Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Well the heat has arrived, and so have the tourists! Boat traffic on both the back bays and near shore areas has been the heaviest I've seen in years. Many angler and boating enthusiasts are hitting the water after a year off from Covid. Anglers hoping to catch some fish should head out early to avoid the crowds.
Flounder, Sheepshead & Croaker
Flounder in the back bays remain pretty strong. The area near the Rt. 50 Bridge is still the hot spot this week giving up several big flounders. Squid and minnow combo baits are the best for hooking into these fish. Anglers report the area just north of the bridge along the deep channel will give you the best chance for a big flattie. This area is great up until about 10 am and then the large fleet of boat traffic will send the fish into hiding. The area behind Assateague Island is also producing nice flounder along with some decent croaker. The deep holes along the west side of the bay are the best spots. The Get Sum charter boat reported a good couple of days on the water this week with his clients pulling in some nice fish. Capt. Jason Mumford of the Lucky Break had a good week with some big flounder as well as a few bluefish thrown in for good measure. The Ocean City Fishing Pier reported a few nice flounder and croaker have come in during the day as well as bluefish and trout in the evening hours. Luke Wrye went to the west side of the Rt. 90 Bridge on Thursday and said it was hardcore croaker! He reports lots of double hookups with a few fish up to 11”. This is a great fish for the novice angler because croaker will bite just about anything and are almost always ready to eat. Small pieces of squid are your best bait however any cut bait will work. Fish Bites artificial baits are also a great option and will keep both anglers and boats a lot cleaner. As to the type of Fish Bites, I prefer the “Bloodworm” ones but any of the inshore flavors will work. They have fairly small mouths so smaller hooks will work better. These fish appear to be here earlier than usual this year which usually means a strong showing. Try not to get caught up in the catch and only keep what you can eat. In past years many of the headboats have seen large numbers of fish left onboard after anglers have left. Keep in mind many hotel rooms only have small refrigerators and keeping 20 fish just will not fit. Sheepshead are all along the inlet walls as well as the deeper holes out front. Shrimp and sand fleas are your best baits. The inlet is busy this time of year, so if you are going to target these fish do so early in the morning before boat traffic gets too heavy. They will lay right against the rocks or on the edge of the deeper holes. The Rt. 50 Bridge is also a great spot to target these fish but again, traffic will make it difficult to anchor up near the pilings where these fish stay. Quite often in the summer time a few big sheepshead can be seen on the South East piling next to the bridge thorofare. This is a very heavily traveled area and can only be fished very early in the morning or very late in the evening.
Sea Bass, Bluefish, & Triggerfish
The sea bass, much like last year, remains very strong. This time of year normally signals the change in sea temps and the fish go deeper. This year, much like last year, the fish have stayed inshore through much warmer weather. The Ocean Princess as well as the Angler report some great hauls of sea bass along with triggerfish coming off the near shore wrecks. Clam and squid are the best bait this year, however, the fresher bait you can find the better the bite. Many anglers who have been using jigs to catch sea bass in previous weeks have changed over to clam or squid. As the water warms, target the deeper wrecks such as the Jack Spot and Great Eastern Reef. Triggerfish are also showing up on the wrecks early this year. The Fenwick Shoals wrecks have been producing some nice numbers of triggerfish with most being caught in squid or small cut baits. Fenwick Shoals are also producing some cobia and bluefish. Chumming heavily and putting out cut baits at different depths are the best chance of hooking into one of these hard fighting fish. The area on the south side of the Shoals has a deep drop-off wall that is great to set up on when the wind is out of the north. Keep a bucktail with a trailer for fish that come swimming by. The nearshore wrecks have also been showing a few sea trout and weakfish being caught. These fish have been scarce in past years but seem to be making a comeback. Years ago on a full moon, weakfish could be caught in great numbers even in the back bay areas. Spec Rigs are a great artificial bait to throw for these fish.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up
