Over-slot stripers take chunked menhaden and mullet in the surf, big bull redfish storm the Bay, and sea bass fishing yields quality catches in better numbers.
by OTW Staff
Sailing out of West Ocean City, Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing Charters reported that sea bass fishing has improved pretty drastically over the past week. There have been days where their anglers really had to work for a bite, but the fishing, generally, has been much better all around with fish taking jigs and baited rigs. The skipper has been marking large clouds of sea bass on his electronics on most outings, and there has been plenty of life out there in the form of whales, dolphins, and even a few loggerhead turtles. Although they have had to battle some serious fog on several occasions, sea bass fishing was good yesterday (5/29) with a boat full of regulars; despite a slow pick to start out the morning, a couple anglers had catches in the double digits and everyone took home fillets for the table. Give them a shout to reserve your spot on the next trip!
Anglers Sport CenterFishing Report – Annapolis, MD
TheAnglers Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Fishing has been great for striped bass at sunrise with an amazing topwater bite in shallow water or around structure. The Eastern Bay is one of the areas with lots of shoreline structure where you can find striped bass in the range of 18 to 29 inches long. The Patapsco River is also producing some good fishing around the inner harbor area. Topwater early in the morning, live-lining spot, and jigging around channel edges are the best approaches right now in that area.
Heading south to the lower eastern shore, the speckled trout bite has picked up and there have been some good catches up to 28 inches. Fishing the islands in the Tangier Sound, or Hoopers Island and the Honga River will produce some speckled trout, and even some puppy drum and striped bass. At the south end of Tangier Sound, anglers have been catching the first wave of bull reds moving north into the Chesapeake Bay, with some pushing 48 inches long. Finding the schools around the channel edges is one way to look for them, or anchoring at points that meet shallow water and fishing peelers on the bottom will produce some bull reds and even some trout.
TheAngler’s Sport Center fishing report is written by Anglers Fishing Manager & OTW Columnist, Alex Gallardo-Perez.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Maryland anglers have a wide choice of fishing adventures this week, whether in the Atlantic Ocean, the Chesapeake Bay, or the fresh waters of our western counties.
Maryland offers license-free fishing days for all state residents and visitors on June 1, June 8, and July 4. These annual events provide anyone a unique opportunity to explore the state’s diverse fishing without needing a fishing license, trout stamp, or registration. It’s a great opportunity for anglers to introduce someone to fishing.
Lower Bay
The lower Bay is open to a wide variety of fishing opportunities this week. Large red drum are showing up in the Tangier Sound area providing some exciting catch-and-release fishing. Most anglers are targeting schools of fish, once detected on a depth finder, by jigging with large soft plastic jigs. Trolling with large spoons behind heavy inline weights will also work well. The area from the Middle Grounds to above the Target Ship has been a popular area to look for large red drum. Black drum are also being found in the general area, often on oyster reefs. Most anglers use soft crab baits when fish are located. Cownose rays are a big problem in the lower Bay and fishing with bait draws their attention.
The shallower waters around the lower Bay are some of the best areas to fish for a mix of striped bass, speckled trout, and puppy drum this week. The Cedar Point rips, the lower Patuxent River, the western side of the Bay shorelines, the shallows of Tangier and Pocomoke sounds, and the Hoopers Island cuts are just a few of the excellent places to fish with soft plastic jigs, soft crab baits or paddletails.
Others are finding good numbers of striped bass in the lower Potomac River along the steep channel edge between St. Georges Island and Piney Point. Now that there are good numbers of spot in the region, using them for live-lining is a popular way to fish in these deeper waters. Cove Point and Point No Point are also holding striped bass in about 35 feet of water.
White perch fishing is good this week in the tidal rivers and sounds. The lower Patuxent River is a good place to catch white perch and spot, as are Tangier and Pocomoke sounds. Bluefish are becoming more common in the lower Bay and a few flounder are being caught along hard-bottom shoals next to the channels of the Pocomoke Sound and Point Lookout.
There are always plenty of blue catfish to be caught in the Potomac, Patuxent, and Nantico*ke rivers. The Wicomico and Pocomoke rivers are also showing increasing numbers of blue catfish. Fresh cut menhaden is a bait that is hard to beat but alternatives such as chicken liver can work well.
Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays
Surf anglers have had to deal with some heavy surf conditions recently, but things seem to be settling down and allowing rigs to hold bottom with less weight. Large striped bass are at the top of the list for anglers this week. Although most all exceed the 31-inch maximum size, it is the ultimate thrill for a surfcaster to catch and release a large trophy-size striped bass. Most are being caught on cut menhaden or mullet. Large red drum are also being caught and released and taking the same baits as are the occasional bluefish and inshore shark species. Those putting out more than on rig are baiting one with clams or sand fleas and catching medium-sized black drum. Using small rigs and baiting them with bloodworms is attracting a mix of kingfish, spot, and croakers.
At the Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 Bridge area, a mix of striped bass and bluefish are at the top of the list for anglers fishing the area with soft plastic jigs and Got-Cha lures. Many of the striped bass miss the mark of the 28-inch minimum but they come close and put up a good fight even though they must be released. Bluefish in the two-pound size category have moved into the area and make for some fun fishing and good eating.
Flounder are constantly moving through the inlet and filling in the back bay channels and creating good fishing. The summer season is now upon us and with that comes a lot of boat traffic so be careful when fishing the channels. Traditional baits of squid and minnows are popular baits, and white or pink Gulp baits tend to catch the larger flounder.
Anglers venturing out the inlet are finding some large flounder near the shoal areas and inshore wreck and reef sites. Black sea bass are being caught at the offshore wreck and reef sites; fishing has been generally good although anglers report some days are better than others.
Maryland DNR Fishing Report is written and compiled by Keith Lockwood, fisheries biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
MikeyBoyee A very informative article on everything around the Chesapeake Bay. Truly impressive and thank you very much for sharing.
