Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Here we go as the summer fishing season is officially in full swing! The hurricane seems to have churned up the waters and revitalized the fish. Several limits returned to the docks along with some really nice size fish.
Flounder, Bluefish & Rockfish
Flounder fishing has been some of the best we have seen in years. In the back bays the head boats are reporting that their clients are being rewarded with some really nice fish. The “Fish Frenzi” reported some nice flounder at 18-21” along with some sea bass thrown in. Blake Gunther and Derek Yobst reported fantastic fishing early this week with several nice flounder being brought in. Josh Metzgar and crew fished the Rt. 50 Bridge on Monday and caught some nice flounder as well as a few undersized rockfish. Danny Rodriguez caught a limit of flounder on Sunday and left them chewing. That's a lot of fillets for dinner! The main areas of the bay to target the flatties are basically anywhere. Fish are in most of the main channels both north and south of the bridge. Squid and shiner combos remain the star of the show bait with Gulp as an alternative. Target the outside edges of the channel where the water depth changes as the fish will stage on these dropoffs. On the nearshore side of the ocean, the African Queen wreck area is producing the best flounder with the Bass Grounds as a close second. Using the large Gulp baits are working the best. Target the down current side of these wrecks as the fish will set up there waiting to ambush bait fish being swept out of the wreck by the current. At night the Ocean City fishing piers are producing small bluefish on cut bait. Most of these fish are coming at night, however, some can be caught during the day. Stripers are also coming from these piers, but unfortunately most of the them are undersized. The Rt. 50 Bridge is also producing some blues as well as rockfish. Shawn and Big Bird Cropper were at it again catching a nice keeper at the bridge measuring 34” and weighing in at 17.5 lbs. As usual, they credited the Roy Rig for this exceptional catch. This was in connection with an inshore slam consisting of a bluefish, striper and flounder.
Sea Bass, Cobia & Triggerfish
Sea bass remains very strong late in the season. Last year we saw sea bass well into July which in previous times were not seen. Many attributed this to a lower number of anglers. I believe that the lack of pressure last year definitely helped the spawn, but this may just be a changing cycle as we see every few years. The “Ocean Princess” reported that their longer trips have been producing quite a few nice keeper sea bass along with a few big flounder. The “Angler“ reports that their full day trips are also producing some very nice hauls of keeper sea bass. Most of the head boats targeting sea bass stated that the full day trip where they can run further offshore is producing much better. Deep water in the 100 ft. zone is producing the best and biggest catches. The half day trips are giving up a few nice keeper sea bass but the throwback ratio is about 7 throwbacks to 1 keeper. Fresh salted clams are the best choice, but squid appears to be working just as well.
Cobia is also in full swing. I had an opportunity to fish out of Cape Charles this past week and caught a beautiful 43”and 45” cobia. Several huge cobia have been taken by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Looking to Ocean City, several cobia have been spotted on the near shore lumps. Isle of Wright and Little Gull Bank are great places to set up and chum for these fish. Early morning is the best time with live eels being the best baits to use. The “man in the brown suit” can also be found on many of the wrecks nearshore, so when you are out sea bass or flounder fishing be sure to keep a bucktail with a trailing worm or Gulp bait ready just in case one of them swim by checking out your boat.
Triggerfish are all over the nearshore wrecks and many anglers are very happy to see these tasty creatures return to the wrecks. This species have a very firm and tasty white meat. An old trick taught to me years ago by a charter captain is to cut the fillets into chunks about 2”, boil a pot of water with about a half of a box of brown sugar, and drop the chunks into the boiling water and when the cut fish floats to the surface it is done. This may sound like it will make the fish way too sweet but in fact makes it taste just like lobster. Try it next time you catch one... you won't be disappointed!
Crabs & Clams
Carl from Bob's Marine reports crab catches in the upper bay to be around 10-14 keepers per pot. Martin’s Fish Market has fresh and frozen bunker by the flat for crabbing. Clamming on Assateague Island is also very productive with clams either right at the surface or just below the sand. Rakes can be found at most tackle shops as well as many hardware stores.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up
