Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
The fishing this week remains steady even with the cooler weather. Sea bass is still the most targeted species but flounder is making a strong surge.
Sea Bass
Captain Monty on the Morning Star reports he has had some great trips with limits to most anglers fishing the near shore wrecks. His best trip was June 1st with fantastic weather and a great bite to go along with it. The Angler also reports some of the best sea bass fishing they have had in years. Most of the targeted areas like the Bass Grounds and the African Queen are being hit hard and are now producing a lot more undersized fish than in past weeks. If using your personal boat, try targeting the deeper areas like the Great Eastern wreck or the Marine Electric areas for a less pressured area. Clams still remain the best bait, with squid being second. Fresh over frozen is still the better choice. Target the down current sides of these deeper wrecks to find staging fish.
Flounder
Flounder in the bay areas have really heated up with most of the bay party boats reporting some great catches. The main area of interest seems to be above the Rt. 50 Bridge. Drifting the main channel with squid/minnow combos on a nice long leader is the key to tricking one of these fish into biting. The Thorofare leading to Ocean Pines is also producing some nice fish. The key times being at the end of any moving tide. The area behind Assateague Island which has been really hot the past few weeks took a big slowdown with very few fish being reported. The area near the Commercial Harbor in the deep hole to the south has been producing some decent fish with both small stripers as well as a few sea trout thrown in. For the rockfish and sea trout, throw a small bucktail tipped with a colored worm or a paddle tail swim jig. Flounder on the wrecks are not as prevalent as up north however a few nice keepers are being reported.
Sharks, Rockfish & Rays
Sharks have shown up on the surf and near shore wrecks. Lots of dogfish sharks are on the wrecks sometimes making it hard to get down to the flounder and sea bass.
Tip of the week... after hooking a sea bass, don't stop reeling as the fish comes up. You don't have to horse it up as fast as you can but a steady retrieve will help to keep the sharks away. When the dogfish become too abundant you'll have to move to another wreck. Although I personally am not a fan of dogfish sharks, many people think the white meat is very tasty. Overseas the dogfish are used for fish and chips and have a big commercial fishery for them. Here in the states there are no regulations on dogfish and you can keep what you catch. Please keep only what you can eat. Dogfish do not freeze very well and should be eaten fresh. Also in the surf we have reports of sand tiger sharks as well as a few duskys. Cut bait on a circle hook is the best presentation for these. After dark is when these sharks are most active. Assateague Island is also reporting a few rockfish in the surf however most are over slot when found. In the bay the Rt. 50 Bridge is still producing small stripers as well as a few blues. Bouncing a jig along the bottom near the bridge structure is the key to getting these fish to bite. Along the channel leading into Ocean City small rockfish and trout are still being caught, but they are not as abundant as in past weeks. Most of these fish are coming from the areas of the Ocean City fishing piers both bay side and oceanside. Swim baits thrown and retrieved on or near the bottom account for most of the fish caught. This upcoming week looks to be a hot one so I would expect to see a few cobia hitting the hooks. Eels are your best bait. Set up on a nearby shoal and chum heavy. Let your bits drift back at different intervals so as to cover the water top to bottom. A smart thing to do is keep a plastic or rigged eel on a rod as many times these cobia will swim right next to the boat when checking out your baits. Having a bait ready to toss in front of these finicky fish is often a day saver.
Clams & Crabs
Clams at the Assateague bays have really turned on. As the water continues to warm the clams come up from their deep muddy depths and are closer to the top of the sand making raking easier. Crabs are still a little slow down south here, although the numbers are increasing. About 4-7 keepers per pot is about average.
We always like to see pictures of your catches, so please send them to the Coastal Fisherman at [email protected].
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up
