Maryland and Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Captain Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters said the topwater striped bass bite is still really good, despite some much warmer weather and water temperatures. All the fish seem to be holding near hard structure, and their recent charters are having the most success by working walk-the-dog style plugs very slowly and methodically to draw strikes during low-light conditions. Bone or white spooks have been the ticket. Along shallower shorelines, he added, there are mostly very small stripers that they’ve been able to catch by fishing 4-inch paddletails, like the Z-Man Diezel Minnowz in the Slam Shady pattern, on light jigheads. Even with subsurface presentations though, the bass have been most responsive to ultra slow retrieves due to higher temperatures. Head to the ES Light Tackle Charters Facebook page for trip rates and contact info to get a date on the books with Captain Mike or Captain Jamie this summer.
Taylor Bakke of Always Bent Fishing OC reported good inshore fishing opportunities around Ocean City this week, with flounder, bluefish, striped bass, and sheepshead available. Bakke said their crew has been jigging from bridges at night for the most part, which has yielded some nice bluefish, a few just-under-slot stripers, and flounder—the typical mid-summer mix. Sheepshead are also chewing around the bridges and jetty rocks during the day, and they are starting to see some larger fish move in. Over the weekend, Bakke’s cousin stuck a nice one close to the inlet. Out in the ocean, he added, the offshore scene is really picking up after a slower-than-usual start. As of yesterday, yellowfin and bigeye tuna have shown up in better numbers in the canyons. The midshore grounds have yet to see much life (although there are a few bluefin hanging around), but most boats have found success by trolling on the edge and deeper for yellows and bigeyes.
Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing out of West Ocean City reported mixed reviews from the offshore sea bass grounds since last week. Friday’s bite was slow to start in less-than-ideal conditions, but as the day went on and the wind switched, the fishing improved even though the weather did not settle until the afternoon. A few anglers hit double-digits, and they had some nice keeper fluke, pollock, and a rogue almaco jack come over the rail to keep things interesting. On Saturday, they were met with heavy current which required the use of sinkers up to 12 ounces. Sea bass didn’t bite very well and fluke were MIA, but some red hake (ling) rounded out the catch so everyone on the rail had enough meat for the table. Sunday’s trip brought similar action, with no fluke, a few ling, and only one angler reaching double digits of sea bass. The skipper was back at it on Tuesday, but the sea bass were again finicky. And on Wednesday, they fished a good portion of the day inshore while waiting for a lull in the wind for calmer seas, but the results were lackluster. When the captain slid further out, the sea bass were biting and many anglers had double-headers coming up, most of which were throwbacks, but fluke were back in the mix. The Morning Star will continue to sail for sea bass (and fluke) when conditions permit, so call 443-235-5577 to reserve your spot on the rail and head to their website for more trip information.
Anglers Sport Center Fishing Report – Annapolis, MD
Written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
We are in full summer patterns here in the Chesapeake Bay. For anglers in the upper to middle Bay area, that means early mornings and evenings are going to be the best time to get out and fish. The bite around Pooles Island and the channel edge going south to Rock Hall has been producing striped bass, blue catfish, and some channel catfish. Most anglers are live lining eels and spot, but chunking peelers or bunker has also produced. Topwater action is still going inside the rivers and Eastern Bay until the sun rises high in the sky, then it usually dies off.
Anglers down south are still finding bluefish and striped bass. Most people are looking for the bluefish around the Target Ship, trolling Clark spoons, while those looking for bass are going into the Potomac and Patuxent rivers, casting plus and jigs around bridge pilings or structure in shallow water.
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
Anglers are enjoying good fishing for striped bass at the Bay Bridge piers this week. The most popular method is live lining or drifting various baits back to the pier bases when a tide is running. The 30’ drop-off on the eastside of the bridge is a favored location for this type of fishing. Others are casting soft plastic jigs at other pier bases, the concrete abutments, and rock piles with good luck. On the westside of the bridge in shallower waters is a good location for catching spot and white perch.
The Kent Narrows continues to be a good place to live line spot or jig for striped bass this week. Fishing for white perch is also good. Dave Haber was fishing the Kent Narrows when he had a surprise catch of a nice sheepshead. Salinity values have been high in the bay due to the current drought and anglers are seeing fish that are normally found farther down the bay.
The channel edges off Kent Island down to Bloody Point has been worth exploring for striped bass with depth finders. Once fish can be found suspended off the bottom, it can be time to try live lining or jigging. Trolling is another good way to explore channel edges. The channel edge from Buoy 84A down to Stone Rock is also a good place to look for striped bass when lining and jigging live. Other anglers are having good luck at the False Channel and Thomas Point. The 30’ to 35’ channel edge tends to be a sweet spot when looking for suspended striped bass.
Water temperatures have reached the upper 70’s this week and it is due time to be thinking about careful releases of striped bass that may be below or above the slot. It would be a good idea to quickly release fish. The following website link offers guidelines. https://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/pages/catch-and-release.aspx
The shallow fishing for striped bass during the morning and evening hours continues to be very good this week. The waters are warming up, so the morning and evening hours offer some of the best fishing opportunities. Casting poppers, Zara Spooks and paddletails are popular lures to use. Watch out for roving schools of cownose rays, they’ve really been stirring up some of the shallows.
Lower Bay
There are lots of great fishing opportunities in the lower bay region this week. Schools of large red drum have arrived in force and anglers have experienced blitz fishing experiences at times near the Target Ship, the Middle Grounds, Smith Point and Point Lookout area recently. Casting large soft plastic jigs and heavy chrome spoons to schools of red drum has provided plenty of catch and release fishing for anglers. These red drum are not going anywhere soon, so the fun fishing should continue this week.
Cobia are steadily moving into the lower bay region this week and anglers were able to lure some into chum slicks off Smith Point and the Middle Grounds. The areas around the Target Ship and Point Lookout will also be good places to fish. Anglers are using live eels for the best results in their chum slicks. Anglers are reporting a fair percentage of the cobia being caught are coming up a little short of the 43” minimum total length measurement. Cownose rays, bluefish, striped bass and perhaps an inshore shark may be attracted to those chum slicks as well.
There are a lot of different fishing opportunities for striped bass this week. The steep channel edges in the lower Potomac River between St. Georges Island and Piney Point is a good location to live line spot or jig. The lower Patuxent River, Cedar Point, Cove Point are all good places to search for striped bass suspended close to the bottom. The 30’ depth has been a performer for anglers live lining, jigging or trolling lately. Bluefish are a big portion of the mix, whether one is live lining, trolling or jigging. Anglers casting from the shores of Point Lookout are reporting to be catching bluefish.
Fishing in the shallower waters along shorelines and river mouths is always fun with light tackle. A mix of striped bass and bluefish are entertaining anglers that are casting topwater lures and paddletails during the morning and evening hours. The marsh edges and grass beds on the eastern side of the bay, St. Marys River, the Cedar Point Rocks and the Hooper Island cuts are a few examples of good places to fish.
Fishing for a mix of spot, croaker, and white perch is excellent in the lower Potomac and Patuxent rivers, Tangier Sound, Pocomoke Sound, and the Hoppers Island area. The larger spot can be found in deeper waters and the small ones suitable for live lining can be found in shallow waters.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Fishing the beaches of Assateague Island and Ocean City has settled into a summer pattern this week. The large migrating striped bass are long gone, there are some large red drum out there, bluefish and a lot of sandbar and blacktip sharks and stingrays for those fishing large baits. Kingfish can be caught on bloodworm or artificial bloodworm baits. Casting jigs with a strip of squid may get one a flounder or two.
At the inlet and Route 50 Bridge complex, sheepshead are being caught on sand fleas. Bluefish and striped bass are being caught by casting jigs during the early morning or evening hours. Drifting cut bait during the evening hours is a great way to target striped bass and bluefish.
It is summertime and boat traffic in the back bay channels, and the inlet are something anglers will have to deal with when fishing for flounder, be careful and have eyes in the back of your head. Flounder fishing is good and the flounder are spreading out through the back bays so the channels near the inlet, although an excellent place to fish can be avoided during heavy boat traffic times. The area in front of the Ocean City Airport is often a good place to drift for flounder.
During the early morning and evening hours anglers are catching striped bass near the bridge piers of the Verrazzano and Route 90 bridges. Most of the striped bass are a little short of the 28” minimum but offer fun catch and release action. Soft plastic jigs and paddletails are the most popular baits.
Outside the inlet Spanish mackerel and bluefish are being caught by trolling a mix of Drone spoons and Clark spoons. Flounder are being caught on the inshore lumps and shoals. At the wreck and reef sites fishing for black sea bass has been good. Limits of black sea bass are few, but most anglers can put together a good catch. Triggerfish have arrived and provide an excellent addition to the mix.
At the canyons, the boats trolling are catching a mix of yellowfin and bluefin tuna. Catches could be better, but most boats can bring a couple of tuna back to the dock. Many captains are adding some deep drop fishing to their charter trips to bring back 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.