Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
After last week's White Marlin Open it is nice to be a bit calmer on the water. With less boat traffic, fishing in the back bays as well as the near shore wrecks should improve exponentially. This week brought many new species of fish into the boats as water remains much warmer than usual in the bays. The coming week remains in the high 80’s and 90’s so this trend should only get better. Weakfish catches are some of the best we have seen in years. Sea trout and redfish are also on the rise.
Flounder, Croaker & Sheepshead
Flounder in the back bays remains pretty strong despite all the boat traffic from the big tournament. The channels and holes in the northern part of Assawoman Bay near the Rt. 90 Bridge seems to be the best area for bigger fish. The area near the Verrazano Bridge is also a great spot to fish this past week. Both these areas are off the beaten path and get much less fishing pressure because of this.
A number of bay boats reported good catches of flounder and croaker all week. The Happy Hooker out of Talbot Street Pier reported that their clients caught some nice flounder this week. The Hooker is running 2 hour trips daily and is a great way to get out and not only catch a few fish but also offers a unique view of Ocean City and Assateague Island that you can only experience from a boat. For the more dedicated fisherman the Bay Bee offers 4 hour trips. Both boats are very family friendly and affordable.Flounder along the main channel on the east side of the bay both above and below the bridge are producing some nice flatties. Squid and minnow bait on a high low rig is producing the best fish. Gulp and bucktails are also making a good showing, however, the fresh bait appears to be outfishing the plastics in the back bays. The Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce Flounder tournament was this past Saturday and had a good turn out. Congratulations to Brandon Miller with the winning fish, an impressive 25¼” flounder weighing 7.1 lbs. Jason Hanshew captured second with a 22” 4.3lb. fish and Thomas Dewees got third with a 21½” 4.64 lb. flounder. All of these fish are truly great catches for the bay. The croaker are also in the back bays in very good numbers. Small hooks baited with blood worms or Fishbites are the best baits with squid also being a favorite. The bigger croaker came in this week which made many anglers very happy. These fish are a great chance to get the smaller children out and catch some fish. Croaker will bite the baited hook very readily and are fun for even the youngest angler. If you don't have your own boat the bay headboats are a great option. With the heat a lot of other species are being caught. Several weakfish are being caught near the Rt. 50 Bridge. Spec rigs and swimming baits with paddle tails or long worms are working best for this. The area in front of Ocean City Fishing Center is a great spot to set up for these fish. In years past, the docks of what were then Shanty Town were a main area fished by locals. The weakfish are most active at night on a flood tide. The bulkhead along the docks where the homes now sit are still a haven for big weakfish as well as trout. Throw your baits along the bulkhead and give them a fairly steady reel back to your boat. Weakfish are predator fish and will watch above them for bait moving in the current. Although the full moon works best even the quarter moon we have now will still produce fish.
Sheepshead are along the rocks of the inlet as well as the deeper holes out front. Shrimp and crab is your best bait and should be drifted into the holes at the slowest pace you can get. Looking at the near shore wrecks, the fishing has been very good this past week. Sea bass, which is usually almost nonexistent this time of year, has been exceptionally good. It is not uncommon to return with near limits. Deeper water in the 80-100 ft. range is bringing in the best catches. The Judy V and Angler report good catches of croaker and sea bass on the African Queen site as well as the Bass Grounds. Most boats are using squid by this time of year, however, if you can find fresh clam it will usually out produce squid. The headboats are also reporting that the wrecks and snags on the reef sites are producing some real quality flounder as well. Long squid strips and Gulp fool some chunky flounder up to 21”. Several spanish mackerel are also being caught on the near shore humps. Trolling clark spoons is the best method.
Surf Fishing, Clams & Crabs
Surf fishing this week on Assateague Island was a little slow. A few nice redfish were caught in the evening hours along with a couple black drum. Northern kingfish and spot are still the big catches on the beach with bloodworms and Fishbites being the best baits. The final weeks of August begin the run of both red and black drum south to their winter havens. Late September is the height of this season however August will produce some quality red drum as we saw in last week's report. Cut baits on big circle hooks along with peeler and cut crab also work well. Late evening fishing at dusk is the best time of the day for targeting drum. Clams remain good in the back bays, but if you're looking for the smaller steaming clams find a location that is not clammed on a regular basis. Large clams are still virtually everywhere and are great for making clam chowder and stuffed clams.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up
