Next Update: December 10, 2008

Now that the tautog season is closed in Maryland, fishermen are now targeting striped bass inside of the Ocean city Inlet. Most fishermen are either casting swim shad lures or similar offerings from the Route 50 Bridge and the jetty area or drifting in small boats over the deeper areas of the channels leading to the inlet or the inlet itself. The fishermen in the boats have been live lining small live eels and those that still have a stash of live spot are using them with good success.

The surf water temperature is now down to 53-degree and fishing was generally slow over the weekend. A few nice striped bass were checked in a local tackle shops but the anticipated run of large bluefish was absent. There are a lot of large bluefish and striped bass moving south off the beaches so perhaps surf fishermen will get a break this week and these fish will move into the surf zone. Just off the beaches at shoal areas fishermen have been trolling, jigging and drifting live eels with good results for a mix of large striped bass and bluefish. The boats headed farther out in search of bluefin tuna and wreck fishing also report large numbers of bluefish working offshore as well. A couple of boats slipped out to the Jackspot area recently and reported catching a few bluefin tuna but had to deal with hordes of large bluefish crashing their baits. Large bluefin tuna love to eat bluefish so perhaps the tuna will stick around and fishing will improve this week.

Last week 40 New York City subway cars were placed about 10-miles southeast of Ocean City Inlet at the Bass Grounds to form a new fishing reef site. The cars were spread out over a 3-mile line to help create fishing structure.

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OFFSHORE MAP Click Map Icon For a Larger View	Please click for the latest sea surface temperatures from Rutgers University Marine Remote Sensing
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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

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