Ocean City Fishing » tog

Best fishing in years

Capt. Skip — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:25:41 +0000

Welcome to another week of Fish’N O.C. its been another great week of fishing here in the waters of Ocean City, We have some great reports coming in from local fisherman, tackle shops, and charter boats. I finally started my fishing charters this past week, with a great start to my 2009 season with 2 of the best back to back Striper charters I’ve seen on the South Jetty in years. There also was a better then usual night Striper and Blues bite on the Rt. 50 Bridge, also with anglers catching keeper Flounder and Tog during the day. The 9th Street Pier started to turn on with nice keeper Flounder being reported along with Snapper Blues. The 2nd to 4th Street Bulk Head is still giving up keeper Flounder and Tog. The Oceanic Pier still has a good day time Flounder and Tog bite, while night time anglers see runs of Shad and Blues. The North and South Jetties have been producing nice day time catches of Trigger Fish, Tog, and Stripers, plus night time runs of Blues and Stripers. The South Bay is seeing good catches of Flounder but most are short with some nice size keepers mixed in. We even had a report of a school of nice Croakers reported in the South Bay, but just for one tide. The surf fishing still continues to produce catches of Snapper Blues, Stripers, Black Drum, and some good sized Sand Sharks, Skates, and Rays. The offshore fishing is having one of its best starts we’ve seen in a very long time, with good20catches of Sharks, Bluefin and Yellowfin Tuna, and Marlin. So it looks like a good year to get out there and fish , or even get a group of family or friends and book a fishing charter here in Ocean City.

The first report I’m starting with is the two charters I had this week. Both were Striper trips at the South Jetty, which most people know is some of my favorite fishing. The first was with Sam Burk of Ocean City and Rick Whittlinger of Duncannon, Pa. We didn’t hit the water till 7:00pm. But as soon has we made our first drift we had a double hook up with Sam and Rick both yelling with excitement. We boated both fish relatively fast , and headed right back for another pass over the tip with still another double hook up. Well this went on for the whole trip which lasted well into the night, with the bite really never slowing down. We ended up boating near 50 Stripers till we decided to call it quits around 11:00pm and head for the dock. We only managed to get one keeper Striper, that came in at 29” but all the other fish ranged from 22” to just under the 28” minimum, and all of them gave great fights for both anglers. By the way all the fish were caught on live Spot. Both Sam and Rick agreed that it was one of the best lite tackle Striper charters they ever been on.
The second Striper charter was the next morning at 7:00 am. With Tres Kelly, of Emmitsburg, Md. Doug Cooper and Paul “The Bass Master” Goodwin, both from Frederick, Md. These guys have fished with me a lot over the years and always have a good time on the boat regardless how the fishing is with their competitive nature between themselves, which is always good for a lot of laughs during the trip. On my Striper charters I always take along 80 Spot for bait, which in most cases is plenty of baits. Well not on this trip, we ended up burning through those baits in under 3 hours with a epic trip that I haven’t seen ever on the South Jetty, with double and triple hook -ups on every drift over the tip. These guys looked like they were square dancing on the deck of my boat, trying not to tangle their lines with double and triple hook-ups. So after a group decision, we raced back to the dock to get another 50 Spot, as soon as we loaded the bait back into the live well we headed right back to the South Jetty. Well, the action didn’t slow down one bit and we ended up running out of bait in less then 2 hours. I try to keep a good count on hook-ups and Stripers boated , and we ended up having around 120 hook-ups, with around 70 boated Stripers. Out of those 70 Stripers we managed to get 4 nice keepers with several other nice keepers lost right at the boat with these guys wild antics, which are good for a few laughs. I will be booking Striper charters while this hot bite keeps up, so if your interested give me a call at 410-430-5436 or 410-289-FISH(3474).

I still have lots or reports, so they are as follows; Chris at the Ocean City Fishing Center reports, The Tuna fishing this week is starting to turn on with mostly Yellows, with some boats scoring their Bluefin. The “Day Dreamer” came to the docks with 5 nice Yellowfins. Seeing a lot of Seabass from offshore wrecks and reefs, and a few Stripers from the surf hitting the scales at the Tackle Shop.

At Sunset Marina, Jim reports, Flounder bite was excellent in the South Bay, but most were under the 18” minimum size, the water was extremely clear. Pretty good Trigger Fish bite on the North and South Jetties, Sandfleas working the best for bait. Mako bite is good, with “Pumpin Hard” catching 4 Makos and 2 Bluefins, bring one of each to the dock.
At Buck’s Place on Rt. 611, Leigh reports, a few Stripers and Black Drum from the surf, mostly caught on Peelers and Clams. She also reports a hot bite of Flounder in the South Bay by the Airport, on shinner and squid combos.

Adam at Bahia Marina reports, Flounder fishing continues to be good with plenty of fish being caught. Today I caught 28 throwbacks, but only had one keeper. The Tortuga has also been catching plenty of Flounder with similar results. The Judith M returned to the dock with Seabass and Tog. Captain Kane reports that a lot of the Seabass have been under the minimum size limit. Fortunately, the Triggerfish showed up this past week adding to the a ngler’s catch. Offshore there still some Makos being caught, but several boats have been starting to target Tuna. The “Fugitive” “Seamistress” and the “Yellowfin” all returned to the dock today with Bluefins in the 50 lb. range.

Beverly at Harbor Tackle reports, Lots of Flounder in the Bay, however most are under the legal mark. Triggerfish, Tog at the Inlet, 2nd to 4th street Bulk Head. A customer ran into some Croakers behind the Airport. Shad and Blues at the Inlet. Also at the Bulk Head at 2nd to 4th Street nice legal Flounder 19 to 24 inches. The ticket is live Spot, on the Beach some Kingfish, Blues, Dogfish, and Sandbar Sharks.

We had a email report come in from Jessica, Ayrton Pryor, Jillian Lebling, and Colby Hook of Fenwick Island, De. Teamed up to catch two keeper Flounder 18 ½” and 19” while trolling shinners near the airport behind Assategue Island. They also had 15 throw backs on the same day.

Captain Steve on the “Happy Hooker” reports, The second half of this week had the best numbers of Flounder we’ve seen this year, even if most of them were smaller fish. The best of the fishing was near the Route 90 Bridge and the South Bay, with better ratio of keeper Flounder behind Assategue Island. We saw the bait of choice changed as it normally does this time of the year from live minnows to silversides. The near shore wre cks and reefs also saw increasing numbers of Triggerfish and Seabass with a few scattered Tog, with crabs and sand fleas the best baits. Overall a great week for fishing in Ocean City.

Finally our last report is from the charter Boat “Restless Lady” , We fished 6/15 hooked 3 nice Makos and kept one 130 lbs. all bites were south west of the Hambone. Was a great trip with all children anglers, Ian, Cole,and Sydney Duncan and Jessica Walsh. Their second report came from a trip on 6/16, fished the Rock Pile today, caught 25 Yellowfin Tuna, kept 12. Lots of bait and nice temperature break 66’ to 70’ . We have openings on a open boat trips on June 23, 24, or the 25th and another July 15th . Captain Todd Kurtz also reports they are open for the Ocean City Tuna Tournament. Call me for their # or stop by the Tackle Shop for info.

Well that about does it for this week’s fishing report, remember if you have a report or pictures you would like in the “Coastal Dispatch” or on my Web Site WWW.OCEANCITYFISHING.COM shoot me a email at SKIPSTACKLESHOP@AOL.COM.

Finally a few things about what’s going on here at “Talbot Street Bait & Tackle” our hours are 7am. To 7pm. 7 days a week, and we do have “LIVE SPOT FOR SALE” along with other great baits and tackle. We also are booking Bay, Inlet, Wreck, Inshore, and Offshore Charters on my 3 different boats. Pl us we have a great ½ day “Family Adventure”, fishing, crabbing, clamming, and sight seeing for only $375.00 which is a great deal in these tough times. So stop by the Tackle Shop or give me a call at 410-430-5436 cell or 410-289-FISH(3474)Tackle Shop, and lets talk fishing.

The fishing is better then its been in years, so get out there and fish. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be writing about you next week.

Sheepshead, Stripers, Flatties and more!

Capt. Skip — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:25:51 +0000

The fishing this week in Ocean City is starting to improve daily with the Route 50 Bridge producing keeper Stripers at night. The Oceanic Pier has a hot bite of Blues and Shad , 2nd to 4th street bulk head is giving anglers, Tog, Trigger Fish, and keeper Flounder. The South and North Jetties are bending rods with Sheepshead, Tog, and Stripers in the 40” plus range. The East channel, Harbor Island , and the Airport are giving Flounder fishermen nice limits of keepers. Offshore anglers are experiencing one of the best Shark seasons we’ve seen in years, plus Blue Fin and Yellow Fin are starting to make their appearance at most marina cleaning stations.
Here at Talbot Street Bait & Tackle the store is starting to take shape , with shipments of tackle and bait showing up daily. We did open last Saturday , but the store still has a few weeks to go before all are shipments arrive. One of the new things at the shop is our front porch called “Liars Lounge” with lots of seating for fishermen wanting to share stories while enjoying a free cup of coffee. Stop by and check it out!

We did have some weigh-ins this week with one of the high lights being long time friend, Captain Bill Leinemann formerly of Ocean City, now living in Del Ray Beach, Florida. Bill was a great customer back when I owned Skip’s, usually bringing fish to the scales daily. Bill is one of Ocean City’s top Jetty an d Bulk Head fisherman. This day was no exception, Bill brought a nice Trigger Fish in that he had just caught at the 2nd to 4th Street Bulk Head. Anyone who fishes that area knows that Trigger Fish are very seldom caught, especially this time of the year. I have heard of a few Triggers caught this year but all came from offshore wrecks and reefs. Bill told me the fish hit on a live Sand Flea, he also was using a small black hook which is also very affective for Tog and Sheephead. Stop by the tackle shop and one of our sales associates will show you how to set that rig up.
Another weigh in this week was a father and son team, Jack Koslosky of West O.C. and his son Jack Jr. from Lanham, Maryland. They were fishing near Harbor Island when Jack Jr. hooked into a nice flattie that measured 26” and tipped the scales at 7lbs. 2 oz. Jack Jr. was using a minnow and squid combo. With the new size and creel limits imposed over the past few years , we are starting too see nicer size Flounder coming from the Ocean City waters. I’m a true believer in managing fisheries, and I believe the new 18” limit on Flounder will just improve the fishier for years to come.

I had a lot of reports come in this week from Tackle Shops, Charter Boats, and Head Boats , here are those reports: Adam from Bahia Marina reports, Flounder fishing has been decent with several anglers reporting catching their limits. The Therefore, Harbor=2 0Island, and the bay behind Assateague still seem to be producing the best. Jim Benke caught a 21 ¾” 3.4 lb. Flounder in the Therefore. Stripers are still being caught at the tip of the South Jetty. Brenton McCleary of Captain Mac’s Bait and Tackle reported catching several Stripers this past week with the largest being 35”. Bluefish have been plentiful at the Inlet and Route 50 Bridge, especially on the incoming tide. Spec Rigs and Gotcha Plugs are always a safe bet when trying to catch Bluefish. Adam also reports the Judith M had a private charter for the fishing club at Stephen Decatur High school, with Scott Stienhoff, Mike Murray, and Cody Smith all from Ocean City catching 3 of the nicest Seabass all weighing over 3 lbs. They caught them all on clams at a artificial reef.

Jen from the Ocean City Fishing Center reports a great week for offshore fishing with most boats having lots of action with Blue, Mako, and Thresher Sharks. The boat “Wayne’s World” caught a 443.4 lb Thresher which was the biggest of the week. Jen also boats also brought some small Blue Fin Tuna back to the docks.

Noha at Ake’s reports, they weighed in some nice Mako’s this week, one of those boats was “Cat Tails” they weighed in a 93 lb. Saturday, then came back on Sunday with a 112 lb. Mako. Both Sharks were caught on Bluefish fillets. Noha reports that the Flounder bite has turned on in the south bay at the=2 0Airport and Snug Harbor.
At Buck’s, Cindy reports the striper bite has slowed at Assateague, but they still had some come to the store for weigh ins. One of the nicest of the week was caught by Skeets Zinkhim, it was 35” and tipped the scales at 14 lbs. The Striper hit on Bunker.

All Tackle in West Ocean City reports, Lots of Sharks being caught, Blue Fish bite off the Route 50 bridge and inlet. Also not many Flounder brought in this week.
Sunset Marina reports, lots of Flounder but most are short with a few keepers mixed in. Stripers coming from the Route 50 Bridge, and the South Jetty. Sharks plentiful, best we’ve seen in years, they also report 6 Yellow Fin were caught this week.

Bill’s Sport Shop, in Lewes tells us the Flounder Tournament ends the 12th with Randy Jensen leading with a 6.87 lb. flattie worth $1,000.00. Bill Zisskay of Ocean Veiw is in 2nd place with a 6.09 flattie that measured 24 ½”. Captain Bill took some time off this week to do a little fishing with family and friends. They had a great day at the Tea Cup, with 6 Blue Sharks, and 1 Mako all released, The crew on that trip was Sue & Roy Hillen, Joey Neely, and Bill Jr. they fishing on Bill’s boat “Slicker III”. All the Sharks were caught on Rigged Blue Fish. At Bower’s Beach the 65ft. “Reliable II” reported the Flounder fishing is heating up, with Ben Bolton of Newark, Delaware catching the largest at 3lbs. Skip Stewart also scored with a 3.8lb Flounder, Ben also caught 6 keeper Tog that he released due to the Tog season being closed till July 1st. Jim Kenworthy of York, Pa. caught 3 nice Stripers at the Cape Henelopen Pier, Two measured 25” the other came in at 32”. All were caught on Squid Heads. Bill also reports the Flounder bite has turned on at the Cape Henelopen Pier and Spot are also being caught now.

JJ at the Oceanic Pier reports the Blue and Shad run still is heavy , with night time under the lights producing better then the day light hours. The Flounder bite still continues to improve with lots of angles catching their limits of keepers. Most Flatties are being caught on Shinner and Squid combos. Finally JJ reports we still have a good tog bite at the end of the Pier near the wall, with lots of keepers.

The last report comes from one of the top charter boats in Ocean City “Restless Lady” with Captain Jim Duncan, and Captain Sean. They report, Shark Fishing is red hot, we’re catching Mako Sharks, and Blue Sharks, there is so many Blue Sharks they are swarming the boat and we them in by hand before we release them . They also are running bottom trips with good bites of keeper Sea bass. We are continuing to look for the steady Blue Fin bite which has started top the south. The “Restless Lady” is docked at the “Whit e Marlin Marina”. If your interested in fishing with them stop by Talbot Street Tackle Shop for a brochure and more info.

Well that does it for the reports this week, If you would like to send me a report and picture for the next issue of the “ Coastal Dispatch” you can email me at Skipstackleshop@aol.com. Also don’t forget to check out the web site for the latest fishing reports at tips at oceancityfishing.com. By the time this issue hits the street, I will have finally started my charters for the season, so next week’s issue should have reports and pictures from those trips. I would also like to let you know that the Tackle shop received its first load of Striper sized spot baits. So if you’re a Striper fisherman these are the hot baits for the big ones. Stop by and check them out.

The Charter Trips we offer this summer are a choice of three boats our 32 Foot Topaz with twin diesels for off shore trips; a 30 foot Mako CC with twin outboards for offshore, inshore, wreck and inlet trips: and a 24 foot Sea Ark CC, single outboard for bay and inlet fishing. I also use the Sea Ark for my family adventure trips, which are a great deal at $375.00 for a half-day of fishing, sightseeing, clamming, and crabbing. So Give me a call at 410-289-FISH(3474) or my cell at 410-430-5436, and lets talk fishing.
The fishing is improving daily and the weather looks good for this weekend, so get out there an d fish. Who Knows? Maybe I’ll be writing about you next week.