Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported that fishing on Monday was only decent after a good flounder outing to close out the weekend, with plenty of short fish and a handful of keepers coming over the rail. Monday, however, brought uncooperative fluke, so triggerfish and sea bass picked up the slack. They picked through short sea bass and managed a few keepers. According to the captain, 10 ounces of lead was needed to hold bottom in 55 feet of water, which may have played a role in the challenging fishing. Wednesday’s trip was focused on mahi, and despite spotting them, anglers on board could not convince any to bite. They tried bottom fishing to put some meat in the coolers before wrapping up the trip, and despite cool water temperatures from the Labrador Current, they were able to pick up a few keeper sea bass and flounder. According to the skipper, bottom temps are still hovering around 48 degrees. Once the temperature climbs to the low 50s, he expects a positive shift in bottom fishing action. Plus, with more east wind, some cleaner water should bring in more mahi from the canyons. The Morning Star is sailing for sea bass and mahi when conditions allow. Give them a shout at (443) 235-5577 between 8 AM and 8 PM to reserve your spot on the rail.
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC said offshore fishing has been funky lately, with a lot of boats running far north and south to get their tuna fix. However, there are some marlin and mahi around. The flounder fishing, he said, has been very good in the ocean and decent in the back bay channels near the inlet, where sheepshead are now moving in thick. At night, when water temperatures are cooler, local anglers are still plucking some stripers at the bridge and the inlet, as well. The bite has been best around high tide, either on the end of the incoming or early outgoing, and there are still a lot of gator bluefish around. Paddletails and jigheads have been the ticket for stripers and blues. Bakke said they’re looking forward to the next weather window to make a run north for tuna unless something changes off Maryland’s coast. This weekend is the HUK Big Fish Classic in Ocean City, but Bakke and Capt. Jeff Rosenkilde of Bad Habit Sportfishing are sitting this one out; he anticipates the winning fish will be a big blue marlin.
Captain Walt of Light Tackle Charters out of Crisfield reported: “Striped bass are closed right now (July 16 through July 31) so we’re targeting speckled trout. The striped bass don’t seem to understand that though, since they are attacking our speckled trout offerings. But, since I only use artificial lures that hook them in the lip, I’m able to successfully rejuvenate and release them quickly. Speck fishing has been spotty though.”
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
We’re down to one week left until our striped bass season opens back up. Meanwhile, everyone has been making the run down to the southern portion of the bay to chase after an excellent bluefish bite. From Solomon’s down south into Virginia waters, bluefish have been stacked around the channel edges whenever the tide is moving with bird shows all over the place and breaking blues from 20- to 30-inches long. The Target Ship area has been the most popular place to fish, but the mouth of the Potomac is holding fish as well. Green back or silver 1- to 2-ounce metals have been the hot lures and coincidentally, are also the cheapest lures to lose to the yellow-eyed demons.
The Anglers 10th Annual White Perch Open tournament is happening this Sunday, July 27th, and the perch fishing has been picking up in the middle Bay area. Most anglers are finding the perch holding in deep structures in about 10-feet of water or more. Good places to find perch are the reef balls at the mouth of the Magothy River, or among the Bay Bridge 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. Read the full DNR report here.
Middle Bay
While striped bass fishing is closed until August 1, anglers have a few options in the middle Bay. Bluefish are being caught along the edges of the main shipping channel on the east side from Buoy 83 south past Sharps Island Light to the mouth of the Little Choptank. On the west side of the Bay, the Chesapeake Beach area and Breezy Point are good places to fish. Most of the bluefish are being caught by trolling red or green surgical tubes and Drone spoons behind inline weights. At times lucky anglers are encountering breaking fish and enjoying fun casting action with metal jigs.
A mix of spot and small croakers are being found in front of Chesapeake Beach and near Black Walnut Point at the south tip of Tilghman Island. White perch are being caught in the region’s tidal rivers and creeks. Anglers are also finding a few speckled trout when drifting peeler crab baits at the mouth of the Little Choptank River and Slaughter Creek.
Lower Bay
Large red drum are providing catch-and-release action on the eastern side of the Bay near the Target Ship but also on the western side near Point Lookout. At times they can be spotted underneath breaking bluefish, but most anglers find them with depth finders or by spotting slicks and disturbed waters. Jigging with large plastics or dropping soft crab baits is popular, but trolling large chrome spoons down deep can entice them to strike.
Cobia fishing has been slow, but a few are being caught by sight casting or chumming and fishing with live eels. The Target Ship and Smith Point tend to be the best locations to give cobia fishing a try.
A few sheepshead are being caught near the Target Ship on peeler crab bait. Speckled trout can often be part of the mix. There is some early morning shallow topwater action for speckled trout, mostly on the eastern side of the Bay and Tangier Sound, but some are being caught in the Point Lookout area. Drifting peeler crab baits is another popular way to fish for them.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf anglers fishing with bloodworms and artificial bloodworm baits are catching a mix of spot, croakers, and kingfish this week. Flounder can also be caught by casting squid and Gulp baits on jigs or bottom rigs. Bluefish are being caught on cut mullet and finger mullet along with plenty of clearnose skates. Inshore sharks are also being caught on cut bait.
At the Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, anglers are enjoying good fishing for a mix of bluefish and striped bass. Most are casting a mix of bucktails and soft plastic jigs but others are having good luck drifting cut bait during the evening hours. Boat traffic out the inlet can be heavy so dawn and evening hours are often the best. A few sheepshead are being caught at the South Jetty on sand fleas and flounder are always available in the inlet area.
The back bay channels are providing good fishing for flounder this week, and anglers are spreading out to Sinepuxent Bay and areas away from the inlet to avoid heavy boat traffic. The largest flounder are being caught on spot and similar live fish, Gulp baits can also attract large flounder. Croakers and small black sea bass are being caught in the back bay waters when fishing with squid, while anglers targeting spot are fishing with bloodworms. Striped bass are being caught at night near the bridge piers of the Verrazzano and Route 90 bridges on paddletails.
Bluefish and Spanish mackerel are being caught by those trolling chrome Clark and Drone spoons in the inshore waters out to the 30-fathom line. Small dolphin are becoming more numerous in the 30-fathom area.
Out at the canyons anglers are catching a mix of yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, dolphin, and white and blue marlin releases. Those who are taking time for some deep drop fishing are catching a mix of golden and blueline tilefish.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Read the full DNR report here.