Maryland Weekly Fishing Report: Covering the Maryland Chesapeake Bay & Ocean City Offshore and Inshore: Updated June 6, 2008

Wow, what a week. I wish I was talking about the fishing, but instead I am talking about the weather that has been keeping a lot of anglers off the water over the last few days. We have had some wicked storms which have left people all over Maryland with fallen trees, flooded basements and some with no electricity. As for the fishing, well I think Richie Gaines summed it up when we were talking today when he said, “It’s transition time for striped bass right now. It’s one of the toughest times of year for light tackle and fly striped bass anglers in most of Maryland tidal waters ” I thought it was just me having a tougher time then normal catching stripers on structure, but it was good to hear that my angling skills were not slipping and other anglers and experts were experiencing the same thing. This is the time of year striped bass (or rockfish as we sometimes call them) move off the structure that they were holding on in the river systems and start moving out onto structure in the main stem of the Chesapeake. They are moving and in this transition period spread out all over the place. It means you have to cover a lot of ground to find where they are on a given day. This is a time of year when trolling can at times have the advantage. However, it does not mean you can not find them with light tackle or fly gear, and some anglers this week have had success working structure in the upper bay in and around the Susquehanna Flats with top water plugs. In the middle bay Eastern Bay fishing has been OK, but not as consistent and not as many big fish. In the lower middle bay there have been a few schools of fish that anglers have been able to jig and get some nice stripers, they are just on the move and in a different spot every day.

While the striped bass fishing has slower then it has been, black drum have been getting some attention in and around the Stone Rock area. The key to catching these fish has 1) been locating them and 2) getting them to eat your bait. One of Richie Gaines clients caught a 92lber in Eastern Bay over a week ago now on a jig of all things. Lucky catch, but goes to show they are in Eastern Bay in addition to in and around the Stone Rock area.

Croakers have been around the Honga River area, but have not yet moved into Eastern Bay. White perch have been all over the region on channel edges. There have been some flounder caught in the lower middle bay area as well as speckled trout.

Also this week we finally got a fishing tackle shop right at Kent Narrows. Shore Tackle and Custom Rods has expanded. The new store is a full service tackle shop conveniently located at Kent Narrows in the parking lot of Fishermans Inn. The new store will continue their focus on customer service and also include rod and reel repair.

They are open at 5:30 AM and sell bait, ice, and a wide selection of tackle, plus rods and reels. They also have a custom rod room with samples of the custom rods they offer. I was in the shop this past week and checked out a few of the new custom rods they are making with abalone wrap. The abalone makes for one hot looking rod.

Tackle includes but not limited to the BKD’s, Specialized Baits including “The Bug”
Tsunamis, Bucktails and Parachutes  and Flies tied by local fisherman.
All of their custom rods will be manufactured at their main location at 115 Pullman Crossing Road in Grasonville. ( By the 7-11).

Also, there is a new boat ramp open in Hillsboro on the Tuckahoe River thanks to a state grant and hard work of a few locals. The grant money comes from a boat transfer tax that that state collects on boats purchased which is then distributed in grants for waterway improvement projects. The boat ramps open up access for small boats, kayaks and canoes.

Also on the boat ramp front Thomson Creek ramp in Queens Ann County received $150,000 from transfer tax money grants to replace the old ramp and protect the eroding shore line. I do not have any details construction, but when I do I will make sure to let you know.

Weekend/Upcoming Fishing Events
Fishing Day Camp Offered for Local Youth
When: There will be two sessions of the camp, running from July 21-25 and July 28-Aug. 1
Where: Point Lookout State Park
Details Point Lookout State Park from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Each day campers will learn angling skills, have a chance to practice those skills, and fish. On the final day of the camp, they will fish on a charter boat. Campers will receive a rod, tackle, life vest, and a copy of Lenny Rudow’s Guide to Fishing the Chesapeake. They will also get a one- year Youth Membership to CCA, including the Rising Tide magazine, access to the Rising Tide website, conservation tips and activities. The cost is $150 per camper.
Information: For more information about the day camp or to register, Brooke MacDonald, 1-888-758-6580, or Rob Schou, 443-926-6156. Registration is limited to 10 campers per week.

Maryland Fishing Reports
Upper Chesapeake Bay Region (Susquehanna River/Flats to Bay Bridge Waters)
As of June 1 anglers fishing the Susquehanna Flats are subject to the bay wide striped bass regulations which means the lower limit to keep a fish is now 18 inches. Ele and Captain Mike from Herbs Tackle reports that the striped bass fishing has been good. Light tackle anglers are having success in shallow water with top water poppers. The big striped bass have definitely moved out, but the resident fish are settling in to their summer pattern allowing for some consistent action in the shallow water areas. Be prepared to catch those green bass otherwise known as largemouth bass and they have been haunting the area as well.

Anglers are still doing some trolling in the upper bay region. Areas that have been producing are: Brewerton Channel, The Dumping Ground above the Bay Bridge, and the sharp edge from Baltimore Light down to Sandy Point Light. Having said that, many of the trolling anglers have switched over to chumming. Key is moving current. Make sure to check the tide charts not just for the tide, but also check the current information. Current does not run at the same speed throughout the tide cycle and fishing the right time of current can be the different between catching and not. Knowing this will also allow you to adjust your weights so you can vary the bait location in the water column. Hot areas have been the Triple Buoy area outside of Rockhall at the mouth of the Chester River as well as Baltimore Light and Podickory Point.

Mid Chesapeake Bay Region (Bay Bridge to Honga River Waters)
Anglers are continuing to troll to target striped bass, although a lot of anglers who normally troll have been chasing the several schools of black drum that have been swimming the waters of the Stone Rock area. These fish have been averaging 50-70lbs which makes for some good action. The light tackle and fly guys are struggling a little as the stripers have started to spread out and move into the main portion of the bay, at least the bigger fish, which has made it hard to find the nice schools that were around a few weeks ago.

Richie Gaines from Angler’s Connection Guide Service reported that it’s the transition time of year when the stripers move from their structure such as oyster bars in the rivers back out to the bay to hold on structure such as channel edges, lumps and humps. This makes finding large concentrations of striped bass tough for light tackle and fly anglers. He said It’s not that he is not catching fish, he is just not catching them like he was as early as a week or two ago when there were some bigger fish in and around Eastern Bay. He said most all the big striped bass have moved out of Eastern Bay and he has now expanded this fishing area down to the mouth of the Choptank waters. The stripers that are in Eastern Bay have been in the 17-26 inch range now. He has now moved his target depth from less then 8ft of water to the 15-20ft of water areas. He is also fishing points along the shore lines during strong current times of the tide and managing to pick up a fish or two; the key is to hit the points, make a few casts, if you do not get anything, move on to the next point and keep that pattern going.

Captain Walleye Pete Daulberg of Four Seasons Guide Service reports that he has been continuing to fish mostly the lower Chesapeake and the Honga River area. The winds have been a little crazy keeping him fishing protected points. There I still a school of stripers swimming between the Gas Docks to Parkers Creek. The fish have been a little smaller then in the past ranging in the 20-27inch range and the school has been invaded by plenty of snapper blues. Some of these snappers have had some shoulders on them and weighted up to 4lbs. Some days these fish are breaking and others you need to cruise the edges and locate them on your fish finder. Captain Walleye Pete said he still is catching a few speckled trout. Capt. Walleye Pete has been focusing on point, drop offs and open water structure in the Honga. Lures of choice have been Bass Kandy Delights in 6 and 12inch.

Live lining at the mouth of the Choptank has not started yet. I did do a fly over of the bay in my friends seaplane looking for fish and saw a few boats at the mouth giving it a try, but I have not heard good reports yet. The spot have not moved into the area, so until they do, the live lining is not going to happen. If you do choose to live line this year please use circle hooks, they help diminish deep hooking so the fish you throw back have a chance of living. We all need to do our part to make sure we have a healthy population of striped bass.

While flying the bay I also saw no signs of live on the Hill chumming, so it appears that action has not heated up either.

Anglers have been trolling to manage the big seas this past week, spreads have been parachutes and bucktails rigged with sassy shads. Good colors have been the regulars: white and chartreuse.

Jumbo1 managed to log in two days this week and gave this report:
“Had planned on calling off my Wed trip….watched the forecast all day tues and into the evening….every single site I checked had winds at 20-25 or more throughout the day….woke up around 5am Wed…checked the weather……….. Way to go weather idiots……..Ok called Choptank river Rat….he was ready to go so off we went….hit the water around 9am….(felt like I was missing something?)……..

Ran to a bunch of my “Go To ” spots…..NADA……..
Ran farther south ……NADA…….
OK not good…..had to bust out some “Dark side Broom sticks”….the light tackle ones…..
I fish 2 with tandem bucktails and 1 down deep with #15 tony behind a small umbrella…and another one deep with asmall stormbrella…
only fish 4 of them….picked up a 26″ and a 22″ on the same rod….ended the day with about 15 fish….Limited out but it was alot of work…..never had the bird action I wanted or could find the bait we needed…..
FF was totally blank most of the morning…..

Thurs met up with John Pearce….planned to fish a whole new area…..ended the day with close to 75 fish maybe more up to 27″….Limited out…no bird action just found them on the screen at one of my old Waypoints….was funny John was telling about a place he liked to go to and was trying to explain to me where it was and I already had it marked….just a really good dropoff area…not far from Bloody pt…45-50ft all around and this small area comes up to 25ft….caught alot of 17-18″ fish there…..had 1 really good fish ran and ran and ran….than came back…I lost it………
Still beautiful weather…..haven’t had time to load my pics……I only like to post pics of 28″ + fish anyhow… Thanks JP had a blast! Till next week.”

Lower Maryland Chesapeake Bay (Honga River down to the Maryland /Virginia Line Waters)
I can not bring you a fresher report for the Honga and Tangier area then fellow Tidal Fisher “fishenpaws ” who had this report from yesterday:
“This is for anyone heading out this weekend and looking for Mr. Croaker. We pulled out of Gootees Marina and hit the usual spots and found the usual suspect with a few new twists. We fished off Bentley Point,Crab Point and off Deale Island (closer to Bloodworth Island) with the same results except the Croakers were a little more consistent and larger the further we traveled out of the river. Strips of squid did the trick better than bloodworm and a little bit of shrimp also seemed to bring them on the hook. We consistently found them in 25 to 8 feet of water. Whenever the bite died down we moved to a new location and it would start all over again. Ended up with 20 from 12 to 15 inches. Beautiful day on the Bay and my first outing of the year due to projects. I’ve been monitoring tidalfish a couple times a week and I have to say I was getting discouraged with the lack of fishing reports and the abundance of personal and alternate news reports that had no place on this board. Good Luck.”

Mike and Christy from Buzz’s Marina in Ridge buzzed in a report this week and said the wind has been howling keeping most all anglers off the water. Despite the winds, Christy said the water clarity has been beautiful, its just a matter of getting out. The anglers that have been able to get out have been rewarded with plenty of striped bass and bluefish to keep a tight line. Areas that have been hot are the Woodrow Wilson artificial reef and the Triangles on the Middle Grounds. The mouth of their creek has also been holding some flounder and a speckled trout was caught. I would like to extend a quick word of congratulations to Buzz’s as they received their clean marina certification this week, doing their part to help keep the Chesapeake Bay waters clean.

Ocean City Coastal and Offshore Fishing Reports
Ocean City Fishing Center reported: Shark fishing has picked up!!! Capt. Mark Sampson of the “Fish Finder” released 19 Bluesharks this past weekend. Capt. Joe O’Boyle of the “Mojo” caught a 210 pound Mako. Bluefish have also been hot. Capt. Ed Kaufman aboard the “Jade II” caught 40 Bluefish on their trip Saturday.

Sue Foster from Oyster Bay Tackle and Fenwick Tackle reported:
Fishing this week saw a number of big sharks in the surf. Bluefish were
biting at the Inlets. Some trout were reported here and there. Flounder was good when it wasn’t too windy. The striper bite picked up on the Route 50 Bridge and the Indian River Inlet. Offshore, some big tautog were reported along with some sea bass. A couple flounder were reported. Further offshore we had some shark and bluefish action.

Assateague surf saw lots of sharks, big rays and skates. Not many stripers compared to last week. Anglers are trying for red drum but mostly coming up with sharks and rays.  There were some catches of kingfish on bloods and  Fishbite Bloodworms. Some bluefish action was reported on finger mullet. Ling cod or red hake were caught along with the kingfish. These are very good to eat.

J.J. from the Oceanic Pier (410-289-2602) reports good shad and bluefish action at night along with some trout.  Anglers use  Gotcha Plugs and  Spec Rigs. Some flounder were also reported along with sharks and skates. Tautog have been biting at the end of the pier.

Remember you can always check out our online fishing community TidalFish.com that sports over 48,500 recreational anglers posting fishing reports and talking fishing every day

Until next week, good times,and good fishing!

Brandon
Chief Angler

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