Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
It had been almost two hours since we pulled out of the marina when I eased back on the throttle, allowed the boat to glide to a halt and finally announce to my crew, “We’re here”!
”Where’s here?” Someone asked. To which I explained that we were about 30-some miles, southeast of Ocean City on a chunk of water that doesn’t really have a name and it’s not close to any wreck, or shoal, or canyon or anything else that might be described on a chart.
”There are no other boats around, so what made you choose this place to fish over any other part of the ocean?”
That was a great question and one that was easy enough to truthfully answer just by saying; “This is where we caught fish yesterday, so I figured that it would be a good place to start today.” But knowing what the fellow really wanted to hear was what made that particular piece of offshore real-estate any better of a place to catch fish than another patch of water two, ten or even twenty miles away. I explained that the sea floor we would be drifting over that day had a lot of changes in depth that would range anywhere from 90 to as much as 150-feet, and that kind of bottom variation can create an environment that would entice both baitfish and predator fish to the area. We were after sharks that day and the simple fact that during the preceding week we had seen everything from bonito to dolphin fish, turtles to sunfish, bottlenose dolphin to bluefish, lots of bird life and even flying fish, I figured it was a pretty “fishy” area and certainly a good place to catch a shark or two. And that’s why we started fishing there that day.
Every fisherman must start their day by deciding where they are going to fish. For some anglers the options are limited to what headboat they should get aboard, what side of the pier to fish from or what part of the bridge to stand on. For others it’s all a matter of asking the right questions until they find out where other anglers have been catching fish and then following the crowd to where the action is. But even if someone is tipped off to a great place to go, they might still get there only to find that they “should’a been there yesterday” because the fish have moved, so there they are bobbing around in the ocean trying to figure out where to go now. But for those who head out on large bodies of water and have no one to guide them, and not a lot of experience locating fish of their own, finding a fishy place can be more than just a little intimidating. It’s a big ocean out there – where do you even start?
Paper charts are always a good starting point for finding fishy waters. Knowing the general area they intend to fish, anglers should be able to research that area on a chart and determine if it has any anomalies that might hold fish. Consideration should be given to any drop-offs, rock piles, wrecks, reefs, shoals, buoys or anything else that’s more than just smooth, flat bottom. Even if an angler’s plan is to troll for pelagic species such as tuna or billfish, that are not usually associated with bottom structure, the baitfish they are feeding on that day might be more inclined to favor such irregularities and so the big fish might be in the area as well. Everyone must start somewhere; so beginning a fishing day over or near a unique feature on the chart might be as good a place as any.
Because sea birds are always on the hunt, fishy places will often exhibit some level of bird activity. With their keen eyesight and excellent vantage point, birds will easily find fish long before even the best fisherman. Lots of birds diving on the water is a sure sign of fish, but even just a few birds aimlessly flying about can also be a tip-off to fish in the area because such birds might just be biding their time until fish return to the surface where they can get at them. A little knowledge about the different types of birds, including what types of fish they feed on and how they capture their prey, can help anglers understand the significance of seeing birds in a particular area.
Slicks on the water can also tip anglers off to the presence of fish below. Slicks are flat, glassy patches of water that might be a few feet, or a few acres in diameter. They can be created by wind, oil from someone’s bilge or from the feeding activity of fish below the surface. While wind and oil slicks don’t do anything for fishermen, those made by feeding fish are certainly great indication of a good place to fish. A fish slick will often have birds poking round it and in some cases, anglers will even be able to catch a whiff of fish odor if they pass downwind. Folks should, however, keep in mind that the slick will often linger in the area long after the feeding is done and the fish have moved on, so fishing efforts should not be concentrated right on the slick as much as in the general area. Multiple slicks popping up in one area can be an indication of a lot of death and destruction going on beneath the waves and a good reason to work the area over thoroughly!
Other indicators of fish include strong temperature breaks, rip currents, upwellings, the presence of whales and dolphins, weedlines, and if all else fails, anglers should never overlook the possibility that a whole bunch of boats fishing in the same area might just be a pretty positive clue that some really good stuff is happening on the end of their lines in some very fishy water!
Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and Captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
