Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
White marlin week has arrived! The crowds are here for the largest billfish tournament on the east coast. Many of these visitors have brought their boats and are on the water. Our bay fishing and near shore fishing spots have been packed. The cooler temps and calmer winds made it much more bearable in these crowded conditions. Fishing was still pretty good in the back bays as well as the near shore wrecks.
Flounder & Croaker
The back bays have been pretty good for flounder this past week. Many anglers reported big fish in the deeper water channels when you could find them. The main channel just above and just below the Rt. 50 Bridge were very slow mostly due to the high traffic caused by the White Marlin Open. The channel by the Rt. 90 Bridge as well as the one south of Harpoon Hanna’s were the hot spots this week according to many anglers including Frederick Rath. He reported nice size fish caught at these locations all week. Again these areas are off the path of the bigger boats fishing the Open. The Angler headboat reports great catches of big flounder for their customers all week. They report some nice sea bass also came over the rails this week. Many anglers were rewarded with big knot heads bouncing squid along the bottom of the wrecks. It is very late in the season to see these big sea bass coming in. The African Queen site has produced some nice sea bass as well as some big flounder. Randy Swane reports that he had a group out on his charter boat near the lightship early this week and loaded up on sea bass up to 17”. Randy further reported he did the next day charter at the African Queen site and got limits for all of his clients on big flounder. Randy reports the flounder were up to 6 lbs. He also said there were tons of big triggerfish on the wrecks. He reported that the fish were all on the down current side of the wrecks and slammed the baits coming off the wreck and onto the sandy bottom. The Judith M is also reporting great catches of big flounder and some really impressive sea bass. Capt Eric reports great catches but said that the sea robins were very thick and made it difficult to catch anything else at times. Victor on the Ocean Princess said he is hitting the near shore wrecks daily with some great catches of flounder and some really nice sea bass thrown in, making his anglers very happy. Victor is also targeting croaker on his night trips. Croaker tend to bite the hook much better at night. The Ocean Princess is the only boat running night trips on Tuesday and Thursday. The evening trip is a unique way to spend an evening and a great way to see the lights of Ocean City at night on the ride in. Even many experienced anglers have never ventured through the inlet after dark and seen the beauty of the inlet all lit up from the water. Lucky One charters had a good day Tuesday catching a mix of flounder, blues, and sea bass. The area around the Rt. 50 Bridge has been good for catch and release stripers at night along with some nice slammer blues. Most of these fish have come on cut bait. If you don’t want to use cut bait, a bucktail with a bright color rubber worm on the back will also fool these fish. Drop your baits down directly in front of the bridge pilings and allow the bait to bounce the bottom away from the bridge. Always fish the down current side from the bridge as these fish usually hold in the eddy formed by the break in the current that the piling produces. Croaker in the back bays have really started to turn on with some bigger fish coming in. Early morning or late evening are the most active times for these fish. The area near the Rt. 90 Bridge is a great place to target them as well as the back bay areas near the airport. Small hooks with squid being the best bait with Fishbites and bloodworms being a close second. Croakers are also on many humps just outside the inlet and can be chummed up pretty easy at night.
Sharks, Cobia, Redfish
Shark fishing has gotten very good as we get into the heat of the summer. Many big sand sharks and sandbar sharks are being caught both off the fishing piers as well as the surf at night. Sand tiger sharks commonly called sandbar sharks are a protected species and may not be taken out of the water. Cutting the leader is the best method for protecting these fish and also the safest way to release these fish without fear of a bite. The shoal areas south of the inlet is a great spot to set up and chum for both sharks and cobia. Cobia fishing has started to turn on lately also. A few reports have come in of nice keeper being caught on live eels. Reports were slow coming in this week as many charters were fishing the White Marlin Open. Virginia near the bay bridge tunnel is still the hot spot for cobia with numerous trophy fish being caught daily. Red drum fishing remains hit or miss on Assateague Island this week. If you find the right spot, several big trophy class redfish can be caught. Cut crab and sand fleas remain the number one bait for these fish. A couple reports of black drum were also received from this area this week. The area near the Virginia line is holding the best fish with the area just south of the bullpen as the second best. A drive on federal permit is required to fish this area and can be purchased at the park office.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up
