – in the freshwater areas, the Chesapeake Bay, and the ocean waters – are becoming more active.
Moderate weather with limited rain predicted will make for comfortable fishing conditions this week in Maryland’s waters. Shorter daylight periods and cooler daytime air temperatures have cooled main Chesapeake Bay surface water temperatures to the lower 70s.
Lower Bay
The shallow water fishery in the lower Bay, Tangier Sound, Pocomoke Sound, and the lower sections of its tidal rivers is being enjoyed by successful anglers this week. Cooler water temperatures have increased the duration of fish activity during the morning and evening hours for a mix of striped bass, puppy drum and speckled trout. Casting a mix of topwater poppers, Zara Spooks, and paddletails are very effective and popular lures to use. The lower Potomac and tributaries such as the St. Marys River, the shorelines of the bay, the Hoopers Island area, and Tangier and Pocomoke sounds are just a few of the excellent places to fish this week.
Out along the main channels in the bay and particularly near the Target Ship, anglers trolling spoons and surgical tube lures in red or green behind planers or inline weights are catching large bluefish. Jigging with metal jigs is another light tackle way to catch these bluefish when spotted on depth finders or observed chasing bait on the surface. There is another group of bluefish being found in the bay and sounds this week that only weigh about a half pound and they are living up to their nickname of “snappers.” They are mostly being caught by anglers trolling small Drone spoons behind planers looking for the last of the Spanish mackerel.
Cobia season is now closed, and any cobia caught while trolling, casting, or chumming must be released, so this is now a catch-and-release fishery. Large red drum are still being found near the Target Ship area and after a fun struggle these fish must also be released. Slot size red drum are being caught throughout the lower Bay this week, but Tangier Sound is the best place to find them. Many anglers are drifting soft crab baits with good success for puppy drum and speckled trout, others are having good success casting paddletails.
White perch are always out there to entertain anglers and are being caught during the morning and evening hours by casting small spinnerbaits, spin jigs, and small jigs near promising shoreline structure. Fishing with grass shrimp, bloodworms or peeler crab near deeper structure is also a great way to fish for them. Fishing for spot is excellent this week in the mouth of the Patuxent River, Cornfield Harbor and Tangier Sound, a handful of kingfish and legal-sized croakers round out the mix. Bloodworms work best for the spot and kingfish; peeler crab works well for the croakers and white perch.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf anglers continue to catch kingfish and spot off the beaches this week. There have been a few reports of large red drum being caught and released by those fishing at night using cut spot or menhaden for bait.
At the Ocean City inlet, bluefish are the major focus for anglers casting soft plastic jigs and Got-Cha lures near the South Jetty, the Route 50 Bridge, and the inlet currents. Drifting cut bait has been an effective way to fish for bluefish at night. Striped bass are also being caught, but most don’t meet the 28-inch minimum.
Flounder fishing has been good in the inlet and the back bay channels this week. Traditional baits of minnows and squid are doing well, but the largest flounder are being caught by drifting live spot or similar sized live fish or by using Gulp baits in pink or white on a jig head.
The anglers headed out to the offshore wreck and reef sites continue to catch black sea bass and flounder but report that the small dolphin are thinning out and catches are slim. Offshore trolling at the canyons has not been good but anglers are deep dropping and catching an impressive amount of blueline tilefish.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.