Ocean City Maryland & Assateague Island - Delaware Beaches - Ocean n Bay Fishing Report
By Sue Foster, Oyster Bay Tackle Shop, Ocean City MD - Fenwick Island DE

Dec 20th, 2011

Water Temp: 51.4 degrees

Fishing Report by Sue Foster

(Note: Oyster Bay Tackle, Fenwick Tackle, and the online mall are
all closed for the season. See ya in March!)


Still getting a few reports of stripers from the surf, Inlet and
offshore. Some anglers are getting skunked while others are
enjoying some action.

Several fish were caught last Sunday, the 11th:

"Castnet" posted:"Made it out Sunday afternoon to fish a couple
hours on either side of the low and finally got rid of my skunk
with a 39" bass on a head. Fish was very lean and towing a hook
and weight from someone else. Looks like it was lost while eeling as it had
a 1 oz sinker hanging out it's gill plate and a j hook with 3 ft of leader
stuck in the top of it's mouth. Pulled the dudes barrel swivel in half.
Hoping to get out a night this week again.

"Celticsean" posed on Tuesday on Stripers Online: "Hit Indian River
inlet this morning for the end of the incoming tide. I got two short
stripers and the guy next to me got a nice fat 32" fish. Lots of shorts
were being caught but that was the only keeper I saw."

"CBS" posted about last weekend's fish from Ocean City: "Fished the
beach in NOC fri through sun.couple of spiney up to 36" and 1-31"
striper 2 hr before low on sat aft. / hit on fresh bunker chunk."

Monday, Dec 12th Jim Thompson of Wilmington, DE called up to say he
caught a 31-inch striper from the Delaware State Beach about 7:30 in the morning.

Want to know what's going on Assateague? Check out Stripers Online
Delmarva Forum.

Poppy posted on the 17th: "I put in some fishing time the first half
of December in hopes of making up for the dismal November I experienced…
Early December a few Blues between 5# and 10#...caught on Bunker during
the day. At night I finally caught a few Striped Bass on lures out front…
all short.Then there was a stretch of absolutely nothing for a week…but
the surf came back from a comatose state this past week.
Earlier in the week out front I caught a couple Windowpane Flounder on
Squid strips…along w/ half dozen Spotted Hake. At night caught a few more
Striped Bass…again all short. Then a few days ago, I finally caught some
bigger Striped Bass…3 fish from 32” to 41” smile.gif…caught on Bunker and
Hake heads wink.gif..."



Many anglers ask about reading the beach when surf fishing. "Poppy" a very
good angler has posted another very good description with pictures on
Stripers Online. Check it out:
Reading the Beach He draws it out completely! If you're not catching
fish in the surf, you need to study this!



"Helbent Charters" is done for the season but is booking for next year.
He offers half to full day bay and coastal fishing trips. Specializing in families.
North Ocean City. Captain Jeffrey Grimes. 717-574-4010- helbentcharters@hotmail.com


Larry Jock of the Coastal Fisherman
likes to fish offshore for stripers himself this time of year. Read his
daily fishing report online and also keep up with fisheries news."

He posted this week:MONDAY, December 19, 2011-It was a beautiful early morning
in the ocean today, but around 11am it really started to get rough, as predicted.
Tim Romberger called to report that he hit the seas early today and trolled
around Little Gull and the Sea Buoy. Tim said there were large bait balls,
the best he has seen this year. Unfortunately, he didn't get a pull.


SUNDAY, December 18, 2011

Another slow day today for striper fishermen. Water temp has decreased to 49
degrees inshore and up to 52 degrees 10 miles off. Bait is scattered. Gill nets
galore down at the Sliver, so something must be happening down there. A few boats
took the trip down there today and came up blank. A few fish were seen on Isle
of Wight Shoal.

The Jersey boys are still catching stripers like crazy only a mile off the beach
as far north as Central Jersey, so there is still hope for us if the water temp
doesn't drop too fast. "WEDNESDAY, December 14, 2011. Striper fishing improved
today. Water temp is dropping closer to the magic 50-degree mark. The King caught
stripers around the North Jetty and Rt. 50 Bridge on live spot. Fish ranged between
30-33 inches. Samurai returned with 5 stripers from south of Little Gull Shoal.
Largest measured 39.5-inches. TUESDAY, December 13, 2011, Slow day for inshore
striper fishing. Really no concentration of bait. Sounds like surfcasters in
South Jersey are still having good days, so maybe we will see more fish pushing
our way in the next couple of weeks. MONDAY, December 12, 2011 Inside 3 miles,
the striper bite was slow for most of the day. A few stripers were caught at
sunrise, 2 miles off 44th Street. Anglers did run across stripers at the 1st Lump.
SUNDAY, December 11, 2011, Scott Slater caught a 49-inch, 51 lb. striper off
Assateague at sunrise.

Sometimes Old Inlet has a fish report
up on the 19th: Birds working in the Inlet. Glass minnows and ghost shrimp.
There are some shad around.A few striper picked up trolling Stretch 25-30's
on the sand bar between the marinas.Bite along the rocks is sporadic. Seems
its every other day. Bucktails, swim shads and eels are the best baits.Not
much happening on the surf. A few blues and stripers around. We have fresh
bunker and cob mullet.


Lewes Harbour Marina (302-645-6227) reports on Dec 15th:

"December 15, 2011 - Stripers Still Coming
After a little lull in striped bass catching, action perked up as more migratory
fish from up north moved into the area. It seems like fresh groups push into the
Bay for a few days, then swim on to be replaced by more. The new fish have been
carrying lots of hitchhiking sea lice. Most bass now are of a smaller size class
than earlier in the run. Many are shy of minimum length, and a majority of keepers
are in the low 30 inch range. Although, an occaisonal lunker still hits the dock.
Ron Mistretta muscled in a 35.1 pounder at 8 Buoy on the Katy Did. Kory Moore's
first striper was a good one, weighing in at 33.3 pounds. With water temps near
50 degrees and flirting with the 40's, rockfish have been responding well to bucktail
jigs. You'd think with colder water, fish would prefer a slower moving live bait,
but this time of year, artificials get a lot of attention. Dave Walker, Brent Wiest
and Chris Van had 30 rock while tossing bucktail jigs tipped with Skippyfish at
Overfalls and 8B Buoy on Tuesday. They managed to cull their limit of 6 keepers.
Bass fishermen aboard Katy Did Monday bucktailed 13 keepers. However, eels and
spot still get bit, especially in deeper water. Captain Ted's bassers aboard
the Angler had all keeper sized stripers up to 25 pounds while drifting eels
in The Valley yesterday, December 14th. Trollers towing Stretch 25 plugs on
the 12 foot hill at Overfalls continued to capture fish too. With moderate weather,
striper fishing should hold up through the end of the month. The tautog bite has
been good too. Blackfish have been staging on wrecks at the Bay mouth. Toggers
aboard the Angler did well Tuesday, returning with 70 chunky keepers. Captain
Pete anchored Top Fin at the Wall Tuesday for nice batch of tog, including Bruce
Min's 9.62 pounder. Pete worked a wreck Wednesday for 40 more keepers.
."


His full report is Lewes Harbour Delaware Bay Fishing Report here.


E-mail Sue Foster at: Oyster
Bay Tackle with your pictures and/or reports. Vacation Pictures are
welcome! (Please send me a real picture and not a link to a "Kodak moment"
or a Facebook page.") Phone pics are fine.
E-mail me your name and where you are from so we
can put you in our weekly fish reports and/or Gallery!


Anglers now need a DE Fishing License to fish, crab, and clam in DEL:
Individual Delaware Fishing Licenses are now available online or



Capt. Monty on the " Morning Star e-mails in on Dec 16th:

"Hi All,
Looks like a nice calm shaping-up just in front of Christmas, 22cnd &
23rd; Another shot sooner--Monday.
I don't anticipate limits of cbass, but I do expect good action with
maybe some bluefish & cod
.. I hope spiny dogs have moved on or been caught.
Mixed results from jigging recently; Fun when its right.

Long Cbass - Monday, 12/19/11 - Then Again On Thursday & Friday 12/22/11 &
12/23/11 -- 6 AM to 4 PM - $125.00 -- 18 People Sells Out The Boat.
Highs in the 50s, light winds; We'll paddle on off and see what we see..

Reservations at 410 520 2076 required. Please arrive 1/2 hour before scheduled
departure with food, water, beverage & a medium-sized cooler w/ice for fish.
Bait is provided, Jigs are not, but you're welcome to bring either. We often -
almost always- leave early. Show up late and you'll see the west end of an
east bound boat.

Maybe, just maybe, we'll sneak a sea bass trip in between Christmas & New
Year's too.

Tog opens January 1st, 2012 - I'll go when weather allows; Will still
announce off-season trips via email as I have for many years. Its just
not worth it to constantly fight the forecast. We'll "go with the tape"
as they say in the markets.
.........................................

Went to Williamsburg Wednesday. Not sightseeing: Trying to advocate
a course correction in how sea bass are managed..
Expensive, but glad I went.

Joint ASMFC/MAFMC meeting: Scup, sea bass and summer flounder recreational
quotas all seemed to come out of it OK considering recent years.
Heard a LOT of talk about regionalizing sea bass management. Suspect
there are other species in similar consideration.
"


E-mail Capt Monty to get on his e-mail list: mhawkins@siteone.net.
(If you like to fish with Capt Monty in the winter, please get on
his e-mail list as I won't be posting fish reports soon.)

Capt. Monty Hawkins
mhawkins@siteone.net
Party Boat "Morning Star"
Reservation Line 410 520 2076
http://www.morningstarfishing.com/

Long Cbass - Monday, 12/19/11 - Then Again On Thursday & Friday 12/22/11 &
12/23/11 -- 6 AM to 4 PM - $125.00 -- 18 People Sells Out The Boat.
Highs in the 50s, light winds; We'll paddle on off and see what we see..

Reservations at 410 520 2076 required. Please arrive 1/2 hour before
scheduled departure with food, water, beverage & a medium-sized cooler w/ice
for fish. Bait is provided, Jigs are not, but you're welcome to bring
either. We often -almost always- leave early. Show up late and you'll see
the west end of an east bound boat.

Maybe, just maybe, we'll sneak a sea bass trip in between Christmas & New
Year's too.



Watch the
weather.






Check out the link on our web site to the local chapter of the MSSA.
They are keeping us abreast on all the Fishing Issues. From our Oyster Bay Website, go to
"More Fishing Info" on the left hand side, and click on "MSSA Atlantic Anglers".

Check the weather before driving hours to go offshore or fish the surf.
Go to Coastal Marine Forecast to get an idea
of the weather and height of the waves.

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz of the "Thelma Dale V" Reports from Fisherman's
Wharf on Dec 15th:

....Our 2011 fishing season is rapidly coming to an end with our regularly
scheduled Full-Day trips. Even though we have been having weather patterns
that would mimic more of an early to mid fall season other than a near
winter scenario and our fishing has continued to be pretty good throughout,
here we are with the Holiday break in front of us and the prospects of a
New Year and a new fishing season right around the corner.

....For now the countdown is on and this weekend will wrap up the
regular trips for the 2011 fishing season scheduled to fish just
four more trips for the Tog and the Stripers.

Our last week of fishing was certainly not the best in my book in fact
a couple of the trips I made bordered on the hands down worst fishing
trips that I have had since we started fishing for the Tog in October.
Full moon tides and way more wind than we wanted were the major contributing
fish lewesfactor in what we were able to do over the weekend. It started
out Friday with the fish just not biting anywhere in the lower end of
the Delaware Bay or in the mouth of the Bay. We had to venture offshore a
ways just to get any bites at all. With the wind directly opposing a hard
running current even this seemed like a futile effort just trying to keep
the boat located in the right spot. Even though we ended up catching a few
Tog on Friday it was too little and too late to make a difference. Saturday
wasn't any better in fact it was worse; with northwest winds forecasted to
blow in excess of 25 knots we left the dock with barely a white cap on the
water but by the time we anchored up and started to fish the winds did indeed
come on with fury making it difficult just to stay in touch with the bottom
with the strong running full moon currents and the rough choppy seas. It
was another bum day.

....Sunday the weather was much nicer however the fishing still left a
lot to be desired. The Tog did eventually start to bite for us on Sunday
and several folks actually ended up with a nice mess of fish but ultimately
they just didn't add up for the number of passengers I had onboard. Monday
was a much better day with just about everyone onboard participating in what
I would call a very decent Tog bite. We had pretty steady action on Monday
everywhere I stopped with a lot of short Tog and a very respective number
of nice keepers all around the boat with the biggest fish of the day right
around eight pounds. After what we had endured Friday and Saturday it almost
seemed like a bonanza! These finicky Tog have done this to us on either side
of the moon quite a few times now in the last several weeks. They just don't
seem to bite quite as well with the hard running currents. There were boats
to our north that had good fishing nearly all weekend with the Tog but they
did not have the hard running tides that we had to endure. It does make a
difference.

....Striper fishing took a turn over the weekend for the better. It seems
that some of the big schools of migrating Stripers that have been held up
north now for several weeks have finally started to sag within our range ,
even on Saturday with all the wind the Stripers bit with fury showing those
that braved the elements some of the best action of the year with these Linesiders.
Not only were there a lot of nice trophy sized fish landed but the throwback
action proved to be red hot with those tossing artificial plugs and jigs.
There has been some big numbers of these Stripers landed in the last several
days and it wouldn't surprise me to see this action continue well into the
Holiday Season given the water temperatures we are seeing.

.....The offshore action with the Sea Bass was also fairly good over the
weekend. Capt. H.D. ran a 12-hour Trip on Saturday and then a long range
18-hour trip on Sunday. Both trips met with some good levels of success.
Saturdays trip was plagued with the same wind that we had inshore but
the fishing proved to be fair catching mostly Sea Bass for those at the
rail despite the wind and waves. Sundays long range trip also proved to be
decent with some real nice sized Sea Bass as well as some Blue Line Tilefish
for everyone on board. Capt. H did tell me that he wasn't actually aware of
anyone that landed a limit catch of 25 over the weekend but he had several
guys really close if not, and they did have some real quality Sea Bass once
again especially on Sunday. There are a few more special trips on the schedule
between now and December 31st including an 18-hour trip this coming Saturday
for the Bass and Tilefish. If you are interested time is running out for these
Sea Bass, the season closes once again at the start of the new year.
All special trips now require reservations in advance as space is limited.

....While we are wrapping up our regularly scheduled trips for this season
we are also looking ahead to 2012. We will be trying to run special trips
for Codfish, Ling and Tog throughout the winter; weather and some willing
participants allowing. There is a complete list of all trips on our calendar
link from the website at fishlewes.com I look to start up again with our
regular schedule sometime in early March. If you would like any more information
about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you are interested in booking a private
charter or you would like to reserve a spot on an upcoming special trip please
give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

His full report and boat info is Lewes Harbour
Delaware Bay Fishing Report here.

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz
Thelma Dale V
catchfish@verizon.net"



Capt.Dan Stauffer (866-623-4746) of the Fin Chaser does wreck, inlet and trolling trips.


VA charters.
(Wilson Cropp Charters and Guide Service. Cape Charles, VA- 1-434-531-6376)
Stripers....Flounder....Drum... Speckled Trout....Tog... Eco tours as well.





CHECK OUT the Fish Talk Forum - At The Beach - Fishing Ocean City MD Assateague Island - Delaware Fishing Beaches


(Just a note to say to my readers that many of my fishing reports are from
other anglers and party boats that come over my e-mail. When I "copy/paste"
their reports I try to leave them intact. It keeps the fishing reports
lively and interesting. But any comments/politics within the quotes are
their comments and views, and not necessarily mine.)

Need info on where, how, when to fish, crab, and clam? Go to Drifting Easy Archives and READ UP!
It's all in there and it's FREE!!!!!!

James A. Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance
has been actively working on the fisheries crisis. The RFA believes the future
of our fisheries is dependent on fixing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act which has laid down strict time-frames that do not take into
account livelihoods and that a fishery is rebounding steadily.


Need to tie a knot? Click
Here. This is really cool! You can also click Here!


Maryland Fishing License

Anglers fishing in Ocean City will need to purchase a saltwater fishing
license. This license will cover both the Chesapeake Bay and the coastal
waters and surf of Ocean City and Assateague Island. Yes, this includes surf
fishing. If you already have a Chesapeake Bay Saltwater license you are good
to go! Anglers will be able to purchase the license online. The
license you want to choose is "Bay and Coastal Sport" You can either choose
a year-round or 7-day. The online site will add on a small convenience fee.
The state has set the tackle stores up with paper licenses so we can do your
licenses in our stores.
If you know you are coming to Ocean City,and you want to get it done ahead
of time you can
also call a toll free number (1-800-918-2870)
or print and mail in an application.
Boat Licenses: $50 and everyone on your boat can go
fishing without a license. You will get a personal license along with your
boat license, so you can go shore fishing as well. They will send you your
sticker for your boat in the mail. If you come to our stores, in season,
we will have the stickers.

Mail the application to their main office:

Maryland Dept. of Natural resources
Annapolis Service Center
P.O. Box 1869
1804 West Street, Suite 300
Annapolis, MD 21401


If you are going to be fishing on a private boat with someone who has a Boat
License, you don't have to buy a license, but you do have to register online. This
is free but cannot be done over the phone.Print out your number and
keep an id with
you when you go fishing. You can also download it to your smart phone
and show it to the DNR officer.
It only takes a couple minutes. If you have no printer or smart phone,
write down the authorization number.

Another interesting note about the license is that if you buy a VA license,
it is good in MD, and vice versa. If you are fishing in MD with a VA licence
you do need to register with MD online. Again, this is free. This is so each
state can "try" to figure out "how many" fish are being caught in their own
individual states. (VA Free Registry)

If you want to go fishing in Ocean City without a license, your choices will
be the "Oceanic Pier" or to go fishing on a party or charter boat. You can
also go crabbing and clamming in Ocean City without a license. Or you can
fish off your own private dock.

Senior citizens 65 and older. Cost is $5 if you have a MD driver's license
and are a resident of MD,
but if you are a non-resident there is no break. No break for boat
licenses either. $50 resident or non-resident,
plus around $3 for the internet fees.

Contact Info
If you have any questions regarding Maryland's sport fishing license
requirements, you may contact Fisheries Service via e mail:
customerservice@dnr.state.md.us or by calling (410-656-9526).


Following is the fee schedule for 2011:

Senior License (year round) - $5.00
Resident License (year round) - $15.00
Resident License (7-day) - $6.00
Non-resident (year round) - $22.50
Non- resident (7-day) - $12.00
Pleasure Boat Decal (covers everyone on boat - year round) - $50.00
Commercial Fishing Pier License (year round) - $290.00

No license is required for:
Boat decal passengers
Those fishing in "free fishing" areas
Those fishing from their waterfront properties
Anglers under 16 years old
Anglers fishing on a licensed charter, party or guide boat
Anglers fishing commercially under a valid license

For more information, log onto www.dnr.state.md.us



Good fishing...








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