Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
This past week in Maryland, the weather was anything but pleasant. Strong storms bearing lighting, high winds, and heavy downpours crashed in our skies most evenings. The back bays and streams leading into the bays have become fast-moving rivers dumping tons of water into our back bays. The Ocean City bay has a ton more keeper flounder than in past weeks, despite the 17.5-inch minimum size limit. Anglers still have to contend with a bunch of throwbacks; however are catching a few fish to bring home for dinner. “Fish Bound Charters” had several trips last week with limits of fluke, along with being able to troll up blues and Spanish mackerels.
Back Bays and Inlets
The back bays and inlets are alive with fish. Many anglers are reporting tons of bites. Many of these fish are undersized, however provide anglers with tons of opportunities, making the day on the water full of action. The holes near the airport, as well as the main channels, are the hot spots of the week with the most keeper flounder coming from these locations. Due to the amount of small fish, anglers should use bigger Gulp baits or live spot when targeting keeper fish instead of continuous action. The inlet rocks are also showing signs of a summer bite with sheepshead and tog coming off the rocks. “Back Bays Adventures” had several good trips last week, delighting anglers with large catches of flounder and other bay fish. The groups had several bites and fish to target. Although a lot of fish were undersized, they provided a ton of action for anglers. Craig Cropper took out Jake from Freedom Baits and caught several nice-sized bluefish off the bridge. Cory Glover fished the Rt. 50 bridge and stated he had so many fish ready to bite his offering, the famous Roy Rig. Rich Fiore caught some nice slot rockfish as well as a few overslot ones this past week. He states flounder have been quick to bite, but most are just undersized. John Spence stated that despite the smaller fish, he did find a nice 22” one to invite back for dinner. The “Bay Bee” had several full trips last week with a ton of tourists in town. They report anglers saw a ton of action with a few keepers thrown in. For many of these anglers, this is their first opportunity to try their hand at saltwater fish. The “Miss Ocean City” had a few days of lazy, slow drifting fishin,g which not only provided enough action to delight anglers but also made for a very relaxing day complete with wild horses and dolphins. Captain Kellen of “Back Bay Charters” reports he has openings for you to enjoy the day on your own private bay charter. The Oceanic Fishing Pier reports that their biggest catch this past week was a nice 21.5-inch flounder. Denise Arlene Varga fished the 2nd st bulkhead and landed a nice fluke. Jackson Lewes caught a nice 18-inch fluke from the inlet rocks at sunset last Thursday. Matt Hampton reports he caught four fluke on his first four drops in the east Channel on an outgoing tide the same night.
Nearshore Wrecks and Reefs
The nearshore water got pretty churned up this past week with all the storms and has just begun to clear up. The water is dirty and full of runoff sediment. Deeper wrecks, such as the ones at the Great Eastern Reef and Jack’s Spot, are your best locations for quality fish and cleaner water. Both the bass grounds and African Queen are producing, but with the dingy water, fresh bait is producing better than artificials. A few mahi have been found near the super buoy and on the bass pots, but have not arrived in any great numbers as of yet. As the water clears in the upcoming weeks and the temps stay high, many more of these pelagic fish should move into the nearshore waters. See this week’s guide on how to effectively target these fish. “Double Trouble Charters” had several good trips inshore for sea bass and flounder. Matt Moran from the “Ocean Princess” states the fishing has been pretty good for bass, flounder, and especially triggerfish. The “Morning Star” also reports good catches of fish on their 8-hour trips. The “Miss Kathleen” delighted anglers with tons of action on their half and full day trips, catching sea bass and flounder.
Surf Fishing
Surf fishing is slow with a ton of spot and kingfish in the surf. Anglers are also finding croaker in schools that will pass through from time to time, allowing anglers a fast action time of catches on almost every cast. Caleb and Travis Wharton used cut bait to catch their big shark just south of the shipwreck on the island, and then caught another the following night right at the entrance to the OSV.
How To
This week, we will discuss how to fish the bass pots for mahi. When the mahi show up on the pots, there are two ways to target them. The first is a method called pot hopping. In this method, you pull up near a bass pot marker and toss a circle hook tipped with squid or cut bait near the pot and allow it to sink, bringing up the fish for a strike. Try to remain as far away from the marker as possible to not spook the fish. As the day goes on, many of these markers will have been visited by numerous boats, causing the fish to dive deeper in the water column, and a small sinker may be needed to reach the depth of the fish. The second method is to troll small spoons, chuggers, or Islamorada Flying fish lures past the post at around 5 mph. This method works the best as far as I’m concerned, as many fish become weary of baits being splashed into the water as anglers cast to the pots. By trolling, you present the baits in a more natural way, and this presentation will attract more bites as well as bigger fish, which tend to move between pots. Many of my bites have come between pots in open water that casters would never try or see. Chuggers and squid lures can be found at most local tackle shops. The flying fish lures can be found online and, for some reason, always seem to catch the biggest fish. The mahi will be all sizes, from very small peanuts up to around 15 lbs. Be aware an HMS permit is required to target these pelagic fish and can be purchased online.
Until next week,
Tight Lines and Fins Up
