Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
This week in Maryland has shown much warmer weather than usual for July. It's more like August. Fishing however remains great due to lower winds.
SEA BASS & TOG
I spoke to Kane Bounds from the charter boat “Fish Bound” who said the inshore flounder as well as sea bass has been very good of late. The sea bass are moving deeper and areas like Great Eastern Reef and deeper wrecks are producing the best catches. Some sea bass are being caught at the African Queen site according to Victor Bunting on the Ocean Princess but many of the inshore spots are starting to slow. Victor reported a few nice flounder have also been taken off the wrecks at both the Queen as well as bass grounds. Not many trigger fish have been caught as usual but I’m sure that will change any day now. I have heard of a few tog being caught at the inlet off the rocks but most are undersized. Tog on the near shore wrecks has also slowed.
FLOUNDER
Flounder in the bay areas of Ocean City continues to get better every day with several nice fish coming back to the docks. The main area in front of Martha's Landing as well as the area north of that leading to the RT. 50 bridge remain a local hot spot. The main channel north of the bridge is always a great location to check out, but remains heavy with the summer boat traffic. The waters by Harbor Island are also producing some nice flatties. Gulp remains the strongest bait being used, however, squid/shiners and spot are producing some big fish as well. Live spot will account for less bites but will hook the bigger flounder. So if you’re after quality, get some live spot. Spot can be expensive at the local tackle shops but are well worth the price if you're looking for that 10 lb. fish of a lifetime. Areas by the airport are also a great area to try and are usually less crowded due to the longer ride to get there.
CRABS & CLAMS
Clamming is slowing as our visiting friends and locals hit the main spots. Try going at low tide with a west wind and clam deeper than usual to get past areas already picked over. Trying the areas further away from the inlet are also a better place, as many will not travel too far to go clamming. Crabs remain good . I talked with Carl from Bob’s Marine who stated his pots were averaging about 12 keepers per pot on a three day soak. Bunker is still the better bait. All tackle, Atlantic Tackle,and Martin’s Fish Market all sell cases of bunker for the serious crabber. Areas up north are still producing the best yields for crabs but I am getting reports that areas by the Verrazano bridge are producing better each day.
EVERYTHING ELSE
The Rt. 50 bridge has seen some nice bluefish caught on both cut baits and live spot. If fishing from the bridge, drop your line directly in front of a bridge piling and allow it to bounce out with the current until you get too far away, or get a bite. Remember to use a bridge net or these toothy creatures will surely bite off your rig on the way up-fishing from the bridge is an art. Using live spot in the evening or at night is a great way to target both blues as well as rockfish. Again, fishing in front of the pilings where the water breaks is your best location. Many times an 8 oz. sinker is needed to keep the bait down in the heavy currents. The evening hours and night fishing from the bridge lessens boat traffic but also creates more anglers on the bridge. Many older locals use bucktails and other lures off the bridge. In my experience on the bridge, nothing beats a live spot on a three way rig setup. Inshore sharking, especially off the beach, has been good at night with cut bunker and bluefish being the go to baits. Nearshore wrecks are also producing some nice sharks. Cobia are also around on the nearshore humps Chumming with live eels is the best way to target these fish. Reports from anglers are spotting cobia more frequently swimming by, so keep a rod rigged with a live or artificial eel or bucktail ready in case one of these fish show up to check out what you’re doing. Bucktails with colorful plastic worms are a great rig to keep ready and don’t need to be kept fresh like live eels or spot.
So with the wind laid down and temps up, get out and catch some dinner...
Tight lines and Fins up!
