Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, June 28 Update:
The offshore bite is finally picking up along our coast as many boats found a hot bite recently. Several reader reports of a serious uptick in the yellowfin tuna action came in this week. We heard from one angler who caught two in the Washington, one who caught five in the Poormans, and one passing on a secondhand report of seven plus a bigeye just outside the Poormans. There was also a report of a 150-pound bluefin tuna caught, but the location was not disclosed. The tuna action is a great sign as many boats have been waiting for the bite to pick up with summer’s arrival. Hopefully these fish will stick around and keep those drags screaming.
The inshore wrecks and reefs are still holding plenty of sea bass and flounder for the taking. Some very big flatties have been pulled from the wrecks this week including fish up to eight pounds. Captain Monty of the Morning Star reports that fishing for sea bass has been decent with most of his anglers catching enough to bring home for dinner on trips this week. Boat limits haven’t been common, but steady action has been found with enough moving around to different sites.
The OC inlet has been a hotspot for coastal anglers. Fish In OC reports that bluefish and rockfish have been the most common target, but a few sheepsheads have also been around. Most of the rockfish have been under the 28-to-31-inch slot limit, though a few keepers have been caught. The blues on the other hand are very good quality with choppers in the 30-inch range still being caught. The surf fishing bite has also been great on most days when the surf isn’t too rough. A lot of kingfish are keeping anglers busy up and down the coast from Delaware through Virginia and have been eagerly hitting sand fleas, bloodworms, or Fishbites. A pack of bloodworms these days might have you considering taking out a loan, so keep in mind that other baits can work just as well. One angler was able to catch 10 kingfish and two spot on sand fleas. Beachgoers tossing out larger baits of bunker chunks are still catching the occasional black or red drum, but a lot of stingrays have been showing up close to shore taking their baits. The rays will put up a good fight which will keep you busy if looking for steady action.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, June 21 Update:
Sweet summertime has arrived and with it has come some serious heat and a lot of vacationers. The crowds aren’t stopping the fish from biting and the coastal action has been good overall this week. The Angler in Chief reports a tough trip running offshore from Wachapreague this weekend, no doubt in part due to the strong blow last Saturday, with one lone shark the only action. Some of the crew had been out the day before in good weather and visited the Washington, also without any luck. They mentioned there was a ton of life including bait, whales, and hammerhead sharks, but the tuna just didn’t seem to be there with them at the time. We did hear from one reader who said he caught a couple yellowfin there a few days earlier and from two readers who caught single tuna the day after. A few successful reports of boats catching yellowfin at the tip of the Poorman’s Canyon came in with one boat landing seven and another landing four. Fish In OC let us know that deep dropping for tilefish has been productive on most days and a great report came in from Captain Chase Eberle of Chasin’ Tides Charters. They had a crazy good day putting a bunch of golden and blueline tiles in the box. The largest golden went 36 pounds and the largest blueline went 14. Hopefully more action from our pelagic species will pick up soon.
The nearshore wrecks and reefs have been holding plenty of sea bass and flounder for the boats making trips to them. Captain Monty of the Morning Star had a few successful trips this week and reported that the bite didn’t stink, nor was it red hot. His anglers caught keeper sea bass both jigging and fishing with bait. A reader flounder fishing the northern reef sites off Delaware reported taking home five keepers and a handful of sea bass.
Surf anglers are getting a variety of species from the suds including sharks, rays, black drum, red drum, kingfish, bluefish, and flounder. One angler reeled in his personal best red drum this week that measured in at 36 inches. The fish was caught using cut mullet on the Virginia side of the OSV. One of the more surprising catches from the week came from a surf angler on Assateague who caught a triggerfish while using bloodworm flavored Fishbites on a kingfish rig. That’s an odd place to catch them, but cool nonetheless.
The OC inlet and back bay has been providing a good amount of bluefish and striped bass hanging around bridge and dock structures. Casting swim baits into the current towards structure has led to screaming drags and bent rods. Blues up to 10 pounds and over slot stripers have not been uncommon. Flounder fishing has been okay, but the uptick in boating activity can make it hard, especially on weekends.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, June 14 Update:
The inshore and offshore fishing has been great as the official start of summer quickly approaches. Striped bass and bluefish have been providing great action from Indian River down to the OC inlet and near the Route 50 Bridge. Boats and bridge anglers alike have been catching some very nice fish including striped bass over 40 inches and bluefish over 30 inches. Many of the stripers are under the slot of 28 to 31 inches with a few fish measuring within it and just over it. The blues have been a welcome sight as they will scream drags and put smiles on faces. Casting jigs and metal lures towards bridge pilings, rock jetties, and docks has led to hook ups.
There were a few rare cobia catches at the OC south jetty this week and flounder are providing good action in the bay but remember that the minimum size for them is now 17.5 inches. The further south you go down the coast from Ocean City, the less boat traffic you will have to deal with. The surf bite has also been good at times and the best report of the week came from Dave Moore who caught eight red drum, three blacktip sharks, three sandbar sharks, and countless kingfish during an evening trip on the beaches of Assateague.
Our pelagic species have been offering more consistent action as we get further into the summer months. Out at the canyons, boats are trolling for tuna and picking up some of the first of the season. It has been mostly yellowfins with a couple caught per trip, but others have also made appearances too. The Boss Hog had a real cool catch this week when they caught an estimated 400-pound giant bluefin tuna. The fish was guessed to be around 85 inches and was released boatside to swim another day. Their boat also caught a bigeye tuna and some mahi this week. Boats deep dropping for tilefish are finding good success with lots of bluelines coming back to the dock.
At the inshore wrecks and reefs, sea bass fishing has been sporadic, but with enough moving around to different structure, boats are usually able to put together a good catch. Captain Cook of First Light Charters noted excellent flounder action at the Old Grounds and wrecks. The OC Fishing Center let us know that they saw sea bass up to three and a half pounds and flounder up to four pounds caught by the head boats this week. The spadefish and triggerfish bite should soon pick up at the many structures off the coast at Chincoteague and Wachapreague, and the bite is already kicking off in a big way in Virginia Beach. Spadefish up to 10 pounds have already been caught at the Chesapeake Light Tower.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, June 7 Update:
Offshore we didn’t hear much of yellowfin tuna this week but the first white marlin of the year was caught just east of the Baltimore Canyon, and boats deep dropping for tilefish are picking up more fish. Offshore fishing action is about to really pick up. The sea bass fishing is still on the slower side, but the experienced captains are good at finding fish. Fish In OC let us know that successful reports on black sea bass came in from both Monty Hawkins of the Morning Star and Chris Mizurak of The Angler. Sea bass up to four pounds and flounder up to five pounds were caught at the offshore wrecks and reefs this week.
In OC Route 50 Bridge has been offering steady catches of bluefish and striped bass. Anglers fishing from the bridge, from shore, and by boat are throwing Gotcha plugs and soft plastics on jigs near structure to entice bites. The jetties of the Ocean City Inlet are also proving to be a productive area with striped bass, bluefish, flounder, and sheepshead all being caught this week. A boat fishing the south jetty had two anglers double up on 32- and 34-inch rockfish on a few of their first cast then proceeded to get steady bites from bluefish. One of the more impressive reports this week was from a local fishing legend around Ocean City, Craig Cropper, who caught a monster 55-inch rockfish just outside the inlet. That truly is a fish of a lifetime. Another noteworthy catch comes from the bay behind OC where Seth of Slack Tide Kayak Fishing tied into a 30” weakfish(!) while kayak fishing at night.
The exciting surf fishing bite that we enjoyed throughout most of the spring is changing, but there are still plenty of fish to catch. Anglers casting their baits out into the suds are still getting a mix of black drum, bluefish, red drum, flounder, sharks, skate, kingfish, and the occasional striped bass. Dave Moore of Shark Whisperers reports that sharks are now thick and he’s seeing sand tigers, sandbars, blacktips, and spinners, and heard a woman caught a seven-foot tiger this week on Assateague. He also said kingfish are thick and some spot and small weakfish are in the mix. One angler reported catching a 22-inch bluefish while fishing with a whole mullet on a fish finder rig. Another group fishing on the Maryland side of the OSV caught seven flounder (two keepers), four big stingrays, and a hickory shad during a day trip earlier in the week. The bite varies from day to day depending on surf conditions, but even if you come across a slow bite, the beautiful scenery and salty ocean breezes are sure to beat a day at work.