Maryland & Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing provided a report on the last few days of sea bass fishing before the temporary season closure. They headed out on Sunday to a piece of experimental reef structure the skipper has been working on, and found a “ferocious” jig bite that lasted about an hour before it began to taper off. However, limits were reached, and some very nice fish were taken during that bite window—there was even a keeper flounder in the mix. The rest of the day, they had to work for their fish, but everyone went home with some fillets. On Saturday, they were met with dense fog for much of the morning, along with a 12-foot swell which, even for regulars, was a bit challenging to fish through without some motion sickness. The current was running fast, which called for the use of heavy jigs and lead, but the sea bass were chewing. Again, some big, knothead sea bass came over the rail, but it took picking through a half-dozen throwbacks to get a keeper or two ice. Later that day, the fishing slowed down, but the bulk of the sea bass caught were of a much better size class. Another keeper flounder (fluke) was caught, too. Finally, on Sunday, they were met with much slower fishing; the bite picked up mid-day and still only a couple of limits were reached. The sea bass season is now closed until October 10, but they’re hoping to pick ups right where they left off once it reopens. Until then, the skipper will be running tautog fishing trips, so give them a shout for availability and trip info.
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC said that inshore, the main draw is the bigger stripers that are continuing to move into the Bay. Taylor mentioned that there are lots of slot-size fish out there and a few in the 40-inch class mixed in with them, and they’ve been catching on soft-plastic paddletails in the 5- to 6-inch range. There are some bluefish in the area, too, and they’re taking topwater plugs (as shown in the video below). Offshore, he added that there has been a crazy swordfish bite going on, with 2 boats landing four swords each and a couple other boats managing 1 or 2 swordfish as well. When conditions have allowed, he said there’s still a good marlin bite going on. Check out their website and give them a follow on social media for more information on local fishing in the OC area.
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Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Cloudy conditions made for a great week of topwater activity for striped bass. It seems like anywhere in the Annapolis area, fish were aggressively feeding this past week. We also got reports from the Eastern Bay about breaking fish around the Hill and up to Tilghman Point with most fish falling into the 18- to 26-inch range. Anglers employed jigs between 5/8- and 3/4-ounces with 5- to 6-inch soft plastics; one hot lure in particular was the 5-inch NLBN paddletail. The most productive areas to look around for feeding fish are Seven Foot Knoll, Love Point, The Hill, Thomas Point, and Poplar Island.
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 we roll into the first full week of “Rocktober,” expect moderate, sunny, calm weather to highlight our fishing conditions this week in Maryland’s waters. As reported from the NOAA buoys, shorter daylight periods and cooler day-time air temperatures have cooled main Bay surface water temperatures to the lower 70s, with rivers running slightly cooler. Maryland’s part of the Bay continues to run fresher than average.
Lower Bay
The abundance of large bluefish in the eastern side of the lower Bay continues to be a big draw for anglers looking for plenty of action. The large bluefish weigh as much as 10 pounds or more and about as fat as a bluefish can become. The best way to catch them is by trolling surgical tube lures behind planers along the main channel edge from Buoy 72, past the Target Ship and beyond. At times the bluefish can be found chasing bait on the surface, but anglers report boat traffic usually causes the bluefish to sound. Casting metal jigs into the breaking fish can provide some fun rod bending action if you’re lucky enough.
The shallow water fishery for a mix of puppy drum, striped bass and speckled trout is providing a lot of fun light tackle action in the shallows around the bay shorelines, the tidal rivers, Tangier Sound and Pocomoke Sound. Casting paddletails, topwater lures, spinnerbaits and spin-jigs are all popular lures to use. In some of the tidal cuts and creeks where there is a good current on the eastern side of the bay, drifting peeler crab and soft crab baits is a great way to target puppy drum and speckled trout.
Fishing for a mix of spot, croaker, kingfish, white perch, northern blowfish, and small sea bass is good this week in a variety of areas. The mouth of the Patuxent, Point Lookout, Tangier Sound, and Pocomoke Sound are excellent places to fish. Many of the spot and croaker tend to be small so there are a good percentage of throwbacks so bring plenty of bait. Pieces of bloodworm or bloodworm alternative baits work well for the spot and kingfish, peeler crab will work well for the croaker, white perch and blowfish.
Targeting white perch in the region’s tidal rivers and creeks is a great opportunity this week. Casting small jig-spins and spinnerbaits along the shorelines during the morning and evening hours offers plenty of fun light tackle action. Using grass shrimp or peeler crab for bait on a simple bottom rig around dock and bridge piers is a great tactic this time of the year.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Anglers fishing continue to deal with easterly winds and small craft warnings this week. Surf anglers are having difficulty holding bottom while fishing for a mix of kingfish and spot. There are reports that a few large red drum are being caught and released, and bluefish are being caught on the same cut bait.
There is plenty of action in the Ocean City Inlet, where anglers are catching a mix of bluefish and striped bass by casting soft plastic jigs, Got-Cha lures and bucktails dressed with twister tails. Most of the striped bass fall below the minimum length of 28 inch but still provide plenty of fun catch and release action. Anglers are also having success by drifting cut bait in the evenings for bluefish. Tautog and sheepshead are being caught on sand fleas, and peeler crab near the south jetty, bridge piers and bulkheads.
The back bay waters continue to have clarity issues due to strong winds, but anglers are catching a few flounder in the channels leading towards the inlet. Anglers are catching the largest flounder on live spot and similar live baits as well as white and pink Gulp baits.
The black sea bass season is currently closed and reopens October 10, 2024, so until then, boats taking anglers out to the offshore wreck and reef sites are now focusing on targeting tautog and flounder when sea conditions allow. Anglers heading out to the canyons continue to find poor success when trolling for tuna but are experiencing a few white marlin releases. Most are deep dropping for blueline tilefish.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.