Article by Larry Jock
Readers of the Coastal Fisherman are very familiar with the name, Capt. Nick Clemente and his charter boat, “Get Sum”. I had a chance to interview Capt. Nick about his charter business and flounder fishing in Ocean City, MD.
What year did you start chartering the “Get Sum”?
We are celebrating our 15th year in business! I started charter fishing on the “Get Sum” during the 2002 season. At that time we were docked at the marina on Dorchester Street in Ocean City. Now we are at the Ocean City Fishing Center in West Ocean City.
What made you decide to become a charterboat captain?
I've always loved boats and fishing. Growing up in Harrisburg, PA, my family vacationed in Ocean City every summer. When I was 11 years old, my dad chartered a boat to go offshore fishing. Looking back, it was so rough we probably should have never left the dock and the Captain definitely should have never let me run the boat, but from that day on I knew that was what I wanted to do.
Why did you decide to specialize in bay and inshore fishing as opposed to offshore fishing?
I fished offshore as a mate and captain for 10 years. I was given the opportunity to buy the “Get Sum”, which was a private boat owned by Marty Hudson, and decided to stay in the bay and be my own boss.
What tips would you give to young anglers who hope to one day become a charter boat captain?
Do what you love, but be prepared to do a lot more than just fish. Remember that we are in the entertainment business as much as the fishing business. You have to have fun and show your customers a good time. You want them to be smiling when they get off the boat. Also, be prepared for some long days. During the season, I typically arrive at the boat at 7:00 AM and I don’t get home until after 8:00 PM.
How has fishing for flounder in the bay changed since you started chartering?
The hot spots are always the hotspots. They have been since before me and they will be long after. It hasn't changed in that respect. We have seen changes in the rigs and the baits we choose, and there seems to be a lot more boats around. The introduction of Gulp! artificial baits has really changed the game and we find ourselves using less live bait, although live spot is a killer flounder bait, especially when they are around 3-inches.
How would you grade flounder fishing in the bay over the last 2-3 years?
I would say that it has been fair. You have good months and you have slower ones. Some days you just have to work harder at it than others.
The landscape of the bay has really changed over the past few years and that has changed the way we fish for flounder. For example, the channel north of the Rt. 50 Bridge, between the East and West Channels, now has a shoal right down the middle of it, so instead of one big area to drift, we now have two skinny areas. This shoal formed over the winter.
What has really changed is striped bass fishing in the Inlet. Ever since the Army Corp. of Engineers worked on the South Jetty around 5 years ago, we just don’t seem to get the numbers of stripers in the Inlet during the fall run. Some days you look out and not a single person is drifting in the Inlet. Everyone is out trolling in the ocean.
If you could flounder fish in only one spot in the bay, where would it be?
If I only had one choice, it would have to be the East Channel because every year that is where the biggest flounder come from during the season. I’m not sure why that is because there is a lot of boat traffic and commotion, but it’s the deepest channel and seems to hold the big ones. You also have a lot of structure when you consider the rocks and cement droped along the Bulkhead and the pilings and rocks around the Rt. 50 Bridge.
Does the best location for flounder fishing shift throughout the summer? Is it consistent from year-to-year?
Yes it does. There are lots of places up and down the bay that hold fish at different times of the year. Early in the season, flounder fishing tends to be good in the shallow water where water temperatures during the outgong tide are at their warmest. The bay behind Assateague seems to produce better catches in the spring, so we will be down in that area more in the spring than in the heart of the summer.
Do you prefer live bait or artificial baits?
I was a slow convert to Berkley’s Gulp! artificial baits until one day when I was fishing with your dad and he was burning them up with Gulp! Swimming Mullets which were fairly new back then. I was struggling with live spot so I ended up trying Gulp! for the first time during that trip and have been hooked ever since. They really are amazing and have turned into my favorite artificial bait for flounder fishing.
What is your favorite live bait to use for flounder fishing?
My number one choice would be live spot. Flounder absolutely love em! My next choice would be live bunker. Both can be caught with a cast net right in any shallow water around the bay or at the openings to the marinas. It’s best to do it with 1 person running the boat and the other throwing the net. When you store your live spot or bunker, make sure the door to your pen is tied shut or you may find seals have come in and robbed you blind.
Do you like to use J-hooks or circle hooks?
I use J-hooks. Some of the guys fishing with live bait have started using circle hooks but the rig we tie is a top-and-bottom rig with a pair of 1/2 oz. jig heads that we tip with Gulp! Swimming Mullets on both hooks.
Is there a certain water temperature that you look for in the spring for flounder fishing to turn on?
To get a consistent bite the water temperature has to be approaching 60 degrees. Typically, in the spring we like to fish the outgoing tide so the water temperatures have a better chance of getting up near the 60-degree mark.
What tactics do you employ when water temperatures get too warm in the summer?
If the water is too warm, we offer other kinds of fishing or target different species. This is when we look to fish the deeper holes for flounder or move around and target croakers. Again, it is key to watch the tides so you can be fishing when the cooler water rolls in.
If you had your choice of tides, which one do you think is most productive for flounder fishing?
In the heart of the summer, I really like the last of incoming and the start of outgoing. The incoming tide is bringing cooler water in from the ocean which can trigger a better bite. When the water gets too warm, the fish get lethargic and the bite can be tough.
Do you prefer morning, mid-day, afternoon or early evening trips?
Everything really depends on the tides, water clarity conditions, wind, etc. I'm a morning person, so if I'm fishing for fun, I like the morning, but for charters there are advantages to all three tides. In the morning and early evening, you tend to have less boat traffic and you can jump on a good bite if the conditions are right.
Fortunately, we have a unique situation in our bay and there aren't too many times that you can't find somewhere that will be good.
What time are the trips on the “Get Sum”?
8:00 AM to 12:00 NOON
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
5:30 PM to 7:30PM
When you hook a minnow for flounder fishing, do you see a difference in where the minnow is hooked?
I really don’t use minnows by themselves, but I like to combo them with the 4-inch Gulp! Swimming Mullet. I like to hook the minnow through the lips so that it dangles back along side the Gulp!
What are the most common mistakes you see anglers make when flounder fishing?
Setting the hook too hard is definitely the number one mistake I see folks make. Although I see successful anglers really set the hook hard, when I am fishing with Gulp artificial baits, I just slowly lift the rod tip until I feel the fish come tight. You gotta give flounder a chance to swallow the bait.
Do you prefer spinning or conventional tackle for flounder fishing?
I prefer spinning tackle. This is what I learned on. On the “Get Sum” we use the Penn Battle II spinning reels. If you don’t know what you are doing, conventional reels and backlashes can be a real pain in the neck. Spinning reels are a lot easier to use for my customers.
Do you like to drift or slow troll for flounder?
It is difficult to slow troll on the “Get Sum” so we drift for flounder. Anglers also like to hold the rod and feel the fish take the bait, so drifting is our perferred method of fishing.
Is there a technique you use to slow your drift down if the current is moving too fast?
If a 1 oz. jig head cannot hold bottom during the drift, I will move to another spot where the drift will be slower. I know some guys like to put a 5-gallon bucket overboard to create drag and slow their drift, but we don’t do that.
If there is no current, which can be as bad a current that is moving too fast when it comes to catching flounder, then I just like to bump the boat in and out of gear, which can be very effective..
Is there anything special you like to do when you are flounder fishing around the South Jetty versus just drifting in the channel?
There are a lot of things you need to take into consideration when flounder fishing around the South Jetty. Tide, wind direction and water clarity. When conditions are right, I personally like to drift along the outside of the South Jetty with our anglers dropping the top and bottom rig. Sometimes, though when the wind isn’t just right, I move the “Get Sum” a little off the jetty and have our anglers cast toward the rocks and jig back with the top and bottom rig. Be careful though. You can lose a lot of rigs that way, but that is where you need to get your bait to in order to land a nice size flounder.
What is the largest flounder ever caught on the “Get Sum”?
I actually caught the largest flounder on the “Get Sum”. It was a 32-incher that I caught while striper fishing at Little Gull Shoal in November 2009. We had to throw it back because they closed the season in September, right after Labor Day. The largest flounder caught by a customer was an 8 lb. 13 oz. flattie in the East Channel a couple of years ago
What is the most number of flounder ever caught during one trip on the “Get Sum”?
On one 4-hour trip, our anglers caught 16 keepers. We were fishing around the South Jetty and down in the bay behind Assateague Island. They were all caught on Gulp! Swimming Mullets. We made the cover of the Coastal Fisherman that week and I know that one of the anglers is still carrying around a copy in his truck.
You have added the “Ivy Sea”, a 26-foot center console to your operation? What are your plans for that boat?
Adding the “Ivy Sea” to our business really increases the options for our customers. The “Ivy Sea” can be fished in the Inlet and bay, but more importantly, we can now take advantage of the growing artificial and natural reef systems off our coast. Flounder fishing on ocean structure is really gaining popularity and we are seeing some nice size fish coming off the structure.
In the fall, it also allows us to take advantage of the good striper fishing just off the beach. This year, we are taking the “Ivy Sea” to Cambridge, MD to fish for stripers in the Choptank River from mid-October through November. We will then be back in Ocean City to start trolling and jigging for stripers along our coast when it heats up at the end of November and into December.
What do you see down the road for flounder fishing on ocean structure?
I see it becoming a big thing. There are more and more places holding those fish and it's good to see, especially on those days when the bay gets crowded with other boat traffic. A big thanks go out to Capt. Monty Hawkins and the Ocean City Reef Foundation. That organization has really done a lot for fishing out of Ocean City. Hopefully, more people will join the Reef Foundation because the more members they get, the more reefs they can create.
One final question. If you have both men and women on the boat, who outfishes who?
Women typically out fish the men. I think it’s because women tend to have a softer touch and don’t rip the bait from the fish.
So far this season, we have had interviewed Capt. Monty Hawkins about the OC Reef Foundation, Capt. Bill Pino, founder of Squidnation.com and Capt. Franky Pettolina about the OC Marlin Club. If you missed any of these interviews, you can find them in past issues of the Coastal Fisherman that are available online at www.coastalfisherman.net.
If there is anyone you would be interested in being interviewed, drop us a suggestion at [email protected].
