Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
As a kid first learning about fishing Ocean City’s inshore waters, I was always attracted to finding and fishing the deepest parts of the bay. I remember that there were a couple “holes” in particular that dropped from 6-feet to 15-feet in depth that I was always certain would hold the biggest flounder in the bay. After all, it only made sense that the biggest fish would prefer the deepest water from which to both hide from fishermen and ambush their prey. Rarely seeing anyone else fishing these locations, I just knew I’d found a couple little honey-holes that would be my own secret places for big flounder. The problem was, no matter how or when I fished these deep-water haunts I never caught any big flounder. In fact, when I think back about it now I don’t recall ever catching even a single fish of any size or type in either of my “secret holes.” Never quite understanding why those places didn’t produce, I eventually gave up on them and resigned myself to fishing among the rest of the bay-fishermen in the channels and along the edges of the shoals.
It’s interesting how things sometimes turn around. Over the last decades or so, I’ve spent a fair amount time in the winter chasing fish across the shallow-water flats of the Florida Keys, and one thing I learned down there is that there are a lot of very big fish on this planet that have no problem hanging out in very shallow water. Bringing this knowledge home to Delmarva I’ve made it a mission to fish and explore not the deepest parts of the bay waters - but some of the shallowest, and over time I’ve come to know that even though the species are different, a lot of the same kind of skinny-water fishing fun that goes on in south Florida is available to anglers here in our local bays. Flats-fishing on Delmarva? Well, as a matter of fact - yes!
While a lot of local anglers might consider the idea of fishing in 1-3 feet of water not only a bit bizarre but also a total waste of time, let’s start by mulling over one obvious point - where are most of the baitfish and other little critters in the bay typically found? Minnows, shiners, mullet, spot, shrimp, mussels, clams, snails, and crabs all poke around the shallow, marshy areas, and you’ll find that just about all year such places are almost always loaded up with enough food to keep just about any size fish fat and happy.
What often goes on in these shallow areas is when the tide drops all the way down, the predator fish are forced to move out of the shallowest water up close to banks that might drop down to a depth of foot or less. At the extreme low tide, baitfish can find some sanctuary in the very shallow water as the bigger fish are pushed out and hold in the 2 to 4-foot zone. Then as the tide begins to rise the predators can be eager to move up with the water and get their shots at food that was previously unreachable.
In the same way that someone will stay out of trouble if they beach their boat when the tide is rising rather than when it’s falling, fish don’t want to get stranded in the shallows either and so are very sensitive to the movement of the tides and will tend to be more bold about moving into very shallow water when the tide is rising than when it is falling. Therefore, fish that might be found in 1 to 2-feet on a rising tide might move out to 2 to 3-feet as just as soon as the tide starts to fall. They’re still in what most would consider “shallow-water,” just not as shallow as when the tide is rising.
Therefore, anglers who fish the shallows should concentrate on the shallowest water on the rising tide and move out a bit when it’s falling. Keep in mind that fish will often move to the mouths of little creeks and cuts to nab baitfish being washed out with the receding water. On extreme high tides, fish will take advantage of the extra water and often push into places anglers might never expect them to be, like actually “among” the marsh grass, or way up a mosquito ditch.
While fishing the shallows, one must remember that when fish don’t have much water over their head they tend to be on high alert for both prey and the danger, so they tend to be spooky and require a stealthy approach by anglers. This means no banging and clanging on the boat or loud talking, and also requires that boat motors be shut down a hundred yards or so from the fishing location and then poled, paddled, drifted or electric-motored to within casting range.
Once on the scene, anglers can cast whatever bait, lures, jigs or flies they think will be most appropriate for the species they anticipate will be there. Of course, because it’s so shallow, offerings should be something that can be worked at a slow to moderate retrieve without getting hung up on the bottom. I’ve had good luck using floating Mirolure plugs that descend only about a foot when retrieved and small lightweight bucktails. When fly-fishing, I’ve found that chartreuse, white or pink flies that suspend well will work most of the time.
So what’s biting out there on the Delmarva flats you ask? Well, except for the structure fish such as tautog, sea bass and sheepshead, just about any other fish you’d normally expect to find in the back bays can and will, at times, end up in the shallow water. This summer we’ve had great luck hooking rockfish, redfish (puppy drum), bluefish, and even flounder in 1 to 3-feet of water, not to mention a few needlefish, rays, and believe it or not, one evening I caught a six-inch grouper! I told you the fishing reminded me of Florida!
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
