Tweet
As newbee to canoe/kayak fishing & turning 70 in two weeks, I am going to pass on the OC M&G due to my inexperience with paddle boats. But I can offer some flounder fishing tips from bygone years.
From 1986 to 1997, I was a licensed charter boat operator, out of Shanty Town, W/OC. Most trips in my GW 28 SailFish were chunking offshore tuna, shark & blue fish. But I also ran half day inshore flounder trips in the Inlet, Sinepuxent, Assawomen & South Bay behind Assateague.
Drifted the inlet between last 30 minutes of incoming & first 15 minutes of outgoing tide, kept engines running & drifted parallel to South Jetty, kept boat about 60 yards out from Jetty & drifted from ocean to bay break waters, depending on direction of current.
Used home tied 50# mono drop sinker single hook rig with 3 foot leader snelled to 1/0 long shank hook No metal swivels, snaps, clips, beads or spinner blades. I tied rig directly to end of rod line with double cinch knots. aited with live local caught dark brown bull minnows lip hooked over long thin strips of fresh cut spot with skin on. No casting, drop straight down, hit bottom & reel up 1 turn.
Close to South Rock Jetty along Assateague side of inlet, little dangerous, but good Sea Trout on live small spot and great Tog on half a small green crab. Loose lots of rigs here and usually crowded with other boats but if you can sneak in for one or two drifts it could be worth the effort.
At bayside end of South Rock Jetty point is a hole just 30’ off rocks. Best on incoming tide to high flood tide. Short drift, start 100’ on ocean side of point, keep boat 30’ off rocks and follow turn around bayside point. If you have a fish finder you will see the drop off.
Across the bay on the south side of the commercial fishing fleet dock bulkhead there is a 8-10’ narrow muddy bottom underwater trench running parallel to shore south for length of foot ball field. Start drift near far end of bulkhead & drift south.
In the same area the South Bay Channel edge is good all along west side just inshore of channel buoys. On this long drift stay out of deep water channel, else you become cannon fadder for the high speed power junkies Drift along the edge where it goes from 10’ to 3’. This is nice long drift of several miles especially if you have a fish finder and can follow the edge of the channel on incoming tide.
North bays Sinepuxent & Assawomen are heavily fished and usually crowded.
But on the west side of the bay just north of 50 bridge is a shallow cove. Incoming to high tide a lot of shinners congregate in these waters to stay out of the current and feed on plankton. Flounder follow the shinners. Look for quick flurries of silver flashes on surface and toss a 1/4oz white lead head grub tail with a frozen shinner in and around the breaking bait. Work the area even if no signs of shinners. Schools of small spot also come here to feed on shinners and flounder come with them. A small live spot live lined 2 feet below small balsa wood float, hooked behind dorsal fin can work when flounder are ignoring shinners and minnows.
Further north, if you quietly paddle along the edge of the west shore marsh, look for the shallow water cuts that drain in and out of the marsh. During the high flood tide & first 30 minutes of outgoing tide, flounder lay in these spots waiting for minnows and baby crabs to flush out of the marsh. Use long shank 1/0 hook snelled directly to rod line and pinch on 1/4oz spit shot 2’ above hook. Live lip hooked local minnows. Again no metal swivels, snaps or spinner blades. A little chunk of crab will sweeten the bait. But don’t waste a lot of time fishing one spot. After a couple cast & no fish move to next shoreline cut.
There are several other spots where I had good success but these are in or near the main power boat travel routes and fishing them is scary even with a big boat. I carried a short barrel 12 guage SS pump loaded with buckshot for shark. Many times I had the urge to.... but I didn't.
One last tip. On the incoming tide watch for the “dirt line” in the water. The “dirt line” is the line that separates the dirty silty warm bay water from the clearer cooler ocean water on the incoming tide. The line is most visible from the RT. 50 bridge North. Best fishing was always on the clear water side of the line. I would wait and watch for the line and follow it up the bay as I moved from spot to spot. I wouldn’t over fish one spot even if it was hot. After a couple keepers, I moved on. As soon as the other boats see you net a fish, they are on you like fleas on a dog.
The last tip I will give you is when you catch a fish use your boat to block the view from nearby boats. Net the fish low and get it into the boat fast without being seen. No yelling or loud talking, else you will soon have a lot of unwanted company.
Good Fishing,
Joe P
From 1986 to 1997, I was a licensed charter boat operator, out of Shanty Town, W/OC. Most trips in my GW 28 SailFish were chunking offshore tuna, shark & blue fish. But I also ran half day inshore flounder trips in the Inlet, Sinepuxent, Assawomen & South Bay behind Assateague.
Drifted the inlet between last 30 minutes of incoming & first 15 minutes of outgoing tide, kept engines running & drifted parallel to South Jetty, kept boat about 60 yards out from Jetty & drifted from ocean to bay break waters, depending on direction of current.
Used home tied 50# mono drop sinker single hook rig with 3 foot leader snelled to 1/0 long shank hook No metal swivels, snaps, clips, beads or spinner blades. I tied rig directly to end of rod line with double cinch knots. aited with live local caught dark brown bull minnows lip hooked over long thin strips of fresh cut spot with skin on. No casting, drop straight down, hit bottom & reel up 1 turn.
Close to South Rock Jetty along Assateague side of inlet, little dangerous, but good Sea Trout on live small spot and great Tog on half a small green crab. Loose lots of rigs here and usually crowded with other boats but if you can sneak in for one or two drifts it could be worth the effort.
At bayside end of South Rock Jetty point is a hole just 30’ off rocks. Best on incoming tide to high flood tide. Short drift, start 100’ on ocean side of point, keep boat 30’ off rocks and follow turn around bayside point. If you have a fish finder you will see the drop off.
Across the bay on the south side of the commercial fishing fleet dock bulkhead there is a 8-10’ narrow muddy bottom underwater trench running parallel to shore south for length of foot ball field. Start drift near far end of bulkhead & drift south.
In the same area the South Bay Channel edge is good all along west side just inshore of channel buoys. On this long drift stay out of deep water channel, else you become cannon fadder for the high speed power junkies Drift along the edge where it goes from 10’ to 3’. This is nice long drift of several miles especially if you have a fish finder and can follow the edge of the channel on incoming tide.
North bays Sinepuxent & Assawomen are heavily fished and usually crowded.
But on the west side of the bay just north of 50 bridge is a shallow cove. Incoming to high tide a lot of shinners congregate in these waters to stay out of the current and feed on plankton. Flounder follow the shinners. Look for quick flurries of silver flashes on surface and toss a 1/4oz white lead head grub tail with a frozen shinner in and around the breaking bait. Work the area even if no signs of shinners. Schools of small spot also come here to feed on shinners and flounder come with them. A small live spot live lined 2 feet below small balsa wood float, hooked behind dorsal fin can work when flounder are ignoring shinners and minnows.
Further north, if you quietly paddle along the edge of the west shore marsh, look for the shallow water cuts that drain in and out of the marsh. During the high flood tide & first 30 minutes of outgoing tide, flounder lay in these spots waiting for minnows and baby crabs to flush out of the marsh. Use long shank 1/0 hook snelled directly to rod line and pinch on 1/4oz spit shot 2’ above hook. Live lip hooked local minnows. Again no metal swivels, snaps or spinner blades. A little chunk of crab will sweeten the bait. But don’t waste a lot of time fishing one spot. After a couple cast & no fish move to next shoreline cut.
There are several other spots where I had good success but these are in or near the main power boat travel routes and fishing them is scary even with a big boat. I carried a short barrel 12 guage SS pump loaded with buckshot for shark. Many times I had the urge to.... but I didn't.
One last tip. On the incoming tide watch for the “dirt line” in the water. The “dirt line” is the line that separates the dirty silty warm bay water from the clearer cooler ocean water on the incoming tide. The line is most visible from the RT. 50 bridge North. Best fishing was always on the clear water side of the line. I would wait and watch for the line and follow it up the bay as I moved from spot to spot. I wouldn’t over fish one spot even if it was hot. After a couple keepers, I moved on. As soon as the other boats see you net a fish, they are on you like fleas on a dog.
The last tip I will give you is when you catch a fish use your boat to block the view from nearby boats. Net the fish low and get it into the boat fast without being seen. No yelling or loud talking, else you will soon have a lot of unwanted company.
Good Fishing,
Joe P
Comment