Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
This past week in Ocean City brought more storms and high winds. A few days of passable conditions allowed anglers to get out early, only to bring a rough ride home in the afternoon. Sea bass on the deeper wrecks remain pretty stable, with limits being found if fished hard. Flounder have begun to show up on the nearshore wrecks, with many of those being caught below the legal limit. The surf has slowed considerably, with more sharks and rays than anything else being caught. The back bays are reporting much better catches of flounder, even with the larger minimum size of 17½”. Clams and crabs continue to get better every day when the temperatures are over 80 degrees.
Back Bays and Inlets
The back bays and inlets remain the best location for flounder as the shallow water continues to get warmer. The back bays are averaging 65–70 degrees, with more fish arriving each day. The main channels are holding the larger fish, with the main thoroughfare and south side of the inlet being the best spots. Fresh squid and minnows are the most productive baits, and Gulp baits are a close second. An incoming tide close to high tide appears to be the best tide for targeting fluke. Bluefish and rockfish are still being caught off the Rt. 50 Bridge during the higher tides as well as at night. These fish are being caught using cut bait as well as swim jigs and paddle tails. The “Miss Ocean City” had a great start to their season, landing a few keepers up to 18”. They stated that although many fish were not legal, the action kept both crew and anglers busy during the trips. Their best angler this past week was Bianca Prosekova, who is an honor student at Worcester Preparatory School and a true local yokel, catching numerous fish with relative ease. Elmer U. Merino fished the south jetty and landed a nice keeper fluke. Jason Horst fished the inlet wall from land, and while tossing bucktails along the rocks, he caught a few undersized rockfish. Fish In OC reports the flounder bite has really begun to get better despite the poor weather. “Luck Break Charters fished hard in the back bays, landing several keeper flounder for its clients.”
Nearshore Wrecks and Reefs
The nearshore wrecks are still producing good catches of sea bass, along with a few larger bluefish thrown in for good measure. The nearshore wrecks are also producing the first catches of spadefish and sheepshead. As the weather gets warmer, more of these fish can be found on the wrecks, allowing anglers a multitude of species to target. Sheepshead should be targeted using a sheepshead jig tipped with sand fleas or crab dropped down to the wreck. Spadefish are targeted using a small #1 or 2 hook tipped with shrimp or clam, dropped down about 10–15 ft below the surface and suspended with a small float. A light line of 10–15 lbs. works the best as these fish are very spooky and will shy away from heavier line. A chum slick can be used to further entice the spadefish up from the depths. If you are catching sea bass, you are fishing too deep. Wrecks on the Bass Grounds and the Fenwick Shoals are a great place to target spadefish as well as sheepshead and triggerfish. The “Ocean Princess” had a few good trips for sea bass. Many anglers returned to the docks with coolers full of the tasty fish. The “Princess” also had a tilefish trip in which they caught several blueline and golden tilefish. Captain Victor stated that despite the choppy water, anglers were able to catch some real nice quality fish, including their first monkfish of the year. The “Angler” headboat also had some nice trips despite the wind, catching boatloads of sea bass along with a few flounder. The “Angler” reported that the flounder they have been catching in deeper water have been well above the legal limit. Long squid strips have done the job as far as bait is concerned. The “Ocean City Girl” went out with the Graham brothers charter and brought home some decent fish. They even had their best day this year for sea bass when Tom Petr and sons were on board, boxing up the 75 fish boat limit in just a few hours. Captain Monty of the “Morning Star” had to fish in 20–25 knot winds many days this past week. Despite these conditions, they did make it out on a few full-day trips, catching several big bass along with a few bluefish and even a few early flounder. John Foreman said sharking has slowed down, but they still managed a few keeper sea bass and flounder on their 4-hour trips this past week. “Bad Wind Charters” went out with Bill and Cathy, and despite the rain, they did manage to land a good number of healthy sea bass. Later in the week, they hooked a few more big fluke as well as a big lobster off a nearby wreck. Matt Brown caught a 3-man limit while fishing the deeper wrecks off OC. He stated there were very few fish that even needed to be measured, demonstrating the quality of the fish he found. “Covered Up Sportfishing” had good action with tons of bites, allowing anglers to bring home tons of filets for tacos. “Ocean City Guide Service” found 3 keeper fluke as well as a nice trout despite the strong winds in the back bays. “Back Bay Adventures” caught a couple nice keeper fluke on their 2½-hour trips this past week. “Get Sum Charters” reported catching 4 nice keepers on his back bay trip despite the increase to 17½”.
Surf Fishing
Surf fishing has slowed considerably in the past week. Catches of black drum are still to be found, but lacking the quantity and size as was present in past weeks. Lori Lynn-Hornberger had a great day on Assateague Island with family and friends, catching several slammer bluefish. The group used mullet rigs and cut bait. Debi Craig was out on the island and, using a mullet rig, caught a nice bluefish, which was safely released to be caught another day. Joshua Friedman caught a nice 17½” blue using a finger mullet. Mango used a fresh bunker to catch a nice 47” black drum. This is one of the few drums I heard of that was caught this past week. Tristan Archer fished with the boys late in the evening, and after landing a few rays, they hooked, landed, and safely released an 82” sand tiger shark.
Until next week,
Tight Lines and Fins Up
