Coastal Fishing Reports

Coastal Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report, May 3 Update:

Fishing was great all over the coastal zone this week as it felt more like summer than spring, as an uptick in flounder activity moving north to Assateague and Ocean City this week is a sure sign that water temperatures are warming up. Many anglers went out to target the flatties this week and good fishing was reported from Wachapreague up to Ocean City. A boat fishing behind Assateague landed three keeper flounder up to 21 inches during a mid-week trip. The Thoroughfare has also been noted as productive for anglers fishing behind Ocean City. This time of year is great to target flounder in OC before the summertime crowds start to show up and boat traffic becomes a headache to deal with. Still, anglers looking for a better chance at catching their limit should consider heading to Chincoteague and areas south as that zone has held steadier action. Sea Hawk Sports Center let us know that there have been a good number of fish in the four-pound range caught in depths of less than 10 feet and some fish have even hit the six-pound mark. Fishing the outgoing tide is still best as water temperatures are on the cooler side. Flounder rigs with Gulp! baits and silversides have been the ticket.

Surf fishing along the beaches is becoming interesting with a lot of different species running close to shore from Virginia clear up through Delaware. Coastal correspondent John Unkart reported that there were some some slow days early in the week on Assateague with very little current, and some fat blowfish attacking his baits. The big news, however, is that the big chopper bluefish still in our area as they make their way north. Most of the bluefish have been in the 25- to 35-inch range which makes for an exciting battle and they've been caught in good numbers along the coast up to Cape Henlopen. Black drum, striped bass, flounder, skate, dogfish, are also all being reported; see Bluefish and Black Drum in the Surf for some pointers. A report from an angler fishing last weekend showed great results from the surf as they caught two black drum, a big bluefish, and a striped bass. A Chincoteague surf angler tossing out fresh cut bait caught a 46-inch striped bass during an evening outing to the beach. The stripers are migrating out of the Chesapeake Bay and making the turn up the coast. They should be running close to the beaches for a few weeks before they push out of our zone.

The Ocean City Fishing Center let us know that fishing at the Ocean City inlet has provided anglers with a mixed bag of species to catch near the rock jetties and other structures. The bluefish have also made their way into the back bay along with schoolie striped bass. Casting Gotcha plugs, metal spoons, and soft plastics on jigs has been getting bites. A kayak angler made his way out to the south jetty and caught striped bass up to 28 inches and bluefish up to 35 inches. All their fish were caught on a three-eighths ounce jighead paired with a four-inch swim shad. They also caught a 20-inch flounder. Tautog have also been hanging around the rock structure inshore as well as the offshore wrecks and reefs. Chasin’ Tides Charters was out on the ocean structure this week and put his clients on several nice fish including some double digits that were released. Black sea bass season will open on May 15th up and down the coast and the fishing should pick up where it left off.