Article by Capt. Lance Smith
Let's face it, not everyone likes to fish. I know this is hard for most of the Coastal Fisherman's loyal readers to believe, but it is the truth. What makes this even harder to imagine is the fact that most of the time they are some of the people closest to us. Somehow, as diehard fisherman, we manage to end up with spouses, children or close friends that really aren't that into fishing. I honestly believe that I have spent less than 10 hours per summer basking in the sun on the beach or playing in the surf. However, for many visitors and locals alike, this is what they enjoy doing the most. I have found a solution (and have been using it for many years) that can make pretty much everyone you are trying to entertain enjoy their day while you still get to fish!
The answer to everyone's prayers is oddly something that most fisherman try to avoid. That is sandbars. If you have ever spent any length of time on a boat in the back bays of Ocean City, you have invariably had to get out of your boat and make the embarrassing “push of shame”. Even someone such as myself who has been running the back bays in variously sized vessels for nearly 27 years, still gets stuck every once in a while. Most of the time it happens when I am flounder fishing and my mind is drifting off just like the boat is, and I forget how close I am to shallow water. Or, when I judge the tide wrong and try to take one of my shortcuts to get to my fishing hole quicker, I may end up in water a bit shallower than I wanted to be in! Add the fact that these sandbars and the channels shift every winter and it can be very easy for someone who hasn't visited in a while to get stuck.
Now, the point of this column is that sandbars can also be our friends. Whether you have your own boat or decide to rent one from many of the marinas in the pages of this paper, a day spent on one of the many available sandbars can be entertaining for just about everyone. Children can take their boogie boards and inner tubes and float around, spouses can sit under their umbrella sipping martinis and those who prefer to just hang out and shoot the breeze (we all have that friend) can pull out the grill and show off their cooking skills. There are plenty of little critters running around like hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs and small minnows for the kids to chase. Clamming is another great pastime that is not only fun, but is also good exercise and can provide you with some tasty appetizers when the day is over.
As for actually catching clams, clam rakes can be bought at just about any local tackle store, or you can do it the old fashioned way that I prefer. I simply use my feet in a twisting motion in deeper water or dig with my hands in shallower water. I find that I can actually fill a bucket of clams quicker this way than I can with a rake. Just be careful of sharp shells and other objects when using this method. The clams themselves are usually only an inch or two below the bottom so you don't need to dig to China, and once you have found one, there will generally be quite a few more in the same area. Clams prefer muddy bottoms and while you may find a few in the sandy areas near the top of the bar, getting into slightly deeper water and finding a slimy/muddy bottom will always be more productive. The smaller clams are great when cooked and eaten whole after dipping them in a bit of drawn butter. The larger clams make great clams casino if you have a bit of culinary skill and they are excellent for catching baitfish such as spot.
If you happen to be the person onboard who actually wants to fish, you have some terrific options. When I take my family out for a day on the sandbars we take the dogs, sandwiches, drinks, inner tubes, surfboards, seines, cast nets and just about anything else we can fit onboard. If my father is along for the day, we will drop those who don't wish to fish off the sandbar and those of us who want to fish will remain onboard and do short drifts within sight of our party. This is a great way to flounder fish since flounder love to stay right on the edges of these bars. I once even saw about a 20-incher jump completely out of the water while chasing bait right up against the marsh on the sandbar closest to Hooper's Restaurant. Fishing in this manner allows you to keep in contact with the rest of your group and still keeps you in the game for some excellent fishing.
Then there is my way of sandbar fishing. I will securely anchor the boat on the bar according to the wind and the tide and I will hop off and go wading with my rod. First, let me explain that all sandbars are not created equal. Some you are allowed on, some you are allowed on only up to a certain point (due to bird nesting) and some bars you aren’t allowed on at all. Some bars always have at least a part of them above water even at high tide while others (noticeable with a good pair of sunglasses and their accompanied breaking waves) never break the surface, even on the lowest of tides.
When wading, whichever type you decide to anchor upon, don't worry about how shallow the water is. On some of the bars just to the north of the Rt. 50 Bridge, you may find pools of water or small channels that are only 2 to 3-foot deep. Trust me, there are flounder in those spots, and they also provide one of the best chances for landing a flattie or some snapper bluefish on a fly rod in Ocean City. Other parts of the sandbar may drop straight off into the 12-feet of water or so into the channel. No matter what kind of bait or lure you are using just remember to constantly keep it moving or drifting along the bottom with the tide.
I personally like to take my dog and fish some of the bars that are never fully exposed at low tide. You will often see small waves crashing on these bars (especially when boats go by) and different seagulls and turns diving into the churning water. Baitfish, shrimp and crabs get confused and stuck on top of these bars and wading for them can sometimes be outstanding. The dog gets to play in the water, the kids can goof-off on their boogie boards and I get to cool off wading up to my chest and casting into the channel. When the mullet and spot arrive, and you can get a dozen or two of them alive to your sandbar, put them in one of those yellow minnow buckets and tie it off to your shorts. These larger, live baits can produce some monster flounder and there is nothing like walking backward into shallow water and pulling a big keeper into a foot or two of clear water.
As for which bars you can and can't use, which hold clams and which hold fish, your best bet is to ask someone at one of the local tackle shops or just look for a bunch of boats anchored up and people having a good time. A good depth chart of the bay and a quality pair of polarized sunglasses will help you find some of the lesser known sandbars. Give it a try and you'll see that by the end of the day everyone that you took with you will have had a good time and you just may have caught some dinner and appetizers.
Lance Smith is an outdoor writer and Captain of his family’s boat, ‘Longfin”. His column appears every other week in the Coastal Fisherman.
