After an exceptionally brutal winter, I’d imagine that like me you’ve yearned for a steady diet of tranquil days and tight lines. There’s no shortage of fishing options this month.
If all goes to plan, you’re reading this month’s edition of PropTalk with just a few days before the opening of Maryland’s 2015 trophy rockfish season April 18.
That’s also the day, of course, of the 14th annual Catch & Release Rockfish Tournament hosted by the Boatyard Bar & Grill and sponsored by PropTalk. Other striper tournaments this month include MSSA’s 32nd annual Championship on the Chesapeake and the Rod N’ Reel’s 34th annual Pro-Am Rockfish Tournament, both held May 1-3.
A brief soapbox reminder: Maryland’s new striper regulations call for allowing sport fishermen to keep one rockfish per person of 28-36 inches or one rock 40 inches or longer. Rockfish not meeting these requirements will have to be released. Have a game plan set up in advance so stripers not measuring up will be released as quickly as possible with as little stress as possible. Good luck and good fishing!
Striper fishing is far from being the only game in town. The annual running of the bulls—big red drum that is—should be in full swing on the shoals and inlets of the lower Chesapeake. Flounder should invade the coastal bays from Oyster, VA, to the flats of Cape Henlopen, DE. By mid May the black drum should also make a showing, both in Maryland and Virginia.
Read on to learn what fish PropTalk’s pros are chasing this month. And if you’re looking to book a charter fishing trip with friends and family, or want to have a great day on the Bay for business associates, be sure to check out PropTalk’s growing charter boat marketplace section (page 85). These pros will take all of the guesswork out of it for you, which means all you need to do is reel!
Maryland
This spring it will be business as usual for
Captain Harry Nield and the crew of his charter boat
Kingfish II. And that’ a great thing! Captain Harry runs out of lower Deal Island, an ideal spot to intercept the migrating rockfish.
“We plan to troll tandem bucktails with some spoons in the mix on some days,” he says. “We’ll fish from the Gas Docks down to Smith Point.” Want to book a trip with Captain Harry or others? See the charter guide section on page 85.
Capt. Chris Diehl and his mate Big Al will be fishing the charter boat Teaser during the trophy striper season in the Mid-Bay Area. “We’ll depart from Chesapeake Beach every day during the trophy season,” Captain Chris says. “
Teaser will be working the Bay’s waters anywhere from Poplar Island down to the False Channel. We will be pulling a spread consisting of umbrellas and tandem parachute lures from planer boards and boat rods.”
For the spring trophy striper season, the charter boat
Marli will be moored at The Lighthouse Restaurant & Dock Bar, located in Solomons, MD. Captain Mark Hoos will be fishing for the big boys and girls daily beginning Saturday April 18. “With a new paint job completed by Anchor Bay East, all new state-of-the-art touch screen Furuno electronics, and the tournament winning crew, this rig is one of the finest sport fishing vessels on the East Coast,” says the proud skipper.
Captain Kyle Johnson of Rock Solid Charters, who sails from Solomons, MD, is ready to troll for trophy striper using planer boards and rods rigged with parachutes, targeting fish in the upper portion of the water column. “I look for fish along the channel edges or in the deep, from Parker’s Creek to Point Lookout depending on the bite. Find some marks and stay on them, eventually they will bite,” he recommends.
“After trophy season we switch gears and get the small boat out hitting some shore edges with poppers and diving baits. Look for a few feet of water where the current is moving. Fish usually like to tuck in the back side and wait for bait to be pushed by.”
By the middle of April,
Captain Walt of Light Tackle Charters will wrap up his trips on the Susquehanna Flats for the 2015 Catch & Release Season. “Early May will find me working the Maryland/Virginia Line area of the Chesapeake Bay targeting striped bass and flounder, all the while seeking the season’s first speckled trout,” he tells PropTalk.
Captain Mark Galasso of Tuna the Tide Charter will split his time between trolling for trophy rockfish and the Susquehanna Flats, which is strictly a catch-and-release area. “The biggest stripers of the year will start filtering up the Bay,” he predicts. “Most of the fishing is trolling in the main Bay south of the Brewerton Channel. However don’t be afraid to try jigging or chumming later in the month of April.”
He says another favorite of his this time of year is fishing the inshore migration of flounder along the coastal bays. “Wachapreague and Chincoteague can be quite productive,” he says. “Drifting squid and minnows or some of the new Gulp! baits can lead to good catches. Be prepared. You never know what the hot spring fishery will be.”
“Mid-April for two weeks I’ll be (hopefully) catching big stripers on fly and light tackle at the Susquehanna Flats,” opines
Captain Kevin Josenhans. “The last week of April through mid-May I’ll be chasing bull red drum on the flats of Virginia’s lower Eastern Shore. This is world-class red drum fishing when weather and water conditions cooperate.” He says a quality pair of polarized sunglasses (he endorses Costa del Mar) is essential for spotting the cruising drum.
Kevin McMenamin of the Maryland Saltwater Sport Fishermen’s Association (MSSA) Annapolis chapter will have a busy month once the trophy rockfish season kicks off. An accomplished tournament angler, he plans to fish the Boatyard Bar & Grill Tourney on Opening Day April 18th and the next weekend will serve as one of the captains for his chapter’s Rock on Warriors Fishing Day. They organize 20-30 boats to take approximately 80 wounded warriors, veterans, and family members for a day of fishing on the Bay. Next up is the MSSA Spring Tourney May 1-3.
A conscientious angler, Kevin told PropTalk he’ll use an efficient Catch & Release station on his boat for the new slot limit. Kevin’s goal is to “expedite the careful release for any (rock)fish that does not qualify as a keeper. My release technique includes using fishing gloves on both hands, supporting the fish at both the head and belly, and then holding the fish with a pincer grip on its lower jaw (held under water) until it clearly shows that it is recovered and wants to see me for the last time on this planet. This usually ends with my face covered with Bay water and a big grin on my face.” Right on!
Virginia
If there’s ever a constant in this crazy world, it’s that
Ric Burnley will know where the fish are in Virginia. “May is one of the best months for fishing in Southeast Virginia. The red drum run will be in full stampede. Anglers will find drum on the shoals and inlets of the lower Chesapeake. Anchor on the edge of a shoal and fish whole-blue crabs on an 8/0 hook and fishfinder rig. Or, drive the boat around the shoals sight casting three-ounce bucktails to schools of big drum (and striper) on the surface.”
If that’s not enough to get you fired up, Ric says the cobia will start to show up by the end of May. “Look for big brown fish swimming on the surface, or anchor on the shoals and soak cut bait and chum,” he suggests.
While the tog fishing will taper off, by the end of May sheepshead and triggerfish will move onto the pilings and rocks of Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) the bridge. “Use a piece of bluecrab, whole fiddler crab or chunk of clam on a 3/0 hook and single-hook bottomrig,” he recommends.
Also at the CBBT should be a flounder bite “for anglers drifting stripbaits on flounder rigs or bouncing a two-ounce bucktail and strip of squid around the pilings and rocks, or drifting over the humps and channels in the lower bay,” he adds.
For the Bluewater fishermen, Ric says the dolphin, wahoo, and tuna will move in off Virginia for anglers trolling skirted ballyhoo and spreader bars.
“Out of Hatteras, dolphin, wahoo, tuna, blue marlin, and whites will be firing on all cylinders,” he says with excitement. “Inshore, anglers will find epic cobia fishing by sight fishing along Hatteras Island.”
Coastal Delmarva
“In a normal year we could expect to have summer flounder in the shallow water of the Inland Bays and the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal by mid-April, but this year it will be early May before any decent flounder catches will be made,” predicts veteran fishing writer
Eric Burnley.
In the ocean the bag limit for tog will drop to three fish May 1, and the season will close May 11. After a short break, the black sea bass season will open on May 19 with a 12.5-inch minimum size and a 15-fish bag limit.
“I suspect it will be late April or early May before we see any rockfish in the Delaware Bay or Atlantic Ocean,” he believes. “The first fish are normally caught in the upper bay once the spawning run is over. This is a bunker chunkin’ fishery. Once the rock begin to move down the bay, you can expect to catch them on the Coral Beds off of Slaughter beach and from the surf at broadkill beach. Cut fresh bunker or bloodworms will be the best baits.”
“Skunks are always possible while tog fishing. Really. It’s not an easy fishery; the very best toggers sometimes get their head handed to them despite folks all around having done well,” so endeth the lesson from veteran skipper
Monty Hawkins. But the captain of the Ocean City-based party boat
Morning Star knows from experience there are plenty of days when the bite is on, and that makes it all worthwhile.
He and his fishermen will chase tog only this month, since the sea bass fishery is closed May 15, running through September 18. For those fishermen planning ahead it reopens October 18 through December 31. Anglers may keep up to 15 black sea bass per person per day, and the minimum size is 12.5 inches.
This month
Captain Charlie on Island Queen Charters on Chincoteague Island will continue to target flounder. “(He) will also try for sea mullet, as they should start showing up near the inlet as the water warms through May. Sea mullet are actually Northern Kingfish and are tasty little fish and put up a nice fight on light tackle!”
Aboard the charter vessel
Fish Bound Charters skippered by Captain Kane Bounds, recreational fishermen will be targeting tautog until the sea bass open on May 15. “Our limit (for tog) per angler in Maryland is four fish at 16 inches,” he says. “This time period is a great time to get in on some tog action.” Once the sea bass season opens, Captain Kane will switch gears for these tasty fish.
Want to book a trip? Visit our charter guide section at
proptalk.com/charter-fishing.
by Captain Chris D. Dollar