Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, December 25 Update:
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and welcome to the final fishing report of 2020. Considering how this year has been we’re thrilled to see it finally end, and we’re wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2021 filled with bent rods and slimy coolers. Due to the holidays (and some pretty lousy weather), gathering intel was difficult this week and the reports are a bit abbreviated. But rest assured, we’ll be back in 2021 ready to fish hard and bring you all the how-to, where-to fishing information possible. Thanks for staying tuned to FishTalk, and if you see the chance to do some fishing in the near future…
Up and down the coast we heard the same thing from the few boats that made it out this week: sea bass and tog are biting on the wrecks and reefs. Those targeting the bass are running a bit further out these days, and boats running from Virginia have seen a few bluefish in the mix as well. Closer to the beach there’s chatter of some nice stripers, mostly being caught trolling tandems, umbrellas, Mojos, and Stretch 25s. We were able to find zero anglers who hit the surf or knew anyone who had in the past week.
In the Ocean City inlet, the tog bite has slacked off with dropping temps but some stripers, the vast majority throwbacks, are still being caught in the inlet and around the bridges.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, December 18 Update:
Warning: most of this week's reports came in pre-storm. Naturally, we're expecting that the conditions will have deteriorated a bit in some areas. Sea bass anglers working the wrecks and reefs of Delaware and OC will not be pleased to hear that Capt. Monty reports that spiny dogs have moved in, and in a much bigger way recently. Bass are still biting, but now it’s a contest. We also heard from Hampton Correspondent Chuck Harrison who enjoyed good bass fishing off Virginia, and although the dreaded dogs were present there too, they weren’t overwhelming. So at least as we assemble these reports, the menace is less of a danger in Virginia waters. These fish will, of course, continue migrating. Harrison also noted that they had a nice mix of species at the Triangles, including a keeper flounder, a gray trout, and a slot-sized puppy drum along with the bass. When the weather allows the Big Worm's pushing out a bit farther, and hauling in a mix of bass and tog plus a very nice flattie this week.
In the inlets, taugtog fishing remains on the upswing. They can be found near rocky areas, and are happy to take crab chunks. Alongside them, anglers are bringing in a few stripers and dog fish. Both species are also coming in from the surf, however, turbulent waters this week made fishing a little tricky most days.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, December 10 Update:
Well folks, the sea bass bite remains totally off the hook. Captain Monty Hawkins of the Morning Star checked in to let us know that despite the poor weather and a tough morning this week, his trips resulted in limit catches. Captain Hawkins also reported that spiny dogfish were present on some reefs. On some others, large bluefish and flounder have been popping up. Odd factoid: Sea bass also popped up in the Chesapeake this week, a welcome surprise for anglers who landed them. We heard of one crew that landed 50 with five keepers south of the Bay Bridge!
Capt. Drew has moved the Big Worm down to Virginia Beach and has been focusing on similar species, loading the boat with chunky sea bass and tautog. He also says he has an itch to run a bit farther out and put some swordfish on the deck, just as soon as the weather allows. Captain Cook of First Light Charters has reported much the same at wrecks and reefs up the beach off Delaware, with bass biting strong in about 110 feet of water and tog closer to home on the wrecks.
Back on the beach, Old Inlet Bait and Tackle is reporting that there are spiny dogfish in the suds, and tog in the Indian River inlet. They mentioned that a long week of westerly winds created poor conditions, making fishing slower than expected. Still, green crab was able to entice the tautog. Reports from OC are much the same, of tog at the rocks plus rockfish at the bridges, when conditions allow you to get there and find some water that isn’t too churned up. Rock are also showing up in better numbers off the beach under birds, a bite which has come into focus off the mouth of the Bay within visual distance of the CBBT and Virginia Beach. Trollers pulling umbrellas and Mojos have been doing best, but we heard from one reader who found a frenzy and enjoyed light tackle action on both slot and above-slot fish, on seven-inch Zman plastics.
Two important notices: First, we’ve reported about some ongoing reef-building projects that Captain Hawkins and the Ocean City Reef Foundation. If you missed out on the last project but were interested in helping out, keep an eye out for announcements on the OCRF website — there’s lots of work to be done! Second, the state of Maryland has reduced the minimum size for setting the (currently open) swordfish record to 300 pounds. Set aside that meat-harvesting electric reel for an afternoon, crank ‘em up by hand, and you could land in the record books.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, December 4 Update:
Surf anglers will want to note that although reports put the bulk of the big fish still up in Jersey, some stripers have showed up in the suds of Delaware and Maryland for anglers casting cut bait. Most have been undersized but a couple of keepers have been dragged in. However, large numbers of dogfish, especially on the northern beaches up Delaware way, have made it tough to keep a bait in the water long enough for a rockfish to find it at times. Better options have been at the Indian River and Ocean City inlets, where mostly undersized rock have been hitting jigs. A few anglers eeling at night have been picking up a better grade of fish around the rocks. Some big fish have also been popping up for boat anglers fishing along the VA coast. Reports from south Jersey have been improving including both stripers in the surf and inside the three-mile limit with fish in the 40- to 50-inch class on the move, so this bite may well get better and better in the near future.
During daylight hours the tog bite continues to be solid at rocky structures in the inlets (and at the CBBT islands), on sand flea and crab baits. While most of the fish are just under the size limit there are plenty of box-sized fish mixed in and a couple of readers checked in after hitting the inlet and Stinky Beach in OC to report solid success (four keepers in one cooler, and five in the other) on green crab.
Speaking of tog: wrecks and reefs continue to be on fire up and down the coast when the fall breezes allow boats to get through the inlet. Off Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia the sea bass continue hitting with limit catches not uncommon, plus some triggerfish and (some very large) flounder still in the mix. The wrecks off Virginia have a bit more diversity these days, with bluefish in store in some areas and some drum (red and blacks both) grabbing the baits at the sites close enough to home that the beach is still visible.