Coastal Fishing Report, May 31 Update:
There is a LOT happening along the coast right now people, so this will be a long report! Moving into the summertime season, fishing off the coast has been getting better by the day, providing plenty of action and different species for anglers fishing the surf, in the back bays, or off the coast. Let’s start with the surf: Most of the stripers seem to have shifted to the north, with the best reports for these species coming from anglers casting cut bait on Doodlebug rigs along the Delaware beaches. Blues were in the mix, too. We didn’t hear of any surf-caught drum in DE or MD this week, so that bite seems to have wound down. Off Assateague, however, panfish have moved into the suds in epic numbers. Coastal Correspondent John Unkart checked in to let us know the bite was on for a mix of kingfish, ocean perch, and even some small weakfish taking bloodworms. He hauled double-headers up more than once, on Thursday morning. Larger rigs baited with cut fish produced bluefish, including one beautiful 14-pounder earlier in the week. Oceans East says that the bluefish bite has also been good from the VA beaches, with cut mullet producing plenty of larger fish. They mentioned that black drum are also still being brought in down south, on both clam and peeler crab baits, while kingfish are biting for anglers casting bloodworm bits on rigs with small hooks.
Flounder fishing in the coastal bays has been better the farther south you go, with a little action in Indian River, a better shot in OC in the Thoroughfare and along the bulkhead channel, and much better action including many anglers coming in with coolers filled between half and full limits – when conditions are right – in the VA coastal bays. White, chartreuse, and pink soft plastics have been a safe bet, as well as using minnow and squid. FishTalk team member Zach Ditmars fished Wachapreague over the holiday weekend and unfortunately conditions were most assuredly NOT right, with heavy winds and churned waters, but they did still manage to catch four keepers and five throwbacks. Pink Gulp! and Fluke Killers with pink teasers and a minnow/squid sandwich were the most productive offerings.
Inshore the sea bass bite has been excellent all around, when the winds drop enough to run to the wreck and reef sites. We didn’t hear from Capt. Monty this week but we did hear from two of his clients who jumped aboard the Morning Star early this week, and jumped back off at the end of the day with a limit catch in the cooler. Sea bass reports from Virginia Beach are of an excellent bite, as well. Inshore action in that neck of the woods also now includes strong numbers of blues plus some mackerel, for those trolling spoons along the shoals in inshore waters.
Most of the offshore fleet has been bottled up often recently due to high wind, but when they can get offshore the action has been solid. Reports from just inside the northern canyons in our range include mostly bluefin, though a few yellowfin are now in town as well, and there are good numbers of mako in the canyons. Mako are also being caught in the canyons farther to the south where there were better reports of yellowfin plus some dolphin, as well as of the first bigeye of the season, out of the VA ports this week. Water temps have more or less stabilized in the upper 60s in the canyons themselves but there is some warmer water pushing towards the Poor Mans-to-Washington zone, so we'll be keeping an eye on that - some very interesting and productive conditions could be in store for us.
Coastal Fishing Report, May 24 Update:
The big news for the week: when the wind allows for a run offshore, there’s plenty of good action out in the deep – some warm water pushed in (from the north; it’s actually warmer from Poor Man’s up than it is at the Washington at the moment), the area canyons are holding mako sharks in excellent numbers, and just inside the canyons and around the edges there were hordes of bluefin last week. Anglers chumming in the deep have reported five-plus hook-ups with mako, and one angler who fished the Wilmington last week encountered non-stop action. The bluefin bite, meanwhile, mostly consists of “unders” but there are some “overs" around as well. Reports of a dozen-plus bites in a day of trolling are common.
Capt. Cook on First Light Charters checked in to let us know that sea bass fishing is off to a good start off the Delaware coast, when the wind allows. Night trips are also producing blues and still some shad as well. That jibes with Capt. Monty’s sea bass report for the Morning Star, who notes that limit catches have not been uncommon for his clients while running out of OC. Reports from Virginia are much the same. Clam, squid, and peeler crab chunks have all been good baits.
Flounder, meanwhile, are in the back bays actively taking white and chartreuse GULP! Lures and jigged BKDs. Although they haven’t been doormats in any one area, the bite seems to get better as you head farther south. Still, the bulk of the flatfish everywhere seems to be under the 20-inch mark with only a few larger ones showing up. The best reports we’ve had lately came in from Wachapreague and the Virginia Beach inlets. However, weather as usual is an issue and FishTalk team member Zach Ditmars headed for Wachapreague this week and encountered wind-churned waters and too stiff a breeze to fish effectively.
Inshore and in the backbays, rockfish have been growing a bit scarcer but blues are still plentiful in the inlets and they continue to hit well for surf fishermen. Surf fishing reports in general remain strong through the region, with better numbers of stripers to the north in Delaware and more kingfish, bluefish, and a few black drum to the south. Sand fleas have been a top bait choice plus bloodworms, for the kingfish. A few flounder are also being reeled in through the surf, primarily off Assateague.
Coastal Fishing Report, May 16 Update:
There's a lot happening along the coast this week, people! Thanks to wind it's been tough for the offshore boat to make many trips, but when a window allows, bluefin are being caught trolling at the canyons. We haven't heard of any monsters, but limit catches are a very real possibility. Closer to home, many anglers are preparing to set their sights on sea bass and trolling spoons along the inshore lumps, where large numbers of blues are on the attack. But even with this action, surf fishing is stealing the show. It has been stellar, with a solid bite from Delaware right down through the region, with some of the best reports coming from anglers fishing off Assateague. There's been a healthy mix of bluefish, rockfish, kingfish, and black drum, with the fishery being dominated by the bluefish bite. Blues are taking spoons cast into the suds, and menhaden intended for stripers. Kingfish have been hitting sand fleas and bloodworms, and drum will take the sand fleas as well.
As you can see from the picture Coastal Correspondent John Unkart utterly slammed them one afternoon this week, catching well over a dozen fish on sand fleas and cut bunker, as well as casting plugs and spoons. He also said the black drum was "stuffed with sand fleas."
Meanwhile, the inlets and backbays are also active. At Indian River blues have been making unpredictable attack runs, with anglers casting spoons from the rocks most successful. There's also a flounder bite in the inlet and bay, though it's not setting the world on fire. The inlet at OC has also seen blues moving through, as well as a few rockfish. Best of all, they're still seeing plenty of flounder in the Thoroughfare. They’ve been prone to taking squid and white soft plastics. Although not many are doormats, they’ve still been sizable and limit catches are possible. Blues and (mostly smallish) stripers are in the backbay as well and will take cut baits, as well as plugs.
The flounder pounding is also continuing on the lower shore bays and inlets, with Wachapreague as usual leading the charge. Again, few fish are true doormats but plenty of keepers are around and limit catches are not uncommon. Bucktails dressed with GULP in white, chartreuse, and copper-penny, plus minnow/squid sandwiches fished on Fluke Killers, are the top offerings.
Coastal Fishing Report, May 10 Update:
The surf remains active, with the Delaware beaches producing stripers including a few keepers, some bluefish, and a few black drum on clams and sand fleas. Farther south it’s in reverse order, with a few drum, some bluefish, and an occasional striper. Anglers fishing off Assateaque with Gotcha plugs right before dark have been consistently catching bluefish. Coastal Correspondent John Unkart was soaking baits off Assateague just yesterday and encountered not only blues and stripers, but also a keeper flounder. The stripers and blues were slapping a Hopkins ripped through the surf at daybreak, while the flounder ate cut bait. There are also reports up and down the beaches of some puffers and a few kingfish, for those casting bloodworms on small hooks.
In both Indian River and Ocean City inlets it’s been tailor blues making attack runs – here for a moment, then gone – with spoons being a top lure. The flounder bite continues to be lackluster in Indian River, but surprisingly steady in Ocean City and excellent in Chincoteague, Wachapreague, Quimby, and Rudee. GULP Swimming Mullet and Shrimp tails on a bucktail in white and copper-penny colors and bucktails tipped with bait are top producers. (See Flatfish Fantasyland: Wachapreague, VA, for a primer on fishing this territory).
Fishing off the coast has also picked up in recent weeks, with tautog numbers on the increase even if their average sizes have been underwhelming. Green crab and sand flea have been popular baits. The inshore wrecks are also producing the occasional doormat flounder, as well. We don’t have any new news from the offshore fleet, most of which has been bottled up by the weather. That said, the SST charts aren’t yet showing any warm and attractive fingers or eddies pushing in. Fingers are crossed...
Coastal Fishing Report, May 2019:
Warmer weather has brought better fishing both off the coast and inshore. The big news this week: our first reports of the season for true offshore action north of the Carolinas, with a pair of nice mahi caught in Washington Canyon. The SST charts don’t show anything too thrilling just yet but as soon as we get a push of warmer water we can expect things to bust loose for real.
Back on shore, even the northernmost beaches in our range are now seeing a mix of bluefish, stripers, and some black drum in the surf. Fresh bunker has been best for the blues and stripers, while sand fleas and clams are best for the drum, which have been most prevalent in the suds of Assateague. Puffer fish are also in the surf all up and down the coast, snapping on tiny baits fished on bottom rigs and harassing larger baits set for the larger fish. A handful of kingfish have also appeared for those tossing smaller gear, mostly from Maryland south, but we did have one reported catch from Delaware (Three Rs).
In the inlets things are also picking up – at Indian River blues have been making here-then-gone attack runs, and anglers casting darts have been enjoying some shad action. In Ocean City taugtog have moved into the inlet and have been caught around the rocks on peeler crab and green crab, as well as sand fleas. Flounder fishing has been surprisingly solid throughout the back-bay and inlet (several readers sent in photos of nice catches this week), with the Thoroughfare topping the list of hotspots, where they’re taking GULP! soft plastics fished along bottom. Copper-penny colored GULP! shrimp fished on a white bucktail and white or chartreuse Swimming Mullet are both said to be effective. There are also still some (mostly small) stripers around the Rt. 90 bridge, and a handful of blues reported from the Rt 50 bridge.
Solid reports of flounder fishing including some (rare) limit catches are also coming from Wachapreague, where either GULP! or a minnow/squid combo fished on a Fluke Killer are being employed. And farther south the Virginia inlets are seeing a mix of flounder, puppy drum, and in Lynnhaven and Rudee, also a few speckled trout. (For more on that action see the Way South and VA report).