Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
This past week in Ocean City we started out with clear skies and light wind and ended with 25 mph wind out of the north east churning up the ocean and keeping many boats at the dock for the weekend. Prior to the angry ocean, anglers did find fish willing to bite; however as has been the case all summer, the colder bottom water did not yield many good keepers. A few mahi are still on the pots at and beyond the 30 mile mark but even those are getting harder to find. Flounder has remained very spotty this past week with anglers managing a keeper or two but most not finding limits. Sea bass has started to improve with a few more keepers being found on the near shore wrecks.
Nearshore Wrecks & Reefs
The nearshore wrecks have been slow again with anglers struggling to find fish that are willing to bite the bait. Flounder fishing remains the struggle it has been most of the year. A few nice fish can be found but anglers must constantly change spots to find keepers. Sea bass has picked up a little this past week as the bottom water continues to get colder. Several knotheads were pulled off the wrecks and we have even seen a few tog being caught. The mahi have moved further offshore and anglers are not finding many inside the 40 mile mark. The “Angler” was fishing a nearshore structure last week and although many trips started out slow, as the day went on the fish became more willing to take an offering. They managed several nice size flounder and even found a few wrecks that gave up some big knotheads. The boat has added a few tile trips to close out the fall season. Check their schedule for availability. The “Ocean Princess” also hit the wrecks targeting bass and flounder. They found the sea bass more willing to bite than they have in past weeks. There are still a ton of undersized fish to weed though but a better catch of keepers were found this past week. Kevin Miller was out fishing an ocean structure when he noticed a big sea turtle. Upon further inspection he saw a nice cobia following the turtle. Using a Freedom Bait jig, he casted to and hooked the big fish. The man in the brown suit made his slow day much more enjoyable.
The “Coastal Guide Service” was out after all the winds finally laid down and they ventured to the bass pots for mahi and found a few along with several bonito tuna willing to chase a bait. The mahi have been getting more scarce and further offshore as the water cools. “Fin Chaser” also hit the bass pots and scored a nice bunch of these beautiful fish. The trip started off slow until they ventured further off to the mid range pots about 40 miles offshore where they found fish staging on the pots. As the sun got near mid day the bite shut completely down. Peter Renzi had a good day catching bonito to use as bait for his pots catching 3 nice size tuna. No mahi were found but he said the bait will provide a nice crab cake dinner soon enough. Russel Garufi, Randy Swain, along with Billy Davis fished Russell’s Reef and a nearby ocean structure to land 14 keeper flounder. The fish were caught using bucktails and chicken strips. “Bottom Line Sportfishing” landed a big 54 pound wahoo while trolling just off the coast.
Back Bay & Inlet
The back bays and inlet continue to provide anglers with a good chance of finding keeper fish as opposed to the ocean. The area behind Assateague Island has been the best producer of keeper flounder with the area just north of the RT 50 bridge a close second. Fresh minnows and squid strips are your best bait. At the Inlet sheepshead and bluefish can be found in the evening hours. The “Bay Bee stated this past weeks action was hot with several anglers bringing fluke home for dinner on many of their trips. The “Miss Ocean City” was out this past week with light crowds. They were able to fish numerous spots catching their clients tons of flounder and other small bay fish. They found the end of the incoming tide to be the best for keeper fluke. Captain Tony of the “Tortuga” also fished the area around the bridge and caught several nice keeper flounder along with a few bluefish. Brandon Miller was out on the bay and landed a few rockfish,small flounder as well as a nice size sheepshead. He fished with Joshua Crouchelli. On a trip later in the week they caught a few keeper flounder. Brian Reynolds had a good evening on the bay catching 9 different species of fish including spot, tog, pigfish, bluefish, rockfish, flounder, sea bass, and weakfish. The largest weakfish was a personal best at 24 inches and was caught on a 4 inch swimbait. John Foreman fished the marsh edges during an outgoing tide and managed 3 nice keeper fish. Using white and orange Gulp. Vincent Cannuli caught a few nice fluke this past week and is looking forward to the Ocean City Classic inshore tournament. Kevin McNelis finally got a big flattie at 23 inches and weighing 4.5 pounds. He and his brother fished the back side of the island and had dozens of throwbacks. His brother did manage a nice 18.5 inch keeper. Aderito Costa pulled a nice sheepshead off the Inlet rocks using sand fleas on a small circle hook. Kohr Crabbing Supplies stated some decent stripers are showing up at the Bridge and Inlet in Ocean City with the water cooling down. They have several swim jigs in stock. This week again saw a gag grouper caught in the inlet by John Foreman. This year has produced more grouper sightings than I have seen in years.
Surf Fishing
Assateague Island has produced a few big sharks and rays. A few flounder, rockfish and even an occasional drum are being seen along the coast. Laura Steffey fished Assateague Island and landed a few kingfish and then landed a unique chain cat shark. The unusual shark resembles a leopard shark with very vibrant markings.
Clams & Clams
Assawoman Bay near the Delaware border has been yielding 7-9 keepers per pot with females and males mixed in. Clamming off the back side of the island is a little slower than usual, with big chowder clams being the main harvest.
Until next year,
Tight Lines and Fins Up §
