Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
As the second week of June comes to a close, we begin to get ready for the busy season. Schools are done for the year and the crowds will begin arriving next week. The quiet waters brought lots of nice fish and water temps continue to warm up. Flounder have started to show up in the ocean and the back bays are alive with life. Sea bass continue to rule our near shore fishing as flounder rules the back bays.
Sea Bass & Flounder
Sea bass has slowed, mostly due to the mass of anglers targeting all the near shore spots. I always suggest putting in the time if you can and travel a little further to deeper water where better nice fish can be found. In shore the African Queen site is your hot spot for the week. The cable piles and lobster habitats were reported to be the best location for keeper sea bass. Many more shorter knotheads are coming over the rail recently, so be ready to fight through the short fish to acquire your dinner. John Foreman reported sea bass were slow again on the near shore wrecks but the ribbon fish were happy to bite a hook, saving their day on the water. John also reports a few decent flounder were caught. A nice end to a slow start is always welcome. The charter boats have begun changing over to pelagic fishing which has really turned on this past week. The inshore head boat fleet reported they are finding a lot more short sea bass, but are still managing a good pick of knotheads on the near shore reefs. The “Ocean Princess” reported they have finished their 7 hour trips and changed to the summer shorter trips. Victor reports that they are managing to pick some nice fish despite the growing numbers of throwbacks coming over the rail. The headboat “Angler” also reported bite was much slower this week, however they managed a few really nice sized sea bass (up to 4 lbs.) and several flounders mixed in for their anglers. As we get further into the summer heat the sea bass will retreat further offshore and the flounder bite will make up more of our inshore catch. It’s good to see the oceans coming alive with these flat beauties this early in the year. Speaking of flounder, the back bay bite really turned on this week.The “Tortuga” bay fishing boat reported a few keeper flounder last week stating that the catch gets better every day as the weather warms. Squid and shiner combos are being used the most in the bay, but Gulp baits are starting to take some nice fish.
Anthony Puglisi of First State Service was spot on the flounder this week returning to the dock with a limit of some really nice sized flatties. The area behind Assateague Island has again been the most productive. Coincidentally, this area usually has the least amount of boat traffic. Finding the big holes near or south of the airport is the best spot to target the big fish. The area near the Rt. 50 Bridge is always a productive area, however, holding the boat near the bridge with the steady current flow can be very tricky, even to an experienced boater. Allowing your bait to drift the bottom between the bridge pilings is the best, however, if you have ever tried to hold the boat in gear just up current of the pilings, you will understand why not many anglers have good days here! The channel running along the bulkhead near 2nd St. has been a good spot to drift, although, I’ve heard there is much more debris to contend with this year on the bottom and anglers should be prepared to lose a rig or two. The bridge area has also been producing a few nice bluefish at night off of cut bait and jigs. They are usually holding next to the pilings on the down current side of the bridge waiting for a meal to pass by.
Rockfish & Bluefish
The Rt. 50 Bridge as well as the Rt. 90 Bridge have several small rockfish holding along them that will strike a paddle tail lure thrown near them. Most of these fish are undersized, but a couple of keepers have been reported. Bucktails with bright color rubber worms have also been a great bait for stripers. On Assateague Island the rockfish have really tapered off with only a few reports of undersized fish being caught. The beach did produce some black drum along the southern part of the beach near the Virginia line. South of Chincoteague Island the reports of big red drum continue, but only a handful of these fish are traveling north to Maryland. Cut bait and fresh clam is your best bait for targeting these fish. Driving as far south as you can on the federal beach will also give you the best chances of hooking one. Sand fleas are now easily found on the beach and can also be used to target fish along the shore line. Many of these fish are not far from the shore line so a long cast is not necessary. Phillip King caught a beautiful black drum this week on clam. His fish was caught at 3:30pm proving that you don't need to be on the beach at zero dark hundred. Tyler Mathis reported his week on the beach brought several sharks, blues and even a few redfish. Chuck Bauswell had a unique catch this week off the beach with his first cobia. Not many anglers can say they have caught cobia off a surf rod, and even though the fish was undersized, it's still a great catch.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up §
