Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
From West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing reported that they tried to get out for fluke in calm conditions earlier this week, but the skipper’s port engine failed, so they are currently in the process of a repower so they can get back to sea bass fishing sooner than later. Black sea bass in Maryland’s Atlantic territory reopens tomorrow, October 10, and once the boat maintenance is complete, which could take weeks, they’ll be back out there.
From Ocean City, Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC said he and the Always Bent crew took advantage of a weather window last weekend and made the 6-hour trek north to the Bacardi wreck, where they had excellent yellowfin action behind the draggers. The bite was, in a word, epic. They left the dock at midnight on Friday with a 75-gallon fuel bladder to compensate for the long run, arrived at the spot just before 6 AM, and took home 10 yellowfin after losing just 1 or 2 fish. By noon, they were ready to make the long journey home in time for dinner. Most of their fish were caught on spinning gear; at one point, they were tight to four fish at once and managed to get all four to the boat.
Back in Ocean City, he added, there’s been a nice influx in striper action by the inlet and around the bridges. The Inshore Classic was last weekend and his friend, Brian Reynolds (@baitwatch.fishing) and his team took 1st Place with a nice 31-inch slot which won them the $7,000 grand prize. The sheepshead bite remains steady too, and flounder fishing continues to be decent while anglers await the reopening of Maryland’s sea bass season tomorrow.
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Bakke said they’ll be releasing a full YouTube episode in the near future to showcase the highlights from their day on the tuna grounds up north. Subscribe to the Always Bent YouTube channel to see how the day unfolded, and head over to their website for detailed local inshore and offshore fishing reports and more.
Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters reported that despite heavy wind and sideways rain on Wednesday morning, the topwater striper bite was absolutely on fire at every spot they stopped. The skipper said his charters have been getting it done early, following bird action and loads of menhaden in the area. Afternoon trips have also yielded topwater action, but locating low-flying or diving birds has been essential to success following the morning hours. White or bone surface plugs are doing the bulk of the work, and Captain Jamie is adamant about exchanging stock treble hooks for inline singles to minimize damage to the fish and release them quickly. Check out his Facebook page for contact info and give him a shout to inquire about upcoming availability.
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.
Expect partly cloudy weather and relatively stable conditions for fishing in Chesapeake Bay waters all week. There is a chance of rain Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. As reported by the NOAA buoys, main Bay surface water temperatures are currently in the low 70s but continue to slowly cool. River temperatures are slightly cooler in the mid 60s.
Middle Bay
Anglers have been lining up on the east side of the Bay Bridge to live-line spot and eels or drift cut spot back towards the bridge piers. The best action is occurring early in the morning on a good running tide. The same can be said for those casting jigs near the pier bases. A moving tide is always important, and anglers are best to time their fishing on the tides. To find the tides throughout the Bay, visit DNR’s Tide Finder on the website.
Striped bass are being caught in the shallow waters of the Bay, Eastern Bay, and the lower Choptank to name a few areas. Any promising looking shoreline is worth a try by casting poppers, jerkbaits, and paddletails. A few speckled trout are also being reported in the mix. Thomas Point has been a good place to cast jigs and paddletails or even try some live-lining along the deeper ledges.
Bluefish continue to have a presence in the middle Bay and can be caught by trolling surgical tube lures or spoons behind inline weights or planers. Umbrella rigs are also a good choice when trolling along channel edges. The channel edge from Bloody Point, south past Buoy 83, Sharps Island Light, and past the False Channel has been a good place to troll.
Lower Bay
The lower Potomac and Patuxent rivers are the go-to places to fish for striped bass this week. The channel edge from the Route 301 bridge south past St. Georges Island has been a great place to live-line spot, jig, or troll with umbrella rigs. The same goes for the Patuxent River below the Route 4 bridge. Striped bass and a mix of speckled trout, slot-sized red drum, and bluefish are being caught throughout the lower Bay. The areas near Point Lookout, Cornfield Harbor, Cedar Point, and Tangier Sound are just a few of the excellent places to fish with paddletails and soft plastic jigs.
Bluefish of various sizes are found throughout the lower Bay, and some of the largest are found near the Target Ship and Point No Point. Anglers are trolling with umbrella rigs or surgical tube lures and spoons behind inline weights. At times the bluefish are pushing bay anchovies and juvenile menhaden to the surface and anglers are enjoying fun casting into the breaking fish.
Fishing for spot is at the zenith of the season – they are plentiful and about as large as they’re going to get before they head south in the next couple of weeks. The lower Patuxent, Cornfield Harbor, and Tangier Sound are good places to fish for them. White perch can be found near the piers of the Route 4 bridge, the cuts through Hoopers Island, and dock piers along the Bay shore and in the tidal rivers. Blue catfish can be found in large numbers in the tidal Potomac River up to the Wilson Bridge; the Patuxent, Nanticoke, Wicomico, and Pocomoke rivers also have large numbers of blue catfish.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf conditions are unsettled, and strong northerly winds later this week will make surf fishing tough. The large red drum are passing through our area offering some exciting catch-and-release action, so use a heavier sinker and cut mullet for bait.
The wave action at the inlet may be rough so be careful along the jetty rocks if you’re fishing for sheepshead. Striped bass and bluefish are in the mix for those casting soft plastic jigs or drifting cut bait. Flounder are being caught in the inlet and the channels leading to the inlet, but cloudy water conditions can make flounder fishing difficult.
The black sea bass season reopens on October 10 and if ocean conditions allow, boats will be headed out to the wreck and reef sites. During the closure many private and charter boats have been targeting large flounder at various inshore wreck and reef sites.
The largest boats of the sportfishing fleet continue to make the long 150-mile run to the Hudson Canyon for multi-day trips. They have been returning to Ocean City with limit catches of yellowfin tuna and a mix of bigeye tuna, longfin albacore, and dolphin. The boats heading out to our local canyons are catching yellowfin tuna, dolphin and reporting white marlin releases. The deep drop anglers are catching blueline and golden 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.