7/28/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
Offshore, some tuna have been around the 30 fathom lumps. The Ocean City Fishing Center reports that most offshore anglers have been chunking for tuna or trolling ballyhoo but generally speaking the tuna fishing has still been slow. Fortunately there are good numbers of mahi offshore around flotsam, which can still have you bringing home dinner. Billfish have started to become more numerous at the canyons and several white bites in a day are now possible. Deep-droppers have been catching tilefish (watch this How to Catch Golden Tilefish video for details) and interestingly, some nice large rose fish. These have been MIA for the past few seasons, so it's nice to see them show up again.
Further inshore, sea bass, ling, and flounder have been on the wrecks but it's mostly a bass bite. Sea bass are hitting peeler crab and clam.
The surf bite has consisted of bluefish and kingfish, and they’re mostly taking clam, sand flea, and cut bait. But it's not as good as it has been recently, and John Unkart checked in from Assateague to let know that one day last week he fished through an entire tide and it was very slow. He also let us know that his firends fishing offshore had been disappointed by the tuna fishing, which was sporadic at the Dog. Reports from Masseys are similar but slightly better, with a couple of boats checking in with two or three yellowfin in the 50 pound range, caught on the chunk.
On a brighter note, there are still sheepshead to be found at the Ocean City South Jetty and also close in to the Route 50 bridge pilings. Sand fleas have been the best bait. Sand fleas have also produced a few sheepshead from around the rocks in Indian River. Otherwise, however, the report from Hook 'em and Cook 'em is of slow action in the bay. The inshore wrecks have provided better action, mostly on sea bass but also for some flounder for those dressing Fluke Killers with large GULP twister-tail jigs. Stick with clam, for the bass.
7/21/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
The Ocean City Fishing Center reported that there has been an on and off tuna bite around the 30 fathom lumps, primarily from trolling ballyhoo and chunking. Most fish have been hanging around the Hot Dog. Not everyone is coming home with a fish in the box, however most anglers are getting their dinner. Masseys Canyon has also begun to produce some yellowfin tuna and one was reportedly caught as close in as the Twin Wrecks. In the crazy-but-true department, one boat trolling at the Chicken Bone, the Git-R-Done out of Ocean City, MD, caught a 200-pound swordfish in broad daylight. Some mahi-mahi have also been reported closer to shore and around floating structure, and Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em reports that they’re taking cut bait and squid. The canyons, meanwhile, are producing a scattered bite for yellowfin, white marlin, and also a few wahoo. Anglers deep-dropping and bottom fishing just inside the Shelf are enjoying a steadier bite for tilefish and sea bass.
Further inshore, sea bass are all over the wrecks for anglers leaving from both Ocean City and Indian River. Clam has been a popular bait this year, as well as squid and peeler crab. Some ling are mixed in with the sea bass catch, as well. Some large flounder have been reported inshore, and were caught on clam.
The surf bite has had a good number of kingfish and bluefish, with the kings biting sand fleas, clam, and squid and the blues striking cut fish. Coastal correspondent John Unkart weighed in to let us know the back bay has been stingy with flounder, and the vast majority being caught are throw-backs.The best bite is south of the Airport. There are a couple bright spots for bay anglers, though. Some chopper blues have been hitting near the Rt. 50 bridge, and some beautiful sheepshead are being caught off the south jetty on squid and sand fleas.
Anglers fishing Indian River and the mouth of the Delaware Bay are having similar flounder fishing to that farther south, with lots of throw-backs and a few keepers here and there. Hitting Massey's Ditch with minnow and squid is the best bet. A few sheepshead were also reportedly caught from the IRI rocks on sand fleas, but not in the same numbers as seen farther south.
7/14/2017 Coastal Fishing Report Update:
Coastal Correspondent John Unkart checked in to let us know he's been spending quite a bit of time on the beach lately, and the surf bite has included many species including mostly kingfish, some flounder, and this past week in what hopefully is a sign of things to come, a number of small weakfish. Bloodworms and squid get the fish biting. There have also been blowfish and croaker mixed in and anglers targeting them with cut fish have encountered some brown sharks and rays. Flounder have been in the back-bay and around Assateague, however fishing for them has been hit or miss and can be affected by the voluminous boat traffic.
Inshore the wrecks have been providing good seabass fishing this week, and many anglers have flounder mixed in with their catch. Clam and peeler cab have been the bait of choice for anglers fishing the wrecks, and some guys are using cut squid. To target the flounder, drift between the wrecks with Fluke Killers tipped with six-inch GULP Swimming mullet. Chartreuse, white, pink, and yellow skirts are all good.
Offshore, bluefin and yellowfin tuna are around the 30 fathom line and offshore lumps, in particular near the Hot Dog. Trolling ballyhoo and chunking have been the most successful methods to catch them, and at the Dog, many anglers are now switching over to tossing chunks. Fishing hasn’t been particularly hot, however some anglers are coming home with the fish boxes full and catches of a half-dozen of so tuna have been reported with one to three in the box being more common. Mahi are also offshore around floating structure, taking cut fish and squid. If you want to give chunking a shot, be sure to read our new How to Chunk for Tuna article online.
The canyons have been giving up a few billfish and yellowfin to 50 pounds, but the catches haven't been matching up to those on the lumps. We did hear from one angler who made a deep-drop bottom fishing trip just inside Poor Man's and limited on sea bass and blueline tilefish, plus had some hake mixed in. Clam and squid were the best baits.
7/7/2017 Update:
Our coastal correspondent John Unkart reports that surf fishing has improved in the past week, as kingfish have been in the Assateague surf in good numbers, and are biting bloodworms. The surf bite also includes some small stripers mixed in, as well as flounder biting bucktails dressed with GULP tails. Farther north the Delaware beaches are also enjoying some good kingfish action on bloodworm.
Most anglers are still targeting flounder in DelMarVa bays and inlets with some success in Ocean City near the Route 50 bridge, and a slower bite reported from Indian River. Anglers fishing near rocks in OC have also encountered a few sheepshead. Sand fleas are the ticket for sheepshead. Angler in Chief Lenny Rudow fished the back bay of OC a bit after clamming during the recent holiday and reported that clamming was awesome but so many boats were zooming back and forth through the bay that fishing was difficult, and they only reeled in some juvenile sea bass and saw a couple of throw-back flounder caught before deciding to head home for a clam-fest.
The best bet at inshore wreck and reef sites remains sea bass on clam baits, and although some flounder are being caught, they still haven't settled around the reefs in huge numbers. Offshore, sea bass and blueline tilefish have been caught from the bottom near Poor Man’s, and were biting clam. The Washington Canyon and inshore lumps including the Hot Dog have had a mixed bite of bluefin and yellowfin tuna, with some mahi mixed in. Most tuna are being caught chunking, with mahi hanging around the lobster pots. Anglers who have been trolling haven’t had the most success offshore, however chunking has also been sporadic at best. (Read Bluefin Bonanza, for info on targeting these fish while trolling and chunking the inshore lumps). Having huge numbers of boats pounding the water during the holiday weekend definitely did not help, and those who left early and returned late did best. Carrying sardines is a good idea, as some of the chunkers have reported the best success chunking butterfish but using sardines as bait.
