Fishermen have been enjoying the wonderful weather recently and that trend may continue into the near future. The flounder are steadily moving through the inlet area and fishermen are intercepting them in the channels leading to the inlet such as the Main East Channel. The throwback ratio continues to be high but a number of fishermen are cutting through the smaller flounder by using larger baits such as live spot, finger mullet or small menhaden.
Fishermen are catching tautog this week at the Route 50 Bridge/Inlet area on sand fleas and pieces of crab. Some of the best fishing is being reported just before and after the change of the tide. Many of the tautog so far are undersized but increasing numbers of larger ones are being caught each day. Fishermen are also seeing a few triggerfish and lots of small sea bass in the area as well.
The night crew at the inlet area has been casting Got-Cha plugs and swimming shad lures for a mix of striped bass, sea trout and bluefish. Larger striped bass, some as large as 40 or more are becoming more numerous in the area; most are being caught by fishermen casting lures but a number are being caught by drifting live eels and spot.
Surf fishermen are reporting being covered up by small bluefish this week most in the 8 to 14 size range. Pieces of finger mullet on a bottom rig have been the most popular method of fishing. A larger size range of bluefish seems to be more dominant in the evening hours. Those fishing with large cut menhaden baits are still catching and releasing a few large red drum but the run seems to have passed us by at this point in time. An increasing number of striped bass are starting to show up in the surf and each week will see better fishing.
The fleet headed out to the wreck and artificial reef sites off Ocean City report 
fair to good fishing for sea bass this week. Fishermen report a large number of throwbacks but also a number of large sea bass are coming off the wrecks with occasional large tautog. Large flounder are still a very important part of the daily catch each day and large bluefish are once again prowling below fishing boats cutting small sea bass and flounder to pieces at times. The big run of croakers off the beaches seems to have dropped off this week and those that were encountered tended to be small.
Offshore fishermen reported catching wahoo and bailer sized dolphin this week at the canyons regions. A number of white marlin releases are being reported each day at the docks and a few yellowfin tuna are coming in. A number of captains and fishermen this week lamented about the rather dismal yellowfin tuna fishing this year out of Ocean City. Art Nolan seems very pleased with this beautiful and good tasting wahoo. In Hawaii wahoo are called Ono which means delicious in Hawaiian and it is for a very good reason.
Click here to view recent bay region satellite images at mddnr.chesapeakebay.net/NASAimagery/EyesInTheSky.cfm
A Couple of Closing Notes...
Don't hesitate to e-mail your recent
fishing/crabbing photos and trip information. Send your photos via E-mail by the
following Monday in order to be included in the next update. The file should be
in .jpg format with the longest side sized at 600 pixels. Please keep the file
size under one megabyte if possible. The photo should clearly depict the angler(s), fish, and ethical
handling practices. For information on ethical angling practices please
reference the Catch and Release information located at URL:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/articles/catch_release.html
Include the following information:
-
Date
-
Angler(s)
-
Hometown(s)
-
Photo credit
-
Location
-
Weight/length of catch
-
Bait/lure
Important Note:
If anyone in your picture is under 18
years of age, we must have a
photo release
signed by that person and a parent/guardian before we can post your picture. By sending any photos or art to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources you are giving DNR permission to use the image(s) online and in print. You are also giving DNR permission to distribute the photo for non-commercial purposes to other media, print, digital and television for their use. You are not giving up your copyright, but are allowing the photo(s) to be used for educational and news purposes.
Send your photos and information to
Keith Lockwood
The Fisheries
Service is pleased to have you visit. We want to make this
site as user friendly as possible, if you have any suggestions, please
mail them to
Paul Genovese.
