9/29/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
Offshore fishing much of this past week was shut down by high winds, however those who did attempt to go out typically made it to the wrecks. Sea bass fishing off the Delaware coast was good according to Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em, and many were taking clam or sand flea prior to the closure. Bassing re-opens 10/22, according to the DNREC web site. Much of the effort has naturally shifted to flounder, but again, high winds and seas made fishing difficult at best.
The surf bite has been good for snapper bluefish plus some kingfish, when the waves are small enough to hold bottom. Bloodworm does the trick for the kings, and the bluefish are being caught on cut mullet or spot. Those small blues have also been making runs through Indian River inlet, providing some action for jetty anglers casting spoons. At the Ocean City inlet, sheepshead continue to be a big story as a new state record was set by Robert Martin, who caught an 18 pounder (as well as a dozen others). Sand fleas are the hot bait for the sheepshead. The fishing in Rudee has been good this week, too, particularly for bottom fishermen dropping bloodworms and Fishbites for spot and croaker. Some flounder are being caught, too.
Offshore has had a surprisingly productive wahoo bite on the few days boats could get outside the inlet, which will hopefully continue after the weather moves through. And see below for the latest on tunas; there's no new news from the past few days, thanks to 30 MPH winds and seas topping seven feet, but the weekend weather does look a bit better and some boats will be heading east.
9/27/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
Just prior to the big blow moving in, we had several reports of tuna - yes, that mysterious species that pulled a disappearing act on us this summer - coming from around the Baltimore. While there were some yellowfin caught, the bulk of the fish were actually longfin. Some boats reported as many as six longfin and a handful of yellowfin in the box! Shine up those Green Machines, there might be a little offshore action left for us out there this season, after all.
9/22/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
The Ocean City Fishing Center reports a continuation of our exceptionally slow offshore tuna bite, although some white and blue marlin are still being caught near clear water in the canyons. There have been reports of some wahoo near the canyons, but no one was willing to give up exactly where. The only info we were able to gather was that purple has been the killer color. We've also had some far-flung reports from North Carolina that the wahoo bite is exceptionally good down their way, so hopefully, those fish will make a push north in the next month before turning tail for the winter.
The inshore flounder bite is stellar, and many fish are hanging around the wrecks. Sea bass are now off-limits in our region, so focusing on the flounder is now the fishery of choice for most folks heading to the wrecks and reefs. Dropping clam has been the bait of choice. That said, with all the hurricane action the seas are expected to be rough for the immediate future.
Surf fishing has also been challenging recently due to the swells. Contributor John Unkart tried surf fishing early in the week and reported poor results (just a couple kingfish and small snapper blues) due to the difficult conditions, then later in the week, found it was simply too rough to hold bottom.
The inlet rocks in Indian River and Ocean City are still holding some sheepshead and an oddball striper here and there, with sand fleas being the best bait. Both bays are also producing some flounder for anglers drifting minnow/squid on Fluke Killers, and GULP shrimp tails on bucktail tandem rigs. We had one (unconfirmed) reader report of a handful of just-keeper redfish caught just inside the Ocean City inlet on fresh peeler crab.
9/14/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
Reports from offshore remain very thin for tuna, though a yellowfin is being caught here and there, but some decent billfish action - both whites and mostly small blues - has been found at the canyons where clear water can be located. There are some wahoo mixed in, too, though we haven't spoken with anyone who's found them inshore of the canyons just yet. Consult your chlorophyll charts before running offshore, because there's still a fair amount of skunky water out there, too. There's clear water at Poorman's which has held some billfish (Legasea went four for six on whites one day late last week and Free Spool lost a nice blue over the weekend) plus a decent number of sharks (while overnighting during the HUK we encountered a very large blue shark, and a small mako).
Inshore the sea bass bite has been strong for anglers using clam and squid on the wreck and reef sites. Current regs call for a closure (for about a month) on September 21 in Delaware and Virginia and September 22 in Maryland waters, so if you like your sea bass, get them while you still can! (Standard legalese disclaimer: please check your local current regs before fishing because these things change). Fortunately, the flounder bite has also been good on the wreck and reef sites. Anglers drifting GULP Swimming Mullet rigged on Fluke Killers in between the chunks of structure have been making good catches and occasionally hitting a limit.
In the surf, the latest in from Coastal Correspondent John Unkart is of a slim bite thanks to difficult conditions due to big waves crashing into the beach last weekend. With the calmer surf conditions following, anglers have been catching a mix of spot and kingfish on bloodworms, and snapper bluefish on cut bait.
There's been an up-tick in the sheepshead bite at indian River, with one angler reporting four fish between five and six pounds fishing from the rocks. The South Jetty in Ocean City is also holding sheepshead. In both locations, sand fleas are the top bait. Croaker are also now an option in the OC inlet and in the bay, and are being caught mostly by accident by flounder anglers using squid, but their numbers may now be high enough to focus on them.
9/7/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
Due to the HUK Big Fish Classic - yes, we will be fishing in it - this week's reports have been updated early. And for Coastal, we just had an update yesterday (so keep scrolling down after you read this). All of that said, wreck and reef anglers are doing better on flounder both out of Ocean City and Indian River. GULP Swimming Mullet rigged on Fluke Killers are the best bait for the flounder, and sea bass anglers are catching a lot of throw-backs and some keepers on cut clam and squid. Trollers working the shoals are catching a mix of bluefish and Spanish mackerel, with most of the mackerel showing up from the Virginia line south.
In the surf kingfish remain the number-one bite, on bloodworms, but dogfish have also been biting lately.
Anglers in the inlets have enjoyed an increase in the action, with the sheepshead bite picking up in Ocean City, on the South jetty, on sand fleas. Angler Jeffrey Peregoy managed one over 14 pounds, and several over eight pounds were caught this week. Up in Indian River there were also sheepshead caught, though not in as great numbers, but some blues have been running through the inlet to keep anglers busy. Savvy anglers will fish bait while keeping a casting rod rigged with a Hopkins or similar spoon at the ready, and when birds are spotted, start casting the spoon for the blues.
Offshore, there's been some clean water near Poor Man's, and reports of yellowfin(!) on the troll have finally been popping back up. We've also heard of both whites and blues there. One boat checked in (and verified with pics) to let us know they had two blues, four whites, plus a few yellowfin.
9/6/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
In a mid-week check-in, Coastal sharpie John Unkart let us know that the flounder bite at the Bass Grounds off Ocean City has picked up and he spoke with several anglers who limited out. He also heard from Capt. Mike on the Big Kahuna, who fished Poor Mans to bail eight nice mahi plus caught a limit of blueline tilefish. With the tuna bite shaky at best, anglers who head offshore and want to put meat in the box should consider bluelines as close as it gets to a "sure thing" when it comes to fishing offshore to fill the box. Check out Bass N Blue: Sea Bass and Blueline Tilefish to learn how and where to target this species.
9/1/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
Our coastal correspondent John Unkart has been checking in with many recent surf fishing reports - since he got his new land-yacht he's been more or less living at the Assateague campground - and the bite in the suds has remained great for panfish although the recent weather events did slow things down for a day or two earlier this week. Kingfish and spot are the main catches, with bloodworms being the bait of choice. Blowfish, croaker and an occasional flounder are also in the mix. Casting cut spot or mullet on larger rigs is producing some snapper bluefish. Up the coast along the Delaware beaches the catch is much the same.
Anglers focusing on the near-shore wrecks and reefs have found an on-again, off-again flounder bite, but it's mostly on and those drifting Fluke Killer rigs with 5-inch GULP swimming mullet are doing well overall. Those using bottom rigs baited with squid and clam are pulling up some keeper sea bass as well, and to the north, a decent number of bluefish with a Spanish mackerel or two mixed in have been snapping at the Fenwick Shoals. To the south there are more mackerel being found inshore by trollers near Virginia Beach. Small gold spoons pulled behind planers are the lure of choice.
The bays behind Indian River and Ocean City remain rich with diversity but not so rich with numbers. Flounder, striped bass, sheepshead (at the inlet rocks), blowfish, and croaker are all around, but none are providing what one would call a "hot" bite.
Offshore fishing has been depressing for tuna fishermen - yellowfin, bigeye, bluefin, you name it. Very few tuna have been caught in recent weeks, although the first (few) longfin of the year did show up last week near the Norfolk. There are some small chicken dolphin on the commercial gear. The marlin bite did pick up last week, with whites being caught and a good bite at the Washington. We suggest, however, that you toss this offshore report right out the window - the weather we've been having with heavy winds out of the east and north-east has very likely shuffled the deck, and when the seas calm we expect it to be a completely new ballgame from Wilmington clear down to the Norfolk.