Back on the coast, surf fishing is reaching a point of many options. Shark fishing has been hit or miss due to the bait schools being so close to the beaches, with cobia actually being tossed into the mix when occasionally travelling with the schools of black tips and duskies. The kingfish bite during the mornings with bloodworms has been better than ever for the summer, with Coastal Correspondent John Unkart reporting a good bite including kings, blues, and even a couple small black drum.
Along the beaches, the kingfish bite has been red-hot at times this past week and completely dead at others. Bloodworms and Fishbites have been effective. Coastal Correspondent John Unkart spent a lot of time on Assateague the past week and had some mornings where they caught kings two at a time (plus some small blues and spot) and others when there simply were no bites. Surf anglers in Virginia are also encountering good numbers of kingfish some spot, bluefish, and croaker as well.
Flounder anglers continue to have decent action both inshore and offshore. Massey’s Ditch inside Indian River, and the East Channel and Thoroughfare in Ocean City, have both been providing better than average summer action for flatties with mostly throwbacks but plenty of keepers. Top baits have been squid/minnow combinations drifted on the channel edges, and lead-heads or bucktails tipped with white, green, and pink Gulp! There have also been good numbers of flounder at the CBBT; check out the Way South and VA report, for more info on the bite in that area.
Boats pushing through the inlet and drifting top-and-bottom Fluke Killers with Gulp! Swimming Mullet have been catching larger flounder, with the best fishing 12 or more miles out. Trolling similar distances off the beach throughout the area has also been producing blues, Spanish mackerel, and from Maryland south, small king mackerel as well. Some inshore Delaware anglers have also had the good luck to encounter some cobia recently, using live eels.
A few founder have been hanging around the Indian River inlet and Massey's, taking strips of squid drifted by, or GULP! Alive lures in white. There's a been a better flounder bite in Ocean City, particularly in the East channel recently. Those in search of doormats, however, have been pushing outside the inlet to the inshore wrecks and reefs. There, Gulp! Swimming Mullet in white, chartreuse, and pink, drifted on top-and-bottom Fluke Killer rigs, have been scoring.
Another interesting inshore option has made its presence known lately: cobia. Several have been taken near inshore shoals and reef sites close to shore from Indian River to Ocean City lately, including one just shy of 80 pounds. If this fish is on your bucket list and you fish along the coast in this zone, now's a good time to give them a shot.
The White Marlin Open crowded the inlet and offshore this week, with hundreds of boats leaving shore to participate in hopes of winning the upwards of 5 million dollars in this years pot. While many anglers were focused on the tournament, inshore there was a stellar kingfish bite in the surf on pieces of bloodworm. Flounder and bluefish are also in the mix, and anglers who use sand fleas or clam are reporting croaker as well. The back bays have had fantastic flounder fishing - using squid strips or a small jig bounced off bottom has been by far the most productive means. Heading to the inshore wrecks has produced larger doormat flounder. Offshore, fish were caught although not in great numbers. The Ocean City Fishing Center reported that Masseys Canyon brought in a few yellowfin for chunkers, although action was limited.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, 8/2/2018 Update:
With a bit of a break in the wind this past week, there's been an up-tick in the action along the coast. Surf fishing remains on the slow side in our northern areas, but a few kingfish are being caught, mostly on bloodworms fished on small doodlebug rigs. Coastal Correspondent John Unkart has been camped out at Assateague for so long that the ponies have named him, and in the past few days the bite picked up nicely with kingfish, spot and bluefish all biting. Bloodworms, bloodworm flavor Fishbites, and sand fleas tempted the kingfish and the blues bit on spot and Fishbites. Bishop's also mentioned a good surf bite was taking place on the Virginia beaches, with kingfish, blues, and a few croaker in the surf.
Delaware anglers have been seeing some flatties in Indian River inlet and Massey's Ditch, mostly on four-inch Gulp! Swimming Mullet in white, chartreuse, and pink. Even better flounder fishing has been at the inshore wreck and reef sites. This holds true down through Maryland and into VA waters, with the Ocean City Fishing Center reporting that some real doormats are being caught at the inshore sites along with a good pick on sea bass. We didn't hear from Capt. Monty on the Morning Star this week, which probably means he's too busy loading his customers up with flounder and bass to sit down at the computer. That's just a guess, but we're thinking it's a pretty good one. Similarly, both Oceans East and Bishop's are reporting serious doormats are being caught at the inshore wrecks. Back behind Ocean City there's still a flounder bite going on as well, in the Thoroughfare and along the channel edges just inside the Rt. 50 bridge, but the past few days it's been mostly throw-backs with a keeper just here and there.
Offshore, the Fishing Center reports that most boats were coming back through the inlet with mahi-mahi, some bluefin, and an occasional marlin flag flying. Several big blue marlin were caught during the Huk Big Fish Classic last weekend, including one that broke 400 pounds. The bulk of the bluefin came from Masseys Canyon, where going on the chunk for tuna has taken over for trolling as the most productive method at the moment. We're also hearing that it's worth checking the bass pots for mahi, which were being caught relatively close to home this week in the same areas the bluefin were found.