“What can we catch in the “off season?”?

Labor Day has come and gone and some anglers like to come to the Ocean City
area to enjoy fishing without fighting the crowds. Is fishing still good?
Can we still crab and clam?

Well certainly! In fact, the last days of summer and the early months of
fall are some of the best times of year to come and go fishing.

After Labor Day the surf heats up with snapper bluefish action. All summer
long we caught kingfish and spot, and those fish will still be here, but
bluefish feeding on finger mullet is the prime time favorite for anglers
looking for some fast action. Angler’s bait up with fresh or frozen finger
mullet on whole “finger mullet” rigs and have a ball catching blues.
Anglers can also catch some last season flounder using strips of fresh bait
or by using a finger mullet rig without the float. Cast out and retrieve in
slow for flounder in the surf. Some anglers even use live minnows!

Kingfish, spot, croaker, and sea trout will still be around, along with the
beginnings of some striper action. The best striper action happens October
through December as the waters cool down. We’ll also see some red drum.
Puppy drum are mostly seen in Ocean City while some larger red drum bite on
Assateague Island. This action usually happens in September and October.
Speckled trout can be caught in the surf in late October thru November with
lures such as MirrOlures or soft bodies attached to lead heads. You need to
use 12 to 20 pound test Fluorocarbon leader to do this kind of fishing. You
can also catch stripers in the surf using these lures.

Flounder fishing!

Flounder fishing can be excellent this time of year. Flounder are on the
move, migrating out of the bay and into the ocean. Anglers catch big ones on
the beginning of the high or low outgoing tides close to the draw of the Rt.
50 Bridge. The fish actually stack up close to the Bridge waiting for the
tide to start going out. Anglers fish two hours before and after the tide
to catch the big ones. Live spot, live finger mullet, long strips of fresh
cut bait work wonders. The usual live minnows and shiners will catch them
too. Just pick out the biggest baits.

Anglers with boats work the main east channel from around 9th Street to the
draw of the Route 50 Bridge on the incoming tide. On the outgoing tide,
they move just south of the draw and drift towards the inlet.

Anglers without boats work the Rt. 50 Bridge, Oceanic Pier, 9th Street Pier,
and the bulkhead from 1st through 4th Streets. Some nice flounder (along
with blues, croaker, and stripers) are caught from the Homer Gudelsky Park
located on the West side of the bay.

(This time of year is a great time to buy and learn how to use a cast net!
There are all kinds of peanut bunker, spot, and finger mullet in the bay and
surf. )

Nighttime fishing!

Fishing at night is at its all time peak this time of year. Bluefish, trout,
shad, and stripers come out at night for anglers casting Gotcha Plugs,
Swimming Shad Lures, Rattletraps, and soft bodies attached to lead heads.
Anywhere there are lights shining down into the water, anglers catch fish.
The Route 50 Bridge is famous for it’s nighttime fishing. The Oceanic Pier
is excellent. The Inlet area is good. Sometimes anglers catch them from the
bulkhead between 2nd the 4th Streets and even 9th street pier.

Tautog!

Tautog are on the prowl again. Anglers in Delaware have a closed season on
tautog until Sept. 29th, but anglers in Maryland can continue to catch them.
The creel limit is only two per person per day until Oct 31st. Then it will
be 4 per person per day. So please be aware of the creel limit, and be
extremely careful when measuring your tautog. They must be 14-inches. Lay
the fish on the ruler. Don’t lay the ruler on top of the fish! An
undersized tautog will cost you a $100!

Tautogs bite at the Ocean City Inlet, the bulkhead from 2nd through 4th
Street, the end of the Oceanic Pier, and from the Rt. 50 Bridge near the
pilings. Live or frozen sand fleas or live green crabs cut into half or
quarters work for the tautog. Use a short shank hook in the #1/0, #2/0 to
#3/0 range and just enough sinker weight to hold the bottom. Tautog feed in
areas of rocky bottom, so wherever there are tautog, there are snags! So
take plenty of tackle.

Blues! Blues are usually out and about almost everywhere this time of year.
Indian River Inlet is famous for its bluefish blitzes. Look for birds
working the rips in the inlet and start casting bucktails or spoons. The
incoming tide is usually best back by the Coast Guard Station. The blues
start moving under the bridge at the beginning of the outgoing tide, and
then move out by the rocks. Be careful, and don’t walk out on the Indian
River Inlet rocks without cleats on your shoes! Unlike Ocean City Inlet,
the rocks are very slippery.

Stripers also bite at the Indian River and Ocean City Inlets early in the
morning. Daybreak is the best time to go if the tide is anywhere near
slacking. Cast live spot, live eels, or Swimming Shad Lures to catch
stripers. Stripers also bite at night. You’ll catch some during the day if
it’s overcast or a storm is coming. But daybreak and night is best.

Offshore?

Hey, this is the time of year to go out on a full day party boat and get
into some sea bass and flounder action. It was slow going all summer, but
fishing almost always picks up in the fall. If you go out of Lewes, Del on
the half-day boats, the croaker bite lasts into the fall.

Many people ask if clamming and crabbing is still happening. Yes to both.
Vacationers can clam all winter if they like. The clams never go away.
Vacationers with boats can go just offshore Bird Island just North of the
Route 50 Bridge on the North West corner of the island. Just offshore of
22nd street outside Bahia Marina is also good. Without a boat, clammers can
try behind 41st Street Convention Center and walk out towards the right.
Assateague Island has several clamming spots. You can clam at Holt’s Landing
in Delaware, but remember, you need a license up there.

Crabs will hang around as long as the water does not get too cold, usually
into October sometime. Anglers in boats go across the bay near the green
marshes close to the Rt. 90 Bridge. Anglers without boats crab the 127th
Street Pier behind the Recreational Center, the Isle of Wight in the middle
of the Route 90 Bridge, or at Assateague where there are several crabbing
piers.

It’s a beautiful time of year to come to Ocean City. That little time frame
between now and mid October always has great weather (barring a hurricane
scare or two.) After that, keep an eye on the weather and look for great
fishing all the way up through Thanksgiving!

Good fishing….

Need bait and tackle? Come see us at Oyster Bay Tackle, Ocean City, Maryland (410-524-3433) or Fenwick Tackle, Fenwick Island, Delaware (302-539-7766), OR Shop Online!