There are reports of a few striped bass being caught this past week in the back bay areas of the Ocean City area from the Route 90 Bridge south to the 611 Bridge to Assateague. Most of the action is reported by fishermen casting and jigging soft plastic jigs on the channel edges and bridge piers. Flounder season opens today the 15th of April and now fishermen can keep any flounder over 18” and up to 3 per day. Fishermen have been catching a few around the inlet and up towards the Route 90 Bridge for about a week now. Fishermen are urged to please participate in the Fisheries Flounder Survey so managers have a better bargaining chip when negotiating seasons and creel limits. www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/survey/sfsurveyintro.html There are some interloping visitors in the back bay areas near the Thorofare; about a dozen seals have been hauling out there recently for some sun bathing on some of the small sedge islands.

Tautog are showing up in the inlet area in ever increasing numbers this week and it is definitely worth the effort to try and catch a few. Water temperatures around the inlet are about 46 degrees on an incoming tide; the Oceanic Pier will be open for fishing this weekend. The surf fishing action has mostly been spiny dogfish and skates this week; it will be another couple of weeks before the exiting northern migration of big striped bass pouring out of the Chesapeake reach Maryland waters. When the weather is right, boats have been venturing out to the inshore wreck sites and artificial reefs and catching tautog. Often enough many of them are some real whoppers.

If you submitted a photo and don't see your picture in the regular report please look in the photo gallery that we periodically run. Click here for this week's gallery!

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Real-time water information for selected points in the Coastal Bay

Click here to view recent bay region satellite images at mddnr.chesapeakebay.net/NASAimagery/EyesInTheSky.cfm

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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
	Please Click for the latest automated weather observations from Station 44009 - DELAWARE BAY 26 NM Southeast of Cape May, NJ
Please click for the latest automated weather observations from THE HOTEL BUOY.

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.