Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, April 28 Update:
There are a lot of great bites going on along the coast this week despite the swing to cooler temperatures. Surf fishing has been excellent this spring and we are still seeing consistent catches from the Delaware beaches south through Virginia. Big rockfish are becoming more frequent in the surf as they migrate back north. The bite hasn’t been red hot but anglers who put in the time are catching a few of the big ones over 40 inches along with the schoolies, and Dave Moore let us know he had a string of four very productive days on Assateague this week which included over a half-dozen big rockfish in the 40-inch class and black drum up to 30-inches. Coastal Correspondent John Unkart hit the beach late this week and filed a similar report, with several big black drum landed (and a bigger one breaking off) plus a nice bluefish. Sand fleas have been the hot bait across the board but bloodworms and chunks of menhaden are good options to throw out as well. Some other anglers are saying they have to spend more time soaking baits to get the fish they are after, and the incoming storm will certainly have an effect. Along with the bigger fish we are seeing some puffers, clear nose skate, and sharks this week.
In the back bay behind Ocean City, the main story has been tautog and rockfish around the bridges. Fish in OC reports that keeper sized rockfish and plenty of schoolies are being caught at the Route 50 Bridge both by boats and bridge anglers throwing jigs. One boat fishing the bridge reported catching a bunch of schoolies along with a 28- and a 31-inch fish that went into the cooler. Rockfish are also being caught at the Route 90 Bridge, but the class of fish seems to be smaller. Tautog are being caught on live sand fleas fished on bottom rigs throughout the back bay areas and along jetty structures. One angler let us know that they caught a 19-inch tautog fishing near Martha’s Landing on a tog jig with sand fleas.
The cooler weather and wind this week hasn’t made flounder fishing easy, but flatties are still coming over the gunwales for persistent anglers. Captain Jason Mumford of Lucky Break Fishing Charters put his anglers on some flounder during an afternoon trip and boated three keeper fish from the south bay. The water is still cool, and the outgoing tide is best for fishing. As the sun-warmed water from the shallow marshes and bays starts to recede, it triggers the flounder to start biting. Flounder have also begun showing up around the CBBT.
A couple of very exciting catches were reported this week, too. Fish In OC noted the first speckled trout of the season in Ocean City, a 23-inch speck caught while throwing a Yo Zuri suspending lure in the shallows of the back bay. And down the coast in Virginia Beach, multiple redfish showed up along the rails of the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, April 21 Update:
We got a lot of great reports from the coastal areas this week. Dave Moore checked in from the beaches of Assateague to let us know that the surf fishing drum bite slacked off for a few days and only a couple bit over the weekend, but on the bright side he and Mike tied into 38- and 45-inch stripers in the surf. These early birds were the first of the season we know of to hit the beach on Assateague, and both fish ate sand fleas. Dave also let us know he caught the first known bluefish of the season. It was a biggie at 38 inches. A slower drum bite was also reported by a few other anglers fishing on the Virginia side of Assateague over the weekend. One angler fished Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, catching a few skates with skunks on drum except for Saturday. He was able to land a 33-pound drum in the morning, and a 14- and 18-pound drum in the evening. All were caught on bottom rigs with sand fleas.
Fish In OC reported that more keeper sized rockfish are showing up at the OC inlet and Route 50 Bridge. One angler night fishing from the bridge this week using swim baits landed his personal best rockfish that was in the low 40s. That’s a tough catch from a boat but landing it from the heights of the bridge is super impressive. Another few anglers fishing from a boat reported throwing Roy Rigs at the Route 50 Bridge where they caught a bunch of schoolie rockfish. Their notable catches included a keeper 30-inch rockfish and a keeper flounder. Anglers fishing in the back bay have been getting some flounder but a few windy days this week kept a lot of boats off the water and churned up the sand. The Thorofare has been a hotspot, but fishing pressure has been increasing. The coastal bays near Chincoteague and Wachapreague have continued to be productive this week, but more anglers are also heading to those areas to get on the early flounder bite. The best bite has still been on the outgoing tide and clean water has been key for catching the flatties.
Tog fishing out in the ocean is still great. We heard from Chasin’ Tides Charters with one of the best tautog days we have seen in a long time. During a trip this week their crew boated 19 double digit tog. You heard that right, and their two biggest were 20 and 21 pounds. Many fish were caught on jigs and all except for one were released back into the depths of the Atlantic. Now that’s a charter trip that dreams are made of! More tautog are showing up at inshore areas like the OC inlet and the CBBT but most are a smaller class of fish compared to the big ones at the wrecks. One angler did report catching a 17-inch tautog behind Ocean City using a jig on the outgoing tide and more should be moving into the area.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, April 13 Update:
The warm weather has jumpstarted many bites through the early days of spring. The black drum run seems to be happening in full force now along the Eastern Shores coastal areas. Many black drum have been hitting the beaches of Assateague, and Dave Moore from Shark Whisperers checked in this week and let us know that three full days of fishing last week resulted in over a dozen fish ranging from 20 to 38 inches. Sand fleas fished on a hi-lo rig with 7/0 hooks did the trick.
Flounder fishing has also continued to improve this week. A few anglers from Fish in OC headed out to Wachapreague, VA this week and had themselves a great day on the water. They fished Drawing Channel for most of the day using Deadly Doubles baited with combinations of Otter Tails, Gulp! Baits, and minnows. They ended the day with a limit of 16 fish with the biggest flounder coming in at 21.5 inches. Now is a great time to head to the coastal bays for some early spring flounder fishing before the crowds show up later in the season, and often the best flounder fishing is where the least number of boats are. Another two anglers fishing in Ocean City had a great day targeting the flatties this week. They caught seven keeper fish in the Thorofare using bottom rigs.
Tautog are still a focus for many anglers along the coast. Captain Chase Eberle of Chasin’ Tides Charters was out chasing some tautog this week and found some nice fish for his anglers. The crew reeled in some very nice fish with the largest weighing in at 14.5 pounds. Smaller tautog are becoming more available at the Ocean City inlet and other areas in the lower Bay around the CBBT, Back River Reef, the Cell, Tower Reef, the Concrete Ships.
The Route 50 and 90 Bridges behind OC are still holding plenty of schoolie rockfish. If you want some fun action, head out to the bridge pilings with light spinning gear and soft plastics on jigheads to target the schoolies.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, April 7 Update:
The first week of April has brought a lot of action to our coastal areas. We are hearing reports of striped bass, flounder, tautog, and black drum being caught locally so it seems like now is a great time to get some lines wet. More flounder reports came in this week and it seems that this bite is really picking up. Chincoteague Bay Adventures has been putting anglers on the fish and during one outing this week, their boat landed a limit of flounder with the top four fish all coming in at 20 inches. They even threw back a keeper sized fish because it was “too small.” Flounder are also being caught in the Wachapreague and Ocean City coastal bays, and at the mouth of the Bay near the CBBT. This time of year the outgoing tide is usually best. The shallow waters on the flats and in the marshes are warmed by the sun and can put these fish in feeding mode.
Rockfish are still available at the Route 50 and 90 bridges in Ocean City this week. Casting jigs to the pilons in deeper waters and jigging them through the water column during the retrieve is one of the go to tactics. Small tautog are available behind Ocean City and are beginning to bite along the CBBT structures as well and one angler at the CBBT boated six keepers during a trip this week, but the bigger fish are being caught at the nearshore structure. Fun fact, if you become a member of the Ocean City Reef Foundation, they will supply you with a booklet that has coordinates to more wrecks and reefs off OC than you will know what to do with. Fish In OC got reports from Captain Chase Eberle of Chasin’ Tides Charters who put his crews on some very nice tog. They were fishing out at the structure where jigging produced a nice class of fish. The two biggest came in at 12 and 17 pounds respectively.
Surf fishermen are enjoying the start of the black drum run along the coastal areas. Assateague and Chincoteague have both seen drum catches this week and it should continue to pick up. Baits that work well paired with top-bottom rigs include sand fleas, crab flavor Fishbites, surf clams, and fresh peeler crab. Many anglers use heavy surf gear for the drum but it is always a good idea to bring a lighter rod or two because there are plenty of other fish that bite in the surf this time of year. Sea mullet, small rays, blowfish and other species can be caught on bloodworm or Fishbites, so it is a good idea to throw out a rod for them too if you want some action in between the bigger bites.