Fishing in Full Swing on the Chesapeake and the Atlantic Coast

    Maryland Fishing Report by Keith Lockwood
 Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic Coast, Md. -- Anglers are beginning to see water temperatures approach the 80-degree mark throughout the Chesapeake and with those elevated temperatures striped bass are beginning to hold in deeper waters and only venture into the shallows during early morning and late evening hours. The tidal rivers are now open to fishing for striped bass.
     Anglers are reporting a few school-sized striped bass are being caught below the dam and channels near the mouth of the Susquehanna. Channel catfish seem to be everywhere in the Susquehanna over to the Elk River and the white perch fishing has tapered off.
     Chumming for striped bass at Love Point, the Triple Buoys and Swann Point continues to be a steady pick with the best results coming early in the morning with a good running tide. Baits allowed to settle to the bottom under the chum slick often produce some of the nicer fish being caught.
     Trolling close to the bottom along channel edges has been accounting for some striped bass. White perch are being found on many of the knolls and shoals of the upper bay; bottom rigs baited with bloodworms are the preferred method of fishing.
     Some of the best trolling action for stripers has been along the western side of the shipping channel near Parker’s Creek and the Radar Towers in about 30 feet of water. The north edge of the Hill at the mouth of Eastern Bay and the False Channel are also producing fish at times. Umbrella rigs, spreader bars and tandem rigs with Storms, swim shads, Tsunamis or spoons close to the bottom have been working the best.
     Jigging with bucktails and soft plastics has also been productive over structure such as channel edges, bridge piers or stone piles. In the shallows, surface poppers are perhaps the most fun lure to fish but swimming plugs such as Rapalas and the Gulp white mullet swim shad will catch a lot of fish. Fly fishermen will find skipping bugs offering the most excitement but chartreuse Clousers and Deceiver flies are hard to beat for consistent strikes.
     Black drum are still being caught at Stone Rock and although the action has not been exactly hot and heavy it only takes one fish to light up your day. Stout tackle, ½ a soft crab on a big circle hook with 3 or 4-ounces of lead and a good depth finder usually work well. Lesser known shoals such as the James Island Flats are worth taking a look at also if you’re in the area. The smaller cousin of the black drum; the croaker are being found along the 20- to 35-foot edges of channels mostly in the evenings and in deeper waters during the day. The mouth of Eastern Bay and the lower Choptank River has been offering some of the better fishing this week.
     Bluefish are starting to show up in the lower bay region; mostly near the Middle Grounds at the moment. They will move throughout the region in short order and will be chewing up soft plastics. Jigging for striped bass over structure such as channel edges is a good option right now and fishermen are reporting bait slicks and breaking fish from time to time. Chumming is a good option now at traditional locations such as Buoy 72 and the Rock Piles north of Point Lookout and with more and more spot becoming available, live lining near Cove Point and other traditional locations will become more common place.
     Croaker fishing has been very good at the mouth of the Patuxent River, Tangier Sound, Pocomoke Sound, Buoy 72 and the mouth of the Potomac. The croakers tend to hold deep during the day and move up into shallower waters towards evening. A few flounder are being caught along channel edges in Tangier Sound and Cornfield Harbor, sea trout, larger spot and even black drum can also be part of the mix at times.

Sport Fishing Licenses Available at New Locations on the Coast

     Annapolis, Md. -- The Maryland Department of Natural Resources recently set up nine new fishing license locations to serve anglers who fish Maryland’s Coastal Bays and ocean waters.
     “Five tackle shops in Ocean City, two in Berlin, one in Selbyville and one on Fenwick Island have stepped forward to serve their customers with fishing licenses,” said DNR Fisheries Director Tom O’Connell.
     Until this year, Maryland did not require tidal fishing licenses for recreational fishing around Ocean City and the coastal bays. A new Federal Saltwater Angler Registry requirement instituted in 2010 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requires that all recreational anglers fishing in tidal waters in the United States be included or specifically accounted for in a national saltwater angler phone book. The purpose of the registry is to enable NOAA to survey anglers and improve harvest estimates.
     In order to comply with the federal requirement, the 2011 Maryland General Assembly changed recreational licensing requirements to include coastal anglers. Anglers who possess a Maryland tidal fishing license are automatically registered in the National Saltwater Angler Registry. Anglers younger than 16 years old and anglers fishing on a licensed charter boat or a licensed commercial fishing pier do not need to be registered or licensed.
     “This will make Maryland’s excellent coastal fishing even more accessible while helping fisheries managers obtain the data needed to ensure sustainable fishing opportunities,” said DNR Fisheries Deputy Director Gina Hunt.
     These new Maryland fishing license agents join the Walmart in Berlin and the DNR Service Center in Salisbury as sources for fishing licenses on the coast:
Oyster Bay Bait & Tackle, Ocean City - 116th St
Skip’s Bait & Tackle, Ocean City - 210 Talbot St by the Rt 50 Bridge
Oceanic Pier, Ocean City - 710 S Philadelphia Ave at the Inlet by the Boardwalk
AllTackle, Ocean City - 12826 Ocean Gateway on the other side of the Rt 50 Bridge
John Henry’s Bait & Tackle, 12507 Sunset Ave #15 Ocean City
Captain Mac’s Bait & Tackle, Selbyville, Del.
Frontiertown, Berlin
Sharky’s Market, Berlin
Fenwick Island Tackle, Fenwick Island, Del.

Burnley Lands Record Snowy Grouper Near Norfolk Canyon

    

     Virginia Beach, Va. -- Roger Burnley of Virginia Beach has established a new state record for snowy grouper with a 70-pound, 7-ounce fish caught May 22. The record fish was weighed and certified on an Ohaus digital scale at the office of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament, located in Newport News. The digital scale registered 70.48 pounds but the weight was converted and listed as 70 pounds and 7-ounces as the state record. The record-setting grouper bested the existing state record, set by Jere Humphrey of Norfolk, Virginia, on August 17, 2008, by nearly 2-1/2 pounds.

     Burnley is filing an application with the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) for acceptance of his catch as the IGFA All-Tackle Record for snowy grouper. Humphrey’s 68-pound snowy grouper currently holds the IGFA All-Tackle Record.

     Burnley caught his grouper “deep-dropping” near the Norfolk Canyon in 98 fathoms of water while fishing aboard the private boat Healthy Grin, skippered by Ken Neill, III, of Seaford. The fish had a length of 48 inches and a girth of 37 inches. The record fish was caught on a Shimano Trevala rod, mated with a Daiwa Saltist LD40 reel and spooled with 70-pound test Daiwa Saltiga Boat braided line. The record-setting grouper hit a custom made two hook bottom rig baited with squid and cut fish. 

     Snowy grouper was added to the list of species eligible for state record recognition by the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament Committee at their fall meeting in 2006 and carried an initial qualifying weight of 38 pounds. Burnley registered Virginia’s first qualifying snowy grouper, at 49 pounds, 9 ounces, on April 29, 2007. Burnley’s record was eclipsed within days, on June 10, 2007, by Bob Manus of Ark, Virginia, with a 65-pound, 8-ounce grouper. Manus’ record status held until Chris Boyce of Hampton caught a 66-pounder later that year December 2007. Boyce’s record grouper lasted for 8 months before Humphrey landed his 68-pounder. The last three fish were later certified as IGFA All-Tackle Records for snowy grouper. The four prior record snowy grouper were caught in the general vicinity of the Norfolk Canyon “deep-dropping” in over 50 fathoms of water and using either whole or cut fish for bait. Additionally, five of the six state record grouper were caught aboard the Healthy Grin skippered by Ken Neill.

     For more information, contact Lewis S. Gillingham, Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament, 2600 Washington Ave., Newport News, VA 23607, (757) 491-5160, vswft@mrc.virginia.gov.

Keith Lockwood's Maryland DNR Fishing Report

     Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic Ocean -- As we all reflect on last weekend’s activities, most found time to remember solemnly what Memorial Day and the holiday weekend means to each of us. Beyond the true meaning of the holiday there was the “coming out” for the kick off of the summer season, picnics, beach traffic, family events focused around barbequing and of course fishing. For many it was enjoying being at one’s favorite fishing spot whether on the shore or out in a boat. For many diehards it was the realization that you’re not alone out there anymore and will be sharing the open waters of lakes and the bays with recreational boaters of all types and skills; so much for peace and quiet.

     On Tuesday, the first series of Diamond Jim striped bass were released into the Chesapeake Bay bearing chartreuse colored tags that can be worth a lot of money. There will be two additional scheduled releases occurring over the next two months with approximately 200 fish tagged each month. Each month one of the tagged fish is the actual Diamond Jim and this months Diamond Jim is worth $10.000. The other tagged fish are called imposters and are worth at least $500. If the Diamond Jim of a particular month escaped capture, the following month’s Diamond Jim will double in value up to $25,000 and the previous month’s Diamond Jim will become an imposter.

     There is a big change in the rules this year and everyone should take note of this. New this year if the real Diamond Jim is not caught before September 6, the $25,000 will be distributed between the anglers in attendance at the Grand Prize Celebration that caught imposter fish. So some angler or anglers are leaving the event with a whole lot of cash. Also worth noting is that the odds of collecting some big prizes are looking real good for those anglers that have entered award fish in the Fishing Challenge. Be sure to check out the Fishing Challenge website for how to enter award fish and don’t miss out. http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/challenge/ 

     Water temperature in the Chesapeake are now hovering above 70-degrees and the focus now for fishermen looking to catch striped bass is trolling, light tackle jigging, chumming and for those lucky enough to have a supply of live spot, live lining. Trolling for striped bass has centered on a mix of medium sized lures ranging from surge tube lures, spoons, bucktails, and swim shads to umbrella rigs. Any one of them can be the hot lure for any particular day so it pays to experiment with a variety of presentations. The steep channel edges of the shipping channel and approach channels are always a good place to troll as are bottom structure such as ballast stone piles and reef sites. One universal point continues to dominate fishing reports this week and that is that there are plenty of marks on depth finders but fishing action has been a slow pick at best. May worms seem to be the reason as this annual swarming event of food abundance for fish makes for fish that have eaten their fill and show little interest in a fisherman’s offerings. One consolation fishermen should consider when getting frustrated this week is that the May worm swarming will be over soon and those fillets will be a bit fuller on the fish that will be caught. 

     Quite a few fishermen have been chumming for their striped bass this week and most have been having acceptable results when a good strong tide is running. Most fishermen are reporting that the action has been steady with some nice fish over 28” being caught in the mix. In the upper bay, the Love Point area has been getting the most attention but striped bass can be found at times at Swan Point, Triple Buoys and Podickory Point. Middle bay region fishermen have been chumming at the Hill, Thomas Point and Buoy 83 with good results at times. In the lower bay, the channel edges at the mouth of the Potomac River, the Rock piles north of Point Lookout and the Buoy 72 area have been favorites lately. In all regions baits left to lie on the bottom have been catching some of the larger fish. 

     Light tackle fishermen have been spotting some breaking fish from time to time working on small menhaden and jigging over structure has been productive. The striped bass are moving freely throughout the bay now and can be found along bay shore shallows. Surface lures such as poppers are a fun way to target these fish and the marshes of the lower eastern shore are holding a good number of fish at the moment. 

     The annual black drum run at the area around Stone Rock kicked off over Memorial Day weekend and fish are being caught. This action should continue through this week and perhaps last another week. Croaker fishing continues to be excellent in many areas of the middle and lower bay with traditional locations such as the channel edges of the lower Choptank and Nanticoke Rivers, Eastern Bay, Buoy 72, Tangier Sound and Hooper’s Island Light being just a few good places to check out. Peeler crab is perhaps the number one favorite bait but shrimp, bloodworms, squid and clam are also good baits to use. White perch are now holding on many of the oyster bars in the upper bay such as the knolls and reefs off of Baltimore but most any good oyster bar in the middle and lower bay will most likely be holding a mix of white perch croaker and improving numbers of spot. Bloodworms tend to be the bait of choice for white perch fishing.