| Lefty Kreh and C. Boyd Pfeiffer are outdoor writers who live and fish in
Maryland. Maybe a letter to each would at least provide leads on where
to look next. I think they're both in the phone book. Lefty lives near
Hunt Valley north of Baltimore, and Pfeiffer lives near D.C. I lived in
Maryland for 10 years and loved it there, but that was a long time ago.
Here's what I know/remember about the area.
There are barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Maryland and Virginia.
Ocean City, MD, which is at the end of US route 50, is at the southern tip
of one of them. The next barrier island south of Ocean City is Assateague
Island. Assateague is quite close to the mainland near the northern end,
but further south and for most of its length the inshore bay it protects
is quite wide. The narrow northern part of the bay is called Sinepuxent
Bay, and the main part of the bay is Chincoteague Bay - home of some of
the finest tasting oysters in the world. The town of Chincoteague is on
the mainland near the southern end of the island.
The inlets that connect the bay to the ocean at the two ends of Assateague
Island are very narrow compared to the size of the bay. The average tidal
fluctuation there is about 3.5 feet, not much by our New England standards,
but enough that the water cooks right along through the inlets at full
flood and ebb.
Ocean City is a big-time offshore fishing mecca. White marlin are there
from mid-June through September, around 50 to 75 pounders, and yellowfin
tuna also. They're way offshore in the canyons though, 40 miles or so out,
so I guess a spot on a boat would be pretty expensive. Other gulf stream
fish like dorado, wahoo, etc., are in closer and are probably a lot cheaper
to get to. If you can afford it, do go for it. You can always find a boat
that has an empty spot or two where you chip in your share.
In the spring stripers, blues, red drum, and weakfish migrate north along
the coast. Red drum (redfish, channel bass) get huge like stripers, and
weakfish (called sea trout in MD) go 5 to 10 pounds. The red drum are
there in May and June, and again in Sept and Oct. The weakfish are there
all through the warm weather. There are also king mackerel inshore all
summer. Surfcasting with bait is the rule.
The ocean beaches in this area are not very steep, so surf fishing is a
long distance game. Only stripers and blues will come right in to the
first wave, and you really have to wing it out there to get beyond the
breakers. But with a 4 oz cut bait rig and a 13' surf rod,...
The bay is full of weakfish (was at least), doormat flounder, and smaller
fish like spot. Blues go in there, but I don't think the stripers or
redfish do. The kingfish certainly don't. Weakfish are (were) really
neat, by the way. They are beautiful fish, delicious eating, and anything
but weak. Their cheeks are fragile, hence their name, and the hook can
fall out if that's where it penetrates. To compound that they shake their
heads violently when you hook them. The best place to find them in the
daytime is in a deeper (10 or 15 ft) current. Kind of like walleyes in a
river. At night they feed in the shallows, but more on that later. They
eat almost anything small.
There is a big jetty at the Sinepuxent inlet. If you're at the north
end of the island that's where I would go first. You always have to
pay your dues when you go to a new spot, but a big jetty half a mile
from the open ocean with the channel into a huge tidal estuary flowing
right past it should improve your learning curve. Being so close to
the ocean means you can expect to see almost anything there. From your
vantage point you can see whether anything else looks promising. The
common baits are peeler crabs, bloodworms, and clam necks. Just remember
that the dry black rocks on an ocean jetty only look dry. They're coated
with nature's perfect lubricant. If you step on one you're shark bait.
You can also rent a boat and drift bait on the bottom in the moving water.
That's a great way to get at weakfish because they sit tight in their
holding spots. But unless you can narrow your choices somehow the bay
is awfully big.
Some last things to recall about the area. Last I knew, Assateague Island
was a wildlife refuge. You can get there by bridge and ferry, and people
used to camp on the beach. There was a water pump, and that's about it.
It's a beautiful place, and is inhabited by wild ponies. The heat and
humidity in the summer can be pretty oppressive except right on the beach.
But most of all it's a very dangerous place at night! From dusk until
dawn it is entirely the property of the mosquitos from hell! You honest
to God can't go out of your tent after dark. Actually they're worst just
after dark and just before dawn, and there seems to be another assault at
midnight. The rest of the night isn't as bad. But for me that would rule
out stripers in the surf or weakfish in the shallows. If you don't mind
being locked in at night, camping on Assateague is a great experience.
Sounds like a great chance for an adventure. Make sure you find the best
place in the area for steamed crabs and pig out on them. Have fun!
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