Coastal Fishing Reports
Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, August 7 Update:
Offshore action is heating up with strong numbers of white marlin and mahi around the canyons, highlighted by impressive catches during the White Marlin Open. Closer to shore, reefs are producing keeper flounder and triggerfish, while the back bays remain loaded with smaller flounder. Surf anglers are finding spot, kingfish, sharks, and rays, while Ocean City's bridges and inlet continue to offer a mixed bag of striped bass, bluefish, tautog, and flounder.
Offshore, anglers have plenty to go after right now, with reports of white marlin and mahi-mahi at the canyons in good numbers, plus a few tunas here and there. The winner of the Heels & Reels fishing out of OC had nine marlin releases and boats running out of the VA ports are also reporting excellent action at the southern canyons. One reader checked in after amassing a catch of dozens of peanut dolphins after tugging against billfish. There are some bigger fish around too (a 29-pounder was caught during the Big Fish Classic), but the bulk of the mahi hovering around the lobster pot balls at the canyon edges are in the three- to six-pound range. A smattering are showing up inshore at the bass pots as well, but small ones and not in the numbers one would hope for.
The 53rd annual White Marlin Open is going on now through the weekend. AS of Thursday morning, the biggest splash belongs to the Mister Pete, which brought in an impressive 80-pound white marlin. This jumped ahead of the 70-pound fish brought in by the Bull Pen. The MaxBet leads the blue marlin division with a 607-pound fish, while the Gray Fox sits atop the tuna leader board with a 179-pounder. Mahi have also been hitting the dock, and Today’s The Day is leading that category with a 45-pounder. Boats competing in the tournament are working the offshore canyons looking for productive current breaks, pulling spreads of ballyhoo, dredges, and teasers to catch the marlin. With plenty of fishing left in the tournament, the leaderboard along with some multi-million-dollar payouts could change quickly.
Dave Moore from Shark Whisperers says the redfish seem to have moved out from the Assateague surf and he hasn’t seen them in recent days (or nights). Sharks and rays have been providing plenty of action, though. Smaller fish remain plentiful, with spot and kingfish (roundhead) biting strong. He also noted that good numbers of flounder remain in the suds, though most are small. He also tried fishing the inlet rocks in OC this week but said sheepshead were elusive; he did pick up a few tautog in the 15” range. At the Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 Bridge, the fishing action has been slower, but anglers are still catching some striped bass, bluefish, tautog, and flounder. The best action around the bridges is at night when baitfish are attracted to the lights illuminating the water. In the back bays from Ocean City down the Virginia coast, there are plenty of flounder, but most of them are short of the 17.5” minimum size.
At the nearshore reef sites, keeper flounder are more abundant, with several reefs also holding big schools of triggerfish. The triggers have been tempted by small bits of squid or clam. The flounder fishing has been excellent at the windmills offshore of Virginia Beach. The run is about 25 nautical miles, but boats are catching some very nice keeper flounder. Some mahi and other species like spadefish and triggerfish have also been around at times. Closer to home Spanish mackerel are still being caught by trollers pulling spoons, along the beaches and channel edges running up towards the Bay. Most of the mackerel action has been in depths of 20 to 40 feet of water, but they have pushed in close to the beaches near the various public fishing piers at times. If you plan to visit any of the piers bring a rod with a Gotcha plug or metal jig to cast in case the mackerel come within striking distance.
