Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, June 28 update:
Yellowfin tuna continue to dominate the news along the coast this week, though there’s a lot to talk about at the inshore venues, as well. FishTalk's Angler in Chief joined the crew of the Heat Wave last weekend to troll waters near the Washington, where they cranked up five yellowfin up to 55 or 60 pounds, a (released) mako in the range of 150, and three mahi, as well as raising a mystery billfish. A rainbow-colored spreader bar drew multiple attacks but truth be told, just about everything in the spread was hit at one time or another. The experience jibed with the other offshore reports we heard this week, consisting of lower numbers of yellowfin as compared to a couple weeks ago but overall a much better quality. The fish also seem quite spread out, with successful reports coming from all the canyons. Or just inside them, actually – starting at 50 or so fathoms and trolling out from there has been a good plan. Those probing deeper water at the Norfolk also encountered a few bigeye this past week, with a 212-pounder (on the Sea Wolf) taking the prize at the Virginia Beach Tuna Tournament, in which the top dozen fish all broke the hundred-pound mark.
The inshore wrecks have also been a common destination, particularly for anglers in need of a seabass dinner. Squid and clam has been the ticket to getting them in the boat. The Morning Star has been enjoying slimy coolers on every trip, and although it does vary from day to day there are some limits aboard most of the time. Reports from Virginia Beach are much the same, though many of the boats fishing inshore in that area are being tempted by the run of unusually large Spanish mackerel and are opting to troll small spoons behind planers, instead of bait fishing. A bit farther up the coast off Delaware, Capt. Cook on the First Light reports that flounder are now showing up with more regularity, at the Old Grounds.
Back on the surf kingfish remain a staple, easy to lure out with bloodworms and a bottom rig. The occasional croaker is beginning to pop up in the mix, and small bluefish haven’t been uncommon. Coastal Correspondent John Unkart has been casting he suds of Assateague the past few days and reported a relatively slow bite, but pulling up some kingfish for the frying pan.
In the back bays, flounder fishing remains solid. A few were reported from Indian River this week and a few more from Ocean City, though fishing in the inlet there has been a bit perilous on weekends, with the water churned by countless boats coming and going. The area in front of the airport remains a hotspot, with a fleet packed onto its waters. Most of the flounder are shorts, but a few make the grade. The Virginia inlets are doing a bit better at producing keepers with most boats getting a few for dinner and a limit catch reported here and there, but they have also been crowded on weekends lately. Across the board, Gulp! Swimming Mullet in white, pink, or chartreuse, is the top producer.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, June 21 update:
Yellowfin, yellowfin, yellowfin! Out in the ocean right now that's all the talk, with some boats limiting out at times and pictures of a dozen-plus yellowfin going around in the social mediasphere – which certainly makes it hard to be on dry land right now. The Ocean City Fishing Center said there are large numbers of yellowfin coming in from trollers, along with decent amounts of mahi-mahi. They also said over the past week there have been multiple shark releases plus a few bigeye. We had multiple reader reports of epic fishing ranging from the Baltimore down to the Norfolk in the past week. The hard temp-break that was out there looks from the latest SST shots like it’s deteriorated, so these fish may well be on the move. That said, several of the reports came from inside the 300-fathom line so the tunas may be orienting more to the structure than that break – let’s hope so. Many of the fish have been small, some sub-legal, but plenty of fish up into the 50-pound class are also being caught. There’s no specific hot lure or bait to report, as we saw pics this week of yellowfin attached to spreader bars and daisy chains of all colors, ballyhoo, and Green Machine/bird rigs. There have also been a few marlin caught, and while that bite hasn’t been overly hot, check out this beaut:
The Frederick Saltwater Anglers checked in to let us know their second annual FSA Offshore Challenge out of Chincoteague, VA, went off without a hitch last weekend, with 21 boats probing the deep blue. Wound Tight won first place for tuna with a 54-pounder followed by She Worthy with a 46.6-pound fish, and Fin Crazy took dolphin with a 12.3-pounder followed by Reel Screamer with a 11.9-pounder.
Closer to the beach, Capt. Cook of First Light Charters tells us that inshore fishing has picked up off the Delaware coast with solid numbers of seabass on wrecks. They’re eating bait like clam and squid, fished on the bottom. Capt. Monty on the Morning Star out of Ocean City had a similar wreck report this week, saying that the seabass bite has been absolutely off the hook at times and although right now they aren't catching many flounder at the wrecks and reefs, they’re seeing more of the flatfish as summer kicks in. Farther south the sudden increase in Spanish mackerel size and numbers has been making the headlines, with catches for inshore trollers regularly being counted by the dozens and citation-sized fish popping up with regularity this past week. Pulling small gold and silver spoons has been the ticket.
Back in the bays, inside Indian River remains on the slow side but improved for flounder with some being caught in the inlet and at Massey’s, and we had reader reports of up to four fish. There are also some flounder to be had in Ocean City, although most of the fish are shorts and fishing the bay here has become a game of bumper-boats, especially on weekends. The Thoroughfare and in front of the airport remain the best bets for flounder, with white and chartreuse Gulp! Swimming Mullet or Jerk Shad of four to six inches catching the best. A few sheepshead have also been caught in OC, both around the inlet rocks and at the Rt. 50 bridge on sand fleas. Better fishing for fluke can be had by heading a bit farther south and hitting Wachapreague or Quimby, where most anglers put some keepers in the box and a few limited out this week. Fishing right on the edges and sharp drops has been the key.
The surf report is similar up and down the beaches: kingfish most everywhere and an oddball (undersized) weakfish or flounder here and there. Bloodworms and Fishbites top the bait choices. Coastal Correspondent John Unkart tells us that kingfish have been caught in good numbers off Assateague, and there are also some small snapper blues coming in through the suds. Down at the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier they’ve also enjoyed a few attack runs from Spanish mackerel this week.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, June 14 update:
Anglers: we apologize for the technical difficulties experienced last week. Unfortunately it caused our website to crash multiple times over multiple days, but the computer wizards assure us that it’s now completely fixed. We sure hope they’re right!
Off the coast, fishing is picking up as summer species move into the waters surrounding Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The surf bite is still active with kingfish and small flounder abundant and a few (mostly small) bluefish and rockfish showing up as well, though a summer pattern consisting mostly of smaller fish in the surf has settled in. Flipping bloodworms out is a great way to land the kingfish. Flounder have been abundant in the bays, with some being caught inside Indian River at Massey’s Ditch but better numbers the farther south you go. In front of the airport and the Thoroughfare have been good, for OC anglers. The flatfish have been eager to hit pink and chartreuse BKD’s and GULP! lures, or snatch up squid. Larger flounder have begun to make their presence known at the inshore wrecks and are taking jigs dropped down, as well as clam chunks, but there are still much better numbers of sea bass on the wrecks. Flounder numbers should increase from here on out at the wrecks and reefs and we’d expect that in the next few weeks, they become the prime target.
The bigger news from along the coast is offshore, despite the fact that much of the recent past has been a blowout – because on the days boats made it offshore they scored big. The Baltimore has produced a lot of action on yellowfin, mahi, and bigeye, and from there south when warm water has moved in along the edge the bite has at times been epic. Poor Mans has also been hot at times but a check on the temp charts is important, because those fish have been moving with the breaks. The Roll Groove, fishing out of Ocean City, reported a day including a triple-header of bigeye recently, and the Marli returned to the dock this week with a limit of yellowfin plus numerous releases, and a pile of gaffer dolphin. Boats fishing farther south have reported good numbers of mahi. There are also still some mako still moving through the canyons.
Fishing the off coast has remained excellent, with some stellar surf fishing going on in recent weeks. Flounder, bluefish, kingfish, and rockfish have all been common species. Kingfish seem to hold the pole position, with bloodworms and Fishbites doing the trick from Delaware down through Virginia. Flounder are being caught with squid and are hot off Assateague right now, although Alltackle in Ocean City reported that most have been smaller. Fishing the beaches at Assateague has also provided a fair number of kingfish for guys throwing out bloodworms and sandfleas. Coastal Correspondent John Unkart reeled a weakfish out of the suds, mixed in with the numerous kingfish this week. The drum that have been mixed in throughout previous weeks seem to be dwindling, however bluefish seem to have taken up the slack and are consistently taking baits.
Captain Cook from First Light Charters checked in with us this week to report some excellent news, a red-hot night fishing bite near Indian River for stripers, plus some blues and shad. The fishing inside at Massey’s Ditch has also been improving, with more flounder (though still not great numbers) showing up. Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow reports there’s a flounder bite in the channel behind Assateague as well, near the airport, with the best bite on pink Gulp! jigged on a bucktail.
Inshore, trollers pulling spoons around shoals have found good numbers of blues throughout our range, with Spanish mackerel beginning to show up in Maryland waters and increasing in number the farther south you get. Reports from the boats visiting the inshore wrecks also include increasing numbers of flounder, though most anglers heading to those sites are still focused on black sea bass. In the near future these species should swap places as the best bet at the wrecks and reefs so from here on out it’s a good idea to load up on both squid or clam for the bass, and Gulp! Swimming Mullet for the flounder, so you can focus on whichever species starts snapping. That said, keep a close eye on the weather if you plan to do so any time soon – it looks like for the next five days or so clearing the inlet may not be comfortable.
Offshore, the bluefin have continued biting in the northern canyons with the best bite reported from the Baltimore. Warm water is within range from the Baltimore down through the Washington and there are also still plenty of mako out in the deep plus a handful of yellowfin reportedly showing up with numbers increasing as you head south. In areas of warm water, mahi are plentiful as well. Unfortunately, looking at the wind maps offshore action will likely be at a stand-still until late next week and after this system moves through we’ll likely be looking at a completely reshuffled deck.