Drifting Easy by Sue Foster

 "I have a boat and want to fish in the bay and also in the ocean. I know 
nothing about the Ocean City area, and need to buy some charts.  What should 
I buy?  What is the "Ocean City Reef
Foundation" charts someone told me about?"

 If you plan to fish in the Ocean City bay, the best chart to buy is a chart 
called the ADC Recreational Chart of Ocean City. It has recently been 
ungraded and the cost is 4.95. It is a paper fold-up chart and it
shows the backs bay from as far South as the Verrazano Bridge, which is the 
bridge that crosses from Rt. 611 over to Assateague; to as far North as the 
Fenwick Ditch. (The Fenwick Ditch is where Rt. 54 crosses over the bay one 
block past 146th Street next to Harpoon Hannas Restaurant.)

It shows all the major channels and buoys; and underwater shoals and sand 
bars. (Underwater shoals are shown with little tiny dots and there are a lot 
of them!) Note that many of the channels in Ocean City are quite narrow.

The ADC Chart of Ocean City also has important information on it such as 
street names, boat ramps, and piers.  On the other side of
the chart, you have a very basic offshore chart that goes out as far as the 
Jackspot (about 28 miles.) It shows the Artificial Fish Haven just offshore 
of 28th Street, the shoals such as Isle of Wight, Little Gull Shoal, Great 
Gull Shoal, and the Bass Grounds (First, Second, and Third Lumps.) If you’re 
only going a little ways offshore and don’t want to spend a lot of money, 
this chart is fine.


 The ADC chart of Ocean City can also be bought in a laminated version, but 
it is the same size as the paper chart. Anglers are constantly looking for a 
smaller laminated chart of the bay. Fishing Rod Enterprises offers one that 
retails in the $17 to $19 range, but it does not cover as much territory and 
it does not have as many physical landmarks on it. If you already know the 
area, this is not a bad chart to have in your boat.  Otherwise, stick to the 
paper ADC Chart of Ocean City, and if it gets ruined, just buy another one. 
They do update this chart every couple of years or so.


 "We just bought a place North of Ocean City in Fenwick Island? Is there a 
chart for that bay?"

 This bay is not very big, or very deep, but, yes, there is a laminated 
chart by Fishing Rod Enterprises called "Little Assawoman Bay" chart. He 
makes a small version that retails in the $9 to $10 range and a larger 
version that retails in the $17 to $19 range. Both are exactly the same- one 
just is bigger than the other. It covers the bay just North of the Fenwick 
Ditch. This is the bay that is behind Fenwick Island and South Bethany. It 
also shows the area behind Keenwick West.


 "Can we get to the Indian River Inlet from here?"


 Well, this is a very much-asked question, and unless you have a very small 
boat, a canoe or a kayak, you cannot make this voyage.  Some of the charts 
show an inland waterway that has never really happened except on paper. The 
bay behind South Bethany, called "Little Bay" runs into a "ditch" that is 
called the Assawoman Canal. And that's what it is! -- a big ditch. If  you 
want to go to the Indian River bay by water, you need to go out the Ocean 
City Inlet, hug the beach and go into the Indian River Inlet by ocean.

 "How about offshore charts? How do I know which ones to buy?"

"More charts are never enough!" when it comes to offshore fishing.  It never 
hurts to have more than one.  If you go offshore it is very important to 
have at least one chart!

 If you plan to go offshore to the canyons for blue water fish such as white 
and blue marlin, tuna, dolphin, and Wahoo, you need what people call a 
"canyon chart."  One very popular one in our area is “Wilmington to Norfolk 
Canyon” chart by Fishing Rod Enterprises. It is a laminated offshore chart 
showing the offshore waters from Cape May Inlet, N.J. to Rudee Inlet, VA. It 
shows the canyons such as the Norfolk, Washington, Poor Man's, Baltimore, 
and Wilmington. It also shows wrecks, the
Fingers (where the big sharks are caught) and the popular "Parking Lot."  It 
has distances from the Inlets to popular locations plus lots of GPS 
coordinates listed on the front and back. These charts
run in the $17 to $19 range. The fathom lines are easy to read on these 
charts.

The Cape May, NJ to C ape Hatteras, NC” by Captain Seagull’s Nautical Charts 
is a little more expensive, around $20 or so. It is a laminated, offshore 
canyon chart extending from Cape May to Cape Hatteras.  It shows lumps, 
wrecks, and canyons for the offshore anglers. What people like about this 
chart is that the popular GPS coordinates are written right on the front of 
the chart for easy reading. The lumps and wrecks are more brightly colored 
so you can find them places like the Parking
Lot, Poor Man's Canyon, the Hot Dog, Hambone, quickly. This chart has just 
been recently updated.


You may want to have two different charts and cross-reference.  The whole 
thing about charts is, one chart will have some numbers you need and another 
will have other numbers you really want!

"We don't plan to venture very far offshore. We plan to do mostly wreck and 
bottom fishing. Maybe a little trolling close inshore."


If this is the case, you do not need a canyon chart. The Indian Rvier Inlet 
and out 30 Fathoms” by Fishing Rod Enterprises is a great chart for the 
beginner offshore angler. It is laminated and has popular GPS coordinates 
for wrecks and lumps written on the back of the chart. It is a very nice 
chart for the offshore angler who does not venture out past 30 fathoms.  It 
shows fishing locations such as the Fingers, Hot Dog, Hambone, Chicken Bone, 
Elephant Trunk, Jackspot, Five Fathom Light, Massey's Canyon, Tea Cup. Shows 
wrecks such as The Atlantic Mist, Twin Wrecks, Gibson, Delaware Reef Site,
and the African Queen, just to name a few. The canyon charts show these 
lumps and wrecks as well, but this chart is a much larger scale of the 
inshore (offshore) area. The only thing you don't have
on this chart is the Parking Lot (a popular tuna chunking spot), which is 
not that far offshore, but is further south than this chart goes.



 The “Offshore Coastal Delaware, Maryland, Virginia” laminated chart by 
Captain Seagull's Nautical Charts is a little more expensive (around $20 or 
so) It is a coastal offshore chart extending from Cape Henlopen, DE to 
Chincoteague Inlet, VA on one side; Chincoteague Inlet to Great Machipongo 
Inlet, VA on the other side. It has GPS coordinates for popular areas right 
on the chart for easy reading. That's what people like about this chart.  On 
one side of the chart it shows offshore from Rehoboth Bay, De to 
Chincoteague Bay, VA. On the other side of the chart it shows offshore from 
Chincoteague Inlet to Great Machipongo Inlet, VA. The chart goes out to 
approx. 30 miles. It also has a shot of Chincoteague Bay and Ocean City 
Inlet. Excellent chart for the boater who wants to go offshore but who does 
not plan to venture more than 30 miles offshore.


 "If I have these charts, why do I need charts from the Artificial Reef 
Foundation?”

 If you want to do serious offshore bottom fishing, you need these charts. 
These charts are sold in many of the local tackle stores or you can go 
online, print a form, and send in your $25. This $25
will give you hundreds of GPS numbers where artificial reef materials have 
been placed. And this is where the sea bass, flounder, tautog, croaker and 
sea trout are!


 To explain this better, take for instance, the "African Queen Wreck."  When 
you buy your offshore chart, you will get a GPS coordinates for this wreck. 
When you buy your charts from the Ocean City
Reef Foundation, you will get the coordinates for the African Queen wreck 
plus 40 other separate GPS numbers for that area which is called the 
"African Queen Reef." The Bass Grounds has 15 separate GPS numbers. The 
Great Eastern Reef, where we like to fish for sea bass and flounder has 27 
GPS numbers. That little square on your offshore chart can be a very big 
place when you're looking for some slabs of concrete or coils of cable.


  You can buy these charts at many tackle stores or go online and get your 
form at http://www.ocreeffoundation.com/.

 It is important, even with all the GPS's in the world, to know where you 
are when you can't see land. Charts and compasses are still a must. And good 
charts mean more fish.


Good fishing.

 
 
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