Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, 5/25/2018:
The surf is still producing fish, and this week we're happy to be able to include (finally!) some good news about offshore, as well. In Delaware's waters Old Inlet is reporting that anglers working the suds have encountered a few stripers and some blues on cut bait fished on Doodlebugs, plus a few black drum caught on clam and sand fleas. There were also striper caught - including keepers - at Indian River, by anglers fishing from the rocks. Shad are also reportedly passing through the inlet. While there wasn't much talk of flounder in Delaware waters, our Coastal Correspondent John Unkart does note that some flatties are being caught by anglers in Ocean City, including not only boat anglers but also those fishing from the Oceanic pier. Blues have also been in the mix in and around the OC inlet, though since they've passing through in waves the bite is hit or miss. Cut mullet and live minnow have been the best baits. Flounder fishing has been better slightly farther south in the the coastal bays, with many anglers coming in with coolers filled between half and full limits. The classic minnow/squid sandwich on a fluke killer and bucktails tipped with GULP have been top producers. Oceans East says that the bluefish bite has also been good from the VA beaches, with cut mullet producing lots of big choppers. Black drum are also still being dragged through the waves, on both clam and peeler crab baits, while kingfish are biting for anglers casting bloodworm bits on rigs with small hooks.
Offshore anglers will be stoked to hear that the red-hot tuna bite continues out of Oregon Inlet, and a few of those fish have finally made their way north into waters closer to home. Boats traveling to the canyons, including the Marli and Just Fold, had a couple bluefin and yellowfin in the box plus a few nice mahi. We were told Baltimore and Poormans both held fish, but were unable to get verification for those locations. The Marli also came back to the docks with a 291 pound mako this week, caught on a mackerel in 30 fathoms. There were also false albacore caught by trollers on the inshore lumps, with the Chasin Tide bringing in seven in one day.
Reports of cobia pushing north have also been coming in, the bite continues to be strong in North Carolina, and some have now been caught by sight fishermen working in Virginia's waters from the Virginia Beach inlets. This bite is just cranking up with most of the fish still outside the CBBT but should really take off in the Bay any day - now's a great time to give it a shot.
Boats looking for a sure bet from Delaware clear down to Virginia are dropping clam and squid at inshore wrecks, where sea bass continue to provide lots of action. Most of the fish haven't been huge but plenty of keepers have been snapping, giving many boats limit or near-limit catches.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, 5/18/2018:
Okay – sorry we had to tease you with that photo and truth be told we don’t yet have any reports from boats north of NC having success with pelagics, much less tuna in specific, in our offshore waters just yet. However, in North Carolina the bite is on fire – and it’s heading our way. On top of the tuna we also had multiple reader reports of mass schools of cobia in the waters off Oregon Inlet, making their way north.
Hook em’ and Cook em’ tells us They’ve heard many reports about black drum being caught off the beach and the bluefish run has begun and hopefully will really pick up over the next couple weeks in areas in and around Indian River Inlet. A few kingfish have also turned up in the surf, on bloodworms and squid bits. Farther out into the Atlantic, with sea bass now open a number of boats made the run to inshore wrecks and reef sites and most reported decent catches using clam and squid for bait. A bit farther south, meanwhile, our Coastal Correspondent John Unkart reports that the recent weather has hampered fishing a bit, but the sea bass fishing out of Ocean City was fair. Back inshore more flounder are showing up, mostly in the Thoroughfare and also near the Rt. 90 bridge. Bumping a tandem bucktail rig sweetened with GULP, right off the bottom, is a top producer. The surf is also still a great option, producing a few keeper stripers along with some very nice bluefish here and there. Cut mullet and bunker are top baits but when the blues are hitting in numbers, casting spoons is a good option.
Flounder are also being reported in decent numbers from the southern DelMarVa coastal bays. FishTalk team member Zach Ditmars hit Wachapreague recently, and reported that the bite was fair. He said the biggest problem wasn't a lack of fish as much as an overabundance of boats in the commonly fished areas. Boats which ran to distant spots and got away from the beaten path reported much better catches.
In Virginia Ocean’s East reports that cut mullet fished in the surf is producing some real chopper bluefish. Choosing clam baits, however, is a better bet for the black drum, which are also making their presence known in the surf. Anglers hitting the inlets and around the CBBT are having better luck on both reds and flounder, with the redfish hitting peeler or blue crab and the flounder striking jigs tipped with GULP, or minnow.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, 5/10/2018:
As the Coastal waters hit about 60, surf casters are starting to have some real fun. Fishing with cut mullet on Doodlebug rigs is producing a mix of undersized rock, and bluefish of various sizes including some bona fide choppers. Smart anglers who have also been tossing out clam on a hook or two are catching black drum. Using bloodworms on small hooks has also produced a few kingfish. Coastal Correspondent John Unkart spent a tough weather day on the Assateague beach yesterday but it proved well worth the effort with several big bluefish and a black drum all falling victim.
The final tog bites of the season continues to be strong in coastal waters, with the best bait seeming to be fiddler crab planted right on the wreckage. Early indications are that there are plenty of sea bass on the inshore wrecks, too, so once the tog are finished wreck and reef anglers should be able to keep busy. A few tog are also being caught from the rocks at Indian River and Ocean City, but not many.
We didn't hear of any flounder being caught this week at the wreck sites, but we did hear of good numbers in the coastal bays. Wachapreague is headlining the action, with bucktails tipped with green, white, or pink GULP Jerk Shad and Swimming Mullet tails getting the job done. On the flood tide the fish are moving shallow and at low tide, are coming from the channel edges.
Hook em’ and Cook em’ says the flounder bite has been improving up in Delaware waters, too, and they say using GULPs and tandem rig might just find you the best results.
With most of the area anglers focused on the surf and inshore waters, plus some rather rugged weather this week, we didn't get any reports from offshore.
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, 5/4/2018:
North to south in our region, the surf came alive for coastal anglers during the past week. Scattered reports ranging from the Delaware beaches south into Virginia included black drum on clam baits, undersized stripers on cut mullet, some kingfish on bloodworms, and even a few flounder. Shoreline anglers were also treated to some tog fishing the rocks in Indian River, at Stinky Beach in OC, and at the OC inlet, on crab baits fished in close to the snags.
Coastal Correspondent John Unkart parked himself on the beach for a few days and as of yesterday had reported hooking a flounder, several skates, a blowfish, and a mystery-fish that felt extremely large, but broke him off. Oceans East reports that in the Virginia surf the bite has consisted of skates, small bluefish, undersized rockfish, and some flounder. Fishing the back bays has began to produce flounder, stripers, and some small blues. Although the bite hasn't been on fire, it has picked up with the warm weather this week for sure. Most anglers are focused on the flounder, which are hitting GULP jigged on bucktails and minnow on fluke killers. Some limit reports have come in from Wachapreague (read Flatfish Fantasyland: Wachapreague, VA, to get the details on how and where to fish here) and southern coastal bays, but the catch is notably thinner in OC and Indian River, seeming to drop the farther north you go. Many of the flatties are being caught up shallow, in just a few feet of water during the end of the incoming and the beginning of the outgoing tide.
Offshore the reports have been thin (read: nonexistent), but at the wrecks and reefs taugtog are still hanging around and are willing to hit crab baits. You have a couple more weeks to target them before the spring closure and a few flounder have been mixed in with the catch. Interestingly, boats hitting reefs closer in had better luck recently as opposed to those making longer runs, with a few limit catches reported including some big tog but boat averages of half-limits more common. Capt. Monty from the Morning Star reports that in the past few weeks they've hauled 22 tons of block into the ocean, to continue the OC Reef Foundation's reef-building efforts. Don't forget, this Sunday May 6 is the Foundation's annual dinner at Seacrets.