Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported good results on the offshore sea bass grounds over the holiday weekend, with some mahi, cutlassfish, scup (porgy), triggerfish, and flounder in the mix over the course of a few days. A handful of nearshore mahi were landed late last week before steaming further offshore to some cooler water, where the sea bass were chewing well; however, several waterspouts nearby brought that trip to a slightly early end in the interest of passenger safety. The next day, Friday, was a good day of sea bass fishing with a few keeper fluke around the rail, including a pool winner. The sea bass bite improved even more on Saturday with quite a few limits on the boat despite some rough sea conditions, and instead of fluke, triggerfish came up with some regularity. Good sea bass fishing continued on Sunday with a lot of larger fish, making for an exciting pool race. There were also a few small- to mid-size mahi picked off earlier in the day. After performing some routine maintenance, the Morning Star will be 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 there was some good fishing off Ocean City over Labor Day Weekend, however, stiff northeast winds and rough sea conditions kept their crew on the Bad Habit from searching for mahi, wahoo, and cobia. Instead, Bakke said they pivoted to bottom fishing just a short steam from shore. They caught a mix of sea bass, bluefish, and a nice 23-inch flounder on a shoal just outside the inlet. The sea bass, he said, were too short to keep for the table, but they were still able to bend a rod and make the most of a rough day on the ocean. Since then, inshore fishing has remained steady. There’s still a very good sheepshead bite locally, flounder are chewing well, and he is seeing more and bigger striped bass become active in coastal areas near the inlet as water temps have begun to cool. Overall, fishing is good as we head into the first month of fall and striped bass fishing should only continue to improve going forward.
Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters reported that the shallow-water topwater striper bite continued for his charters this week. The skipper mentioned that looking for grass beds and current in shaded areas, where there is cooler, oxygenated water, has been the ticket to their light-tackle success. As temperatures drop, the action should only get better, and the bass larger. Give him a shout to get in on some exciting topwater bass fishing in close quarters.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
The Anglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
The bluefish bite picked up in the middle Bay over the past week. Most were snapper blues, but there were a few 5 pounders caught with some Spanish mackerel in the mix. Most of the action has been from just south of Poplar Island on down to Hoopers Island. Most anglers are casting metal jigs into schools of breaking fish or trolling #1-2 planners with a size 0 to 1 Clark spoon. The striped bass bite has also been great with the cooler temperatures recently. Most of the rivers are producing good morning topwater bites and the fish seem to be spread out and holding tight to structure. The Bay Bridge was a good place to jig and live-line spot last week, with a lot of fish in the slot size being caught.
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
Striped bass anglers continue to find some action on the east side of the Bay Bridge near the 30-foot drop-off contour by drifting live spot, live eels, and soft crab baits to the bridge pier bases. Casting soft plastic jigs to the pier bases has also been a good way to fish the bridge piers during the morning and evening hours. Thomas Point has been another location that is providing striped bass action whether one is casting soft plastic jigs or live lining spot. The Sharps Island Light has also been providing some striped bass action.
The shallow-water striped bass fishery in the Eastern Bay area, the lower Choptank, and near Taylors Island has been offering good fishing for anglers casting a mix of topwater lures and paddletails during the morning and evening hours.
Lower Bay
Anglers in the lower Bay are experiencing good fishing for a mix of bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Trolling a mix of surge tube lures and small spoons behind inline weights and planers has been a very popular way to fish. At times anglers are encountering breaking fish chasing bay anchovies and casting metal jigs is the best way to target the bluefish and Spanish mackerel. The main channels in the Bay and Tangier Sound south to the Virginia state line and beyond provide the best trolling results.
Striped bass fishing has been best this week in the shallower waters of the lower Potomac and Patuxent rivers, Cedar Point, and structure locations along the Bay shorelines. Casting paddletails and topwater lures have been very popular ways to fish. Anglers are live-lining spot at steep channel edges in the lower Potomac River.
Fishing for cobia has been a tough game to play lately, the few cobia being caught tend to fall short of the 43-inch minimum. Large red drum are starting to move into shallower waters on the eastern side of the bay as water temperatures cool.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf conditions have calmed down and anglers are finding a mix of kingfish, croakers, blowfish, flounder, and a few pompano when fishing with small baits. Bluefish are being caught on cut bait and finger mullet. Anglers report there are plenty of sting rays and inshore sharks when fishing large baits.
At the inlet there continues to be good fishing for sheepshead close to the jetty rocks. Fiddler crabs and sand fleas are good baits to use. Striped bass and bluefish are being caught by casting soft plastic jigs, paddletails and drifting cut bait.
Fishing for flounder has been good in the back bay channels and the channels close to the inlet are some of the best places to drift for flounder. Live bait and gulp baits tend to attract the largest flounder.
Flounder fishing at the inshore wreck and reef sites has been very good for anglers looking to catch larger fish. The boats taking anglers out to the offshore wreck sites are finding good fishing for black sea bass when fishing with squid baits and metal jigs.
Anglers heading out to the canyons are enjoying good fishing for white marlin with multiple catches per boat. Dolphin catches have been good and there has been a mix of yellowfin and bigeye tuna in the mix. Deep-drop fishing for blueline tilefish has been excellent with most boats returning to the dock with limit catches.
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.