Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, September 26 Update:
This past week was officially the first week of fall. Fishing is historically good along the coast this time of year, and recent reports have lived up to expectations. There have been some very nice mahi crowding around the offshore lobster pots, and boats are also reporting a solid bite for whites. A reader reported raising five while fishing on the Schedule Sea last weekend. The crew of the Boss Hogg had an excellent trip to the canyons this past week, loading up on dozens of mahi. Unfortunately, there is some hurricane activity in the southern Atlantic which will bring strong northeast winds to the East Coast in the coming days. Right now, the forecast shows the possibility for waves of six to 10 feet and swells even larger than that. Needless to say, offshore fishing will be minimal, and beach fishing will likely be off the table until the swells die down.
The drum run on the beaches of Assateague has kicked off over the past few weeks, and several bulls were landed this week. South winds gave anglers some decent fishing conditions in the surf this week, and Dave Moore from Shark Whisperers Guided Trips reports that he landed several in recent trips, including a 40”, 44”, and 50”. Dave also said there has been an endless barrage of baby sandbar sharks. Another angler reported landing a 46” red earlier in the week. They also had a unique catch when they landed a star gazer. The action at the OC Inlet has been very good lately for several species. Scott Lenox from Fish In OC reported that the south jetty produced three keeper sheepshead, a keeper flounder, a striped bass, and a tautog. Lucky Break Charters also got in on the sheepshead bite, and their crew put four on ice with the largest two weighing eight and nine pounds.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, September 19 Update:
The ocean has been choppy this week as a non-tropical Nor’easter moved up the coast, bringing rain and strong winds. This kept coastal anglers fishing inshore waters, but before the blow, there was some good offshore fishing. The crew of the RoShamBo brought to dock one of the more impressive hauls last weekend. An overnight trip saw them return with loads of tilefish and mahi, along with some yellowfin and bigeye tuna. The Spring Mix II also had a nice offshore trip last weekend as they reported two white marlin releases and returned to dock with a pile of mahi.
Captain Monty Hawkins of the Morning Star has been out on the ocean enjoying a good bottom fishing bite. On days when he can get out, his crew has caught black sea bass, triggerfish, flounder, bluefish, croaker, and even some cutlassfish. Double rigs tipped with fresh squid are getting a lot of bites, but anglers dropping down metal jigs are having plenty of success as well. Captain Cook of First Light Charters says the flounder fishing at the inshore wrecks and reefs off the Delaware coast has been excellent the past few days. The quality of the catches has grown, and he notes that the fish seem to be on a very aggressive bite lately. Anglers fishing around the Route 50 Bridge in OC are pulling some nice flounder from the pilings. Down the coast in Chincoteague, the water has been stirred up, making flounder fishing difficult. Anglers are catching some keepers, but there are a lot of undersize flounder and increasing numbers of small trout.
Dave Moore from Shark Whisperers Guided Trips reports that the weather continues to be an issue at times, but when he’s been able to get out onto the beach at Assateague, there’s been some action, and last week he reeled in a 51” redfish from the beach while night fishing. He also noted that sheepshead have been active in the OC Inlet. Captain Jason Mumford of Lucky Break Charters has been putting his anglers on a nice class of sheepshead around the OC Inlet and the back bays. Nearshore ocean structure has also been holding some nice-sized sheepshead along the beaches. Crab baits on bottom sweeper jigs or dropper rigs are the ticket for the convicts.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, September 12 Update:
The summer crowds have thinned out and the cooler air signals the arrival of fall, which will bring several great fishing opportunities to our coast. Dave Moore from Shark Whisperers checked in last weekend to let us know that the big rigs have remained relatively quiet recently, but there are some decent sized pompano, spot, and kingfish in the surf at Assateague, plus some flounder in the mix. We did hear a repot from one angler who managed to catch a 45” bull red while fishing at night. The skate and rays were plentiful, but weeding through them was worth it for a trophy red. In the OC inlet, meanwhile, sheepshead are heating up. The striped bandits have been hanging around the rock jetties at the mouth of the inlet. Sand fleas and other crab baits have worked best to tempt them. Fishing the rock jetties can be challenging without getting snagged, so many anglers will use bottom sweeper jigs, dropper loop rigs, or even a float to cast baits close to the rocks without getting snagged.
September usually brings the arrival of king mackerel off the Virginia Beach oceanfront. There have been a few landed so far, but we did not hear any new reports this week. Virginia Beach Sport Fishing reports that the false albacore bite turned on in the nearshore waters, though the bluefish and Spanish mackerel bite has been quieter. They had reports from a few charters fishing the nearshore waters who said that there are plenty of small mackerel around, but the bigger ones have been lacking. Captain Monty Hawkins of the Morning Star reported decent fishing last week out of Ocean City. On one trip, Monty and his crew enjoyed steady fishing for sea bass, though a lot were shorties. With enough time and bait, many of his anglers were close to a limit around mid-day, but the bite dropped out. The afternoon provided small croaker, bluefish, and some flounder. Offshore waters have provided a good marlin bite this month. Reports have rolled in from the Wilmington down to the Norfolk with better reports between the Norfolk and Washington.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, September 5 Update:
There are a lot of great bites still firing off as fall is knocking on our doorstep. A reader checked in after fishing from the surf at Assateague. They report that the bite has been pretty good in the mornings and almost all the fish he caught this week were extremely close to shore. A high low bucktail rig with Gulp! mullet teaser has been effective for catching flounder when the surf isn’t crazy rough, but they have all been on the small size (between 10-14 inches). One morning, they almost had a quadruple double with two flounder, kingfish, pompano, and one spot that blew the streak. They were all on a high low rig with Fishbites, sand flea flavor seemed to get the most bites. It sounds like there is something to catch for everyone in the surf right now.
Fish In OC had several good reports this week, including one from the Spring Mix II who had six white marlin releases. Sea Hawk Sports Center reports that the deep blue waters of the Atlantic have provided a good white marlin bite from the Poorman’s Canyon to the Washington Canyon. They also mentioned that the yellowfin and mahi action has improved recently. For those anglers looking to take home plenty of fillets, the blueline tilefish bite has remained good in depths of 300’ to 400’. In the nearshore waters, flounder and sea bass have been the primary target. The crews aboard the Fish Bound had some great trips this week with boat limits of both species. Fishing around the Ocean City inlet has been good for several species, but the highlight has been sheepshead. Charter boats and recreational anglers have been enjoying a great sheepshead bite recently with fish over 10 pounds landed this week. Inshore bottom fishing has also produced spot, croaker, tautog, flounder, and sea trout. Now is a great time to visit the seaside and cast a line.