Coastal Fishing Reports

Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, August 22 Update:

Anglers had to make the most of the weather windows as Hurricane Erin traveled up the East Coast, creating rough seas and causing coastal flooding. The MidAtlantic Tournament was still hosted this week, and it was undoubtedly a sporty ride out, but the fishing grounds offered some great fish. White marlin, blue marlin, tuna, wahoo, and mahi were all checked in. The most impressive catch came courtesy of the Reel Toy with an 804-pound blue marlin. Once the seas calm down, the fishing should remain good through the end of summer. Inside the OC inlet, bluefish and striped bass are being caught around the Route 50 and Route 90 bridges. Good size sheepshead are also being caught at the jetty rocks on both the north and south sides of the inlet. Sand fleas and small crab baits are their preferred forage.

Fish In OC reports that the nearshore fishing has been very good this week with several species snapping. Chasin’ Tides Charters has enjoyed a good bite for sea bass, flounder, and some great Spanish mackerel fishing. Local Hooker charters also caught sea bass this week along with tautog up to eight pounds. Captain Monty Hawkins of the Morning Star made it out before the storm and enjoyed calm seas and good fishing. Monty reports that the sea bass bite was on, but the mahi bite was sub-par. They spotted some mahi at the pots and ended up pulling some late in the day. Captain Cook from First Light Charters checked in with a report from Delaware and says that flounder fishing at the old grounds and inshore wrecks continues to be productive. As fall approaches, he will transition to focusing on more sea bass.

Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, August 15 Update:

It has been windy along the coast recently, but when the winds have receded, there has been some good fishing. Reports of flounder hitting double-bucktail/Gulp! rigs in the surf of Assateague are still coming in, although the fish being caught in the past week have been smaller. Some kingfish have been in the surf as well, hitting on Fishbites. FishTalk contributor Adam Greenberg fished in Ocean City last weekend and reports that the bite was slow while fishing from shore in the back bay. He caught some short flounder while bouncing a bucktail/teaser rig tipped with Gulp!. He also tried for sheepshead and tautog in the back bay but only managed to catch toadfish. In the evening, he fished the Route 50 Bridge, but it was crowded, and he only saw one bluefish caught in about an hour of fishing. The next day he was able to get on a boat for an afternoon flounder trip and between four anglers, they caught around 10 short flounder and one short rockfish on bucktails tipped with shiners and minnows.

Fish In OC reports that the offshore waters have been productive for a variety of fish from the wrecks and reefs out to the canyons. Near shore bottom structure has been holding black sea bass, flounder, and triggerfish. Boats heading out to the canyons are catching mahi around the lobster pots. The pots closer to the canyons have been more productive than those in shallower water. There have also been reports of mahi schools hanging around floating structure, so keep an eye out for any debris. The tilefish bite is still hot with bluelines stealing the show in depths of 300’ to 400’. The crew of the Boss Hogg with Captain Alex Bean had a nice day on the ocean with two white marlin releases and some nice mahi earlier in the week. The tuna bite has been tough lately, but there are still some yellowfins out there to go chase down.

Notice to anglers: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has closed the Atlantic bluefin fishery through December 31st, 2025. More information can be found on the NOAA website.

Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, August 8 Update:

Coastal fishing has been good since the mid-summer heat waves backed off. A smattering of reader reports indicate good action for a variety of species along the inshore coastal waters and in the surf. A couple fishing Wachapreage reported putting flounder into the cooler with one hitting the 23” mark, we had another report of flounder action in the surf on Gulp! at Assateague (though the action was slower than it has been and the fish weren’t as large this week), and there was also word of slot redfish in Virginia’s surf hitting on cut croaker. On the Delaware coast, Captain Cook on First Light Charters says the flounder bite is still good at inshore wreck and reef sites and both cobia and ribbonfish showed up in the same areas over the last week. The rock jetties at the Ocean City inlet have been holding good sized sheepshead and some tautog. Fiddler crabs are the ideal bait for the striped bait stealers, but other varieties of crab or sand fleas will work.

FishTalk contributor Adam Greenberg made it out on the Atlantic last week fishing out of Ocean City. His crew did an overnight trip to the Washington Canyon and reported an excellent bite for several species. They released two white marlin, caught 27 mahi, 15 tilefish, two black sea bass, and a dusky shark. Adam says the ocean was full of life and the waters were flat calm. Mahi were biting very well around the lobster pots, but some schools had lockjaw while others were eager to bite. Interestingly enough, the majority of the mahi they caught were hanging around a dead sea turtle. Their tilefish were caught in 300’ to 400’. Ocean City has been very busy this week as anglers have traveled from all over to fish in the 52nd annual White Marlin Open. There have been some impressive fish brought to the dock, including white marlin, blue marlin, yellowfin tuna, and mahi. The stakes couldn’t be higher as we look to the scales this evening for the final weigh in of the tournament.