Ocean City Maryland & Assateague Island – Delaware Beaches – Ocean n Bay Fishing Report
By Sue Foster, Oyster Bay Tackle Shop, Ocean City MD – Fenwick Island DE
July 8th, 2013
Water Temp: 68.9
Fishing Report by Sue Foster
There's flounder action in the bay when the wind gives us a break. Lots
of lots of spot. Blues in the inlet and bay when the wind switches from
the East. A surprising amount of red puppy drum have been around. A few
croaker are in the bay along with rays whether we want them or not!
Surf fishing is mostly summer fare with spot, kingfish, croaker, ling
cod, skates and sharks. A few blues on some days. Offshore, the sea bass
bite is pretty good along with some flounder. Further offshore, bluefin
and big eye tuna!
Oyster Bay is now open summertime hours 6 A.M. till 10 P.M. daily.
Fenwick Tackle is open 7 A.M. till 10 P.M. Daily. E-mail Sue Foster at:
Oyster Bay Tackle. (PS.
I won't be answering e-mails this week until Wed, so please call
410-524-3433 if you have a questions that require a quick answer!) online mall is open. We sell
MD licenses and 2013 boat stickers at our Oyster Bay and Fenwick Tackle
locations. De Licenses are sold at our DEL location. IF YOU WANT A
BOAT FISHING LICENSE PLEASE TELL US THAT WHEN YOU GET TO THE
COUNTER. Voids are no joy! For DEL boat fishing licenses you MUST
bring in a current boat registration and a driver's license. (For MD
boat stickers, all you need is a driver's license.)
MD fishing licenses are really quick and easy once you're in the system.
If you have last year's MD license, bring it in with you, and all we
have to do is punch in the DNR ID number Otherwise, bring in your
Driver's License.
BTW, There's a mistake in the MD Fishing Guide about clamming. If you
are out of state it IS legal for you to catch clams in Worcester Co. The
state fixed the mistake online, but of course, thousands of Guides were
already printed! I have had several e-mails about this.
The Bulkhead at 2nd thru 4th Street is a free fishing zone. You can
fish here without a MD license but you still need to obtain a free
registry. We can do that for you at Oyster Bay Tackle or call
1-855-855-3906. I talked to a customer that caught a fat legal
flounder there this week and several "shorts." Another man saw a
keeper tautog caught there. Anglers can also catch little sea bass,
spot, croaker, bluefish, puppy drum and trigger fish.
The Ocean Pier is another place you can fish without a MD License. This
week the pier had some trout, kingfish, croaker, spot, puppy drum,
snapper blues, flounder, sharks and rays. You can catch anything on the
pier that you can catch from the surf.
2013 Tide Charts are now available in our stores and online. Go to our website and click on More Fishing Info.
Flounder season is now open in MD- Minimum Size - 16" Creel - 4 fish
open all year.
New Ocean City chart by Capt Seagull available:
Buy at Oyster Bay Tackle or online.
2013 White Marlin Open T's are here! Instore or Online. (We also got some tank tops in our stores.)
>
2013 Shark T's! In store or on
Online. We also have the 2013 Shark Tank Tops. Got a few left. Get them quick. (Shirts going fast.)
Stopping in to Oyster Bay Tackle or Fenwick Tackle? Clip out a coupon
for xtra savings! Coupons
Surf fishing was good as long as you were happy catching kingfish,
croaker, spot, and ling cod. Anglers need to get up early and fish with
small hooks and bloodworms or Fishbite Bloodworms. You can combine the
worm or fishbite with a little piece of cut bait such as box squid or
bunker.
The guys from Oyster Bay Tackle, Yianni, Deimetre and Zack, along with
Yianni and Deimetre's grandmother, Miss Georgie, have been fishing
almost every morning from the North Ocean City surf and catching fat
kingfish, spot, and ling cod. Lots of skates too, whether you want them
or not! They have been using bloodworms and fishbite bloodworms.
Andy Andrews e-mailed in: "Water seems pretty cold for this time of
year?? Very slow in the surf on squid and f bites. A few small kings
over a few evenings this week."
(I think the morning bite has been better. Cold water is because of all
the west wind. East winds bring us warmer water from offshore.)
"Koss" posted on Stripers Online on July 1st: "Brother in law and his
friend are at the condo for the week. The friend is a fisherman and
enjoys the beach so I decided to take him out Sat morning. Got to the
beach at 5, caught some spot for bait right away and then laid into the
whiting. Had a school of citation+ size move through and kept enough for
dinner. He also got a nice weakfish. Big rods went untouched. We left at
noon and I spent the rest of the weekend chasing the little girl all
over the beach. Had a great time!"
Early bird gets the worm!!!
"Lastinline" posted about Saturday: " Saturday turned out to be
beautiful. Sun came out and surf and winds calmed down. Lots of fish
during the day and bigger stuff at night. "
(Bigger stuff would be rays and sharks.)
Many anglers ask about reading the beach when surf fishing. "Poppy" a
very good angler has posted another very good description with pictures
on Stripers Online. Check it out: Reading the Beach He draws it out
completely! If you're not catching fish in the surf, you need to study
this!
Our online mall is now open and we have:
Trailhead Tire Deflators! We also carry the Oasis Trailhead brand.
Surf Packages, complete with sinkers. (Also flounder, Aqua-Clear, Swim
Shad, and Got-cha Plug Packages.)
Oyster Bay Tackle saw several fish from the bay this week, proving
there's fish around.
Ryan Ruscitella, 11 yrs old, from Purcellville, VA, caught this 18-inch
keeper on a minnow squid combo while fishing the incoming tide at The
Ditch. Pictured is dad, Bill Ruscitella and friend, James Alba, 10 yrs
old, of Fairfax, VA.
Mark Anders, age 9, from Spring Grove, PA., hooked an 18 1/2 inch
flounder using a minnow while fishing behind the island near the
airport. Mark is visiting his grandparents in Ocean Pines. (Click on the
icon and his pic will come up.)
7 year old Luke Biesinger from Bethesda, Md caught a 20 inch Flounder
using minnow and squid combo during the high tide from the Bulkhead.
Terri Apostolopoulos from East Berlin, Pa caught a 22.5 Red Drum and a
19.5 Black Drum from the RT 50 Bridge during the slack Tide using Squid
as bait."
Lane Wolters 5 years old - with his brother Drew caught this 20-inch
Puppy Drum on the bayside at Fenwick Island on bloodworm.
Gary Sacra from Perry Hall, Md with his 5 year old Grandson Noah
Fergnschak fished a incoming tide around the East Channel using Jigheads
and Gulp and caught this 22.5 inch 4 pound Flounder.
These pictures are in our Inshore Photo Gallery.
There's been lots of action around the Route 54 slough with puppy drum,
spot, and croaker. You need a DEL fishing license if you are fishing
around the Bridge up there!
J.J. from the Oceanic Pier (410-289-2602) reported good fishing with
flounder, trout, some blues. Croaker, spot, and sea bass for the little
kids. (You do not need a fishing license to fish the Oceanic Pier.)
I saw anglers pulling in bluefish off the Rt. 50 Bridge on my way home
Saturday afternoon when the wind switched to the east! One morning,
when I came to work, I saw a nice sea trout being pulled over the rail.
It was around 5:30 AM. Sometimes I see blues coming over the rails too.
Flounder are being caught up there for sure.
Larry Jock of the Coastal Fisherman reports on Saturday: "11:09 AM - Chuck Wenzel caught a
23-inch red drum and a 17 1/2-inch flounder. Both in the East Channel
near the Cement Plant on Gulp! Swimming Mullets. Rich and Baron Daiker
caught their limit of 6 flounder while drifting live spot in the East
Channel near the Cement Plant. Largest measured 25-inches. 7:00 PM -
Capt. Skip Maguire called in to report that the striper bite is good on
the South Jetty. They are getting them on live spot. They have a FAT
30-incher in the box already."
On Friday, Larry reports: "Preston Walls landed a 25-inch, 6 lb.
flounder while fishing in the East Channel, south of the Rt. 50 Bridge.
Caught on live spot."
ON Thursday Larry reports: "Head boat, "Morning Star" returned with a
good catch of sea bass from both ocean reefs and wrecks. The 3 heaviest
weighed 3.0, 3.2 and 3.6 lbs. All were caught on clams and squid."
Jeff Grimes Of Helbent Charters reports: The south wind continues to
blow 15 plus everyday making fishing very tough. We finally got a break
today on the tail end of the incoming tide and the beging of the out
going with some cleaner water for the first time in a week! Cleaner
water means a Flounder bite. We caught Flounder by the Airport,
Commercial Harbor and by Harbor Isle. We had been waiting for the water
to clean up but even with better water today the south wind is going to
be blowing for at least five more days. Gulp was the favorite bait of
the day with white being the perfred color. There are s lot o Spot sll
over the bay which is great way to keep kids busy. Fish Bites is the
best bait for the Spot.We were also surprprised with some large rays
still in the bay as well. We hooked one on Fish Bites and one on Gulp?
Still time to book a trip but dates are limited. Call me a 717 574 4010
or email me at helbentcharters@hotmail.com. Do not forget to check out
our website helbentcharters.com. Sse you on the water.
Flounder and Surf, Rig and Lure Packages, Selection of Swimming Shads or Gotcha Plugs!
Crabbing has been decent. Northside Park at 125th Street is now back
open and you can crab there. Lots of spot up there too. You can also
crab from the Isle of Wight at 62nd Street, Convention Hall at 41st
Street, Jamestown Road (the whole city park side of the lagoon), 9th
Street Pier, or Assateague State Park.
Capt. Monty on the "
Morning Star reports on July 1st
Greetings All, Despite some excellent fishing, even near limits,
since my last; I'd say sea bass fishing has settled into a summer bite —
a pick. Sending folks home with dinner; some days much better. Starting
to get more indications of flounder turning on too.. I anticipate when
this weather pattern breaks, seas will settle & we'll have a clean-shot
at the flounder/sea bass reef trips we've been doing in July/Aug for
some years now.
Anticipate being the key word concerning flounder: anything could
happen. Whatever that may be, It's Not Happening Yet..
* One day recently I had a bachelor party aboard. True to form, they'd
had a bit too much fun the night before. Seemingly vengeful, the sea was
prepared to make these young men pay. Trust me: You need only experience
a hangover in rough weather once. Living that life-lesson, they provided
remaining anglers with premium chum, a not unheard of commodity aboard
the Morning Star. Those young men dehydrating in every venue & wanting
nothing more than to get ashore; I concocted a story about new
regulations in the aftermath of cruise-liner food borne illnesses..
"Because more than 25% of today's passengers have sea flu, we'll have to
anchor near the quarantine buoy ten miles south of Ocean City until a
Coast Guard medical team can determine cause of illness..
A couple of the surviving revelers picked up the thread: "It might be
after dark before we get in."
..such pitiful moans.
* With this weather pattern cooking the West Coast and a perpetual
t-storm warning along the East Coast, its best that EVERYONE be mindful
of seasickness.
Dramamine is such cheap insurance.
* We've had a curious development with red hake, aka 'ling.' I've seen
more ling in the last few weeks than in the last few decades.
Sailing Everyday Reservations For Sea Bass Trips at 410 - 520 - 2076.
See much more info at http://morningstarfishing.com
Regular 8 Hr trips $110.00 - 7AM to 3PM – Saturdays 6AM to 3:30PM -
$125.00 "
Go to " Morning Star to read Capt Monty's entire newsletter...
E-mail Capt Monty at: Capt Monty about upcoming trips or to subscribe to his newsletter:
mhawkins@mediacombb.net
Capt. Monty Hawkins mhawkins@siteone.net Party Boat "Morning Star"
Reservation Line 410 520 2076 http://www.morningstarfishing.com/
Watch the weather.
Help and Donate to the Ocean City Reef Foundation! http://www.ocreeffoundation.com/
It's a 501c3 tax deductable .org
Capt Chris Mizurak of the Angler (410-289-7424) e-mailed in: "We are
sailing daily from 730 am to 2pm. The cost is $65pp, which includes
rod,reel,and bait. This upcoming Friday 6/21 & Saturday 6/22 the boat
is chartered, we have an open boat on Sunday. For more information and
reservations please call 410-289-7424. Thanks and hope to see you soon!"
Capt Victor of the Ocean Princess e-mailed in on July 2nd: "Just wanted
to bring you up to date with what's happening on the Ocean Princess. The
weather is the big thing happening at the present time. Can't seem to
put together a full day of fishing due to wind and rain. The Ocean
Princess has been picking up some trigger fish and flounder along with
some keeper sea bass.
On May 31st our last 12 hour trip for the spring Fred Brungart from
York, Pennsylvania caught a 24 pound cod fish. We have been waiting
since then to hear if it would be confirmed as a Maryland State Record
fish and we have just learned that indeed it has. Fred has been fishing
over 50 years up and down the East Coast. Over the years Fred and his
friend, Bob Mitchell have fished off the Ocean Princess numerous times.
At age 69 he decided it was a good time to board the Ocean Princess
again. Using one of his favorite rods, spider wire and the rigs he
made, Fred was able to hook and land the Record Cod on May 31st. There
is a little regret that he did not choose to get the Fish mounted.
Fred’s wife says he knew she would appreciate the delicious filets, and
she did.
The Ocean Princess is sailing two trips daily 8am to 12 noon and 1pm to
5pm. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays the Ocean Princess also
takes a night trip from 6pm to 10pm. For reservations or additional
information call 410-289-6226. "
Joe at Lewes Harbour Marina (302-645-6227) reports on July 4th: "The slot size striper
season kicked in July 1st, and until August 31st striped bass between
20 and 26 inches may be kept from Delaware Bay and it's tributaries.
Anglers are allowed to retain 2 per person per day. The minimum size
along the Ocean coast and in Indian River remains at 28 inches. Lewes
Canal is home to numerous summertime stripers, and many fall within the
slot size. Most of the waterway is sheltered and can be fished even in
windy weather, so it's a good plan B if you can't get out on the Bay
due to strong breezes. Boaters drifting pencil eels around the
drawbridge and train bridge did well with rockfish. Rock were also
caught on clams, RatLTraps and Storm Shads. Bass were active at
daybreak and could be tempted with topwater poppers. Last of incoming
tide and first of outgoing were usually best times to try. The Canal
continued to produce flounder. William Rybinski reeled in a 2.83 pound
flattie he hooked from the Town Dock on a chunk of soft crab. Other
fluke were caught by guys using Gulp! and minnows at Roosevelt Inlet.
John Giblin was casting a white Gulp at Roosevelt when he connected
with a 3.67 pound weakfish. Spot and croakers were plentiful in the
Canal and also along Lewes and Broadkill Beaches. Bloodworms and
Fishbites were most effective. Spot and hardheads were found out in the
Bay on structure as well. Reef Site 8 and live bottom on The Shears
held them, along with kingfish, blowfish and spike trout. Collin
Delauten checked in a 1.2 pound citation kingfish he decked on the
Indian. Samuel Key kept a 1.02 pound citation king on the Fish Hawk.
Grant Bobbit was surprised when he landed an 18 pound black drum while
fishing for croakers at Site 8 aboard the Grizzly. George hanstein had
a 5.75 pound flounder on the Grizzly. Ocean bottom fishing was pretty
good. The inshore wrecks yielded a good mix. On Monday, Captain Brent's
group on Katydid worked some snags close to the beach for a boxful of
triggerfish, spadefish and kingfish, plus a 4.86 pound lunker sea bass
landed by Mike Surowiec. Captain Brent's Saturday group of flukers
aboard Katydid captured 7 keeper flatties from the Old Grounds. John
Yoder used a Tsunami Ball Jig tipped with a 6 inch Gulp for his limit
of fluke while fishing the Old Grounds on Thelma Dale IV Saturday. His
two heaviest weighed 5.17 and 5.5 pounds. Ernie Stone also limited out
with nice flounder Saturday on the TDIV. Tuna trollers took some big
bluefins while pulling skirted ballyhoos way back at the Hot Dog and
Hambone."
(Sorry, no slot fish for us in Ocean City or Indian River Inlet!)
Anglers need a DE Fishing License to fish, crab, and clam in DEL:
Individual Delaware Fishing Licenses are now available online
Stop by to the Oyster Bay Tackle location and buy your 2013 Ocean City
Reef Foundation Charts. The donation fee for these charts are $50. $54
if you use a credit card. These charts pin-point all the GPS numbers for
all the Artificial Reef materials that have been scattered near offshore
wrecks, reefs, and obstructions. The charts give you hundreds of numbers
to find fish. All the money collected goes back into the Artificial Reef
Foundation. Come to Oyster Bay Tackle or buy online.
(They are up in price, but all the numbers have been redone and the
charts are in book-form.)
Check out the link on our web site to the local chapter of the MSSA. They are keeping us
abreast on all the Fishing Issues. From our Oyster Bay Website, go to
"More Fishing Info" on the left hand side, and click on "MSSA Atlantic
Anglers".
Check the weather before driving hours to go offshore or fish the surf.
Go to Coastal Marine Forecast to get an idea of
the weather and height of the waves.
Capt. Rick Yakimowicz of the "Thelma Dale V" fishes out of Fisherman's
Wharf. Here's his report from July 4th:
Despite the constant Southerly wind that continues to plague our area
seemingly day after day we have continued to see some decent fish
catching action on both the Full-Day as well as the Half-Day trips here
at the Wharf.
Half Day trips have had continued success catching small to medium sized
Croakers, Kingfish and small Trout along with various assortments of
Junkfish providing good action for the Jr. anglers and the All- Day
trips have seen some of the most consistent Flounder catching action of
the season so far including several quality fish in the four pound range
as well as numerous throwbacks keeping everyone attentive at the rail.
We are into the full summer schedule grind here at the Wharf now we have
both All-Day as well as Half-Day trips running seven days a week as well
as plenty of sight seeing cruises. All-Day trips depart the docks at
7:00 a.m. and we generally return to the docks around 4:00. We will be
primarily targeting the Flounder and we are seeing just a few Sea Bass
and the occasional Croaker or Sea Robin in the mix right now. Jigging
has been our best method of take by far but the traditional Fluke killer
rigs still work at times . Half-Day trips sail at 8:00 a.m. and at 1:00
p.m. and will run evenings at 6:00 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday
nights. These trips will be targeting primarily the Croaker and the
smaller hooks on an old fashioned rig are the ticket.
If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the
Wharf or you would like to book a private charter or reserve space on a
special trip please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.
His full report and boat info is here.
Capt. Rick Yakimowicz Thelma Dale V catchfish@verizon.net"
Old Inlet Bait and Tackle (302-227-7974) reports on the 1st: "Surf
fishing is decent with plenty of small spot, kings and croakers offering
some action. No bluefish on the beach to speak of. The strange year for
blues continues.... Fresh bunker, bloodworms (real and fake), and surf
clams are the best baits. The fish are still spread out up and down the
beach. There is an improving flounder bite in the Inlet. This is a sign
that the fish are getting ready to migrate offshore to cooler deeper
water. Gulp Alive swimming mullet in white on a lead head are like
flounder candy and of course the good old minnow sandwich (minnow and
cut squid) will work as well.They are picking up a few stripers here and
there on swim shads and bucktails during the early morning hours. Look
for the night time bite to pick up on the really hot days.Heat and boat
traffic are driving the fish deep during the day.Dark swim shads, black
bucktails and plugs, and live eels will all work at night. A few blues
and shad around on the incoming tide during the day time."
Bill's Sport Shop (302-645-7654) in Lewes, DE reports on July 2nd:
"Flounder, croaker, weakfish, bluefish, kingfish, blowfish and spot
reported at CHSPP. Weakfish and flounder in the Broadkill, canal and
Roosevelt Inlet.. Red fish, black puppy drum, weakfish and flounder in
the IRI. Surf fishermen are lucking out with king fish. Back bays and
Massey's Ditch are producing spot, croaker and flounder. Puppy drum just
started showing up last week. B Buoy, Old Grounds and Site 11 and around
the area of the 20 fathom line of the Parking Lot are producing sea bass
and flounder. Site 10 has flounder, threshers, tiger sharks and
hammerheads. Sharks are biting on whole blue fish, tune blood line,
large squids and mackerel chum. Large, large chomper blue fish were very
thick in the area of the Hot Dog.. At the Ham Bone and Chicken Bone
there's blue fin. The Canyons are producing yellow fin, big eye,
dolphin, white and blue marlin and wahoo. CHSP is still producing
croaker, flounder, spot and the occasional weakfish. Choice bait being
blood worms for croakers and spot. Spec rigs tipped with gulp or
minnows have been tricking the flounder and trout."
" Pretty cool web site... Lots of pics, reports and descriptions and
directions to get to some of those fishing places in DEL everyone talks
about but you might wonder where they are! The site is DSF Delware Surf Fishing.
(http://delaware-surf-fishing.com)
Capt.Dan Stauffer (866-623-4746) of the Fin Chaser does wreck,
inlet and trolling trips. Here's a couple of his reports from this week:
07/05/13 Today began with several options given to this 8.5 hour trips
crew. After some debate the decision was made to run 20 mile south and
look around one of our inshore bluefin haunts, then troll south toward a
deeper wreck for some sea bass fishing. We arrived at the wreck with
nothing to show for our trolling efforts. Fortunately, the sea bass
action made us quickly forget about the lacking troll bite. Keepers were
the norm instead of the exception, and some fine ones at that. Back in
the slip with 50 in the box.
07/03/13 Trucking east toward the Baltimore Canyon when I get a report
of very rough conditions in the deep and a possible bluefin bite nearby.
Turned hard and pointed south. Threw-out the spread around 7 am. Thirty
minutes later I came to an area where “things just looked right”. Our
first fish comes 15 minutes later, a stinkin’ chopper bluefish. Thirty
minutes later I run over some great marks so I throw the boat into a
turn and like clockwork the way back gets slammed. After a tedious 45
minute fight involving two anglers we have a 125 lb. bluefin in the box.
At this point I’m told NO one on board wants to lock horns with another
bluefin so I asked to look for anything else. We switch the spread to a
yellowfin look but we’re really not in great yellowfin waters at this
point. About an hour later the crew decides to see if the sea bass want
to play. Spent a couple hours jerkin’ on some sea bass before he guys
decide to call it a day early.
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