Drifting Easy

“Where did the summer go? It’s September already!”

September is a wonderful month to go fishing! The crowds are gone but the 
fish are still here. The weather is just slightly cooler bringing the water 
temperatures down just enough to make the fish bite better than they did in 
August when it was really too hot. This makes daytime fishing good again. 
The air temperature is usually just perfect for going outside and fish. Not 
too hot and not too cold!

Flounder fishing can be outstanding in September.  We see larger fish and 
fewer throwbacks. Flounder in the bay sense the shortening days and start to 
move out into the ocean, so the first of the outgoing tide is usually best. 
Anglers fishing larger baits such as live spot, finger mullet, or peanut 
bunker have the edge on anglers fishing the traditional shiners and minnow 
baits. These baits are readily available to anglers using a cast net or 
“hook and lining” for bait spot.

In September we usually see striper fishing pick up. Sometimes it takes an 
extra month, depending upon the weather, but for anglers fishing at night, 
there’s usually always action.  Anglers drifting live spot or live eels in 
the inlet and deep holes in the bay close to the Route 50 Bridge catch nice 
ones, especially if the tide change is early in the morning. It’s boat 
traffic that messes up daytime striper fishing, so during the week fishing 
at the inlet is usually always better by day than on the weekends when there’s 
more boat traffic.

Striper fishing from the Rt. 50 Bridge at night, along with the Inlet and 
Sea Wall in Ocean City and the Indian River Inlet is usually good in 
September. It will get even better in October but who wants to wait? Throw 
out a live eel, live spot, or a string of live sand fleas just when the tide 
is slacking at the Inlets. Cast swimming shad lures, bucktails and other 
plugs when the tide is running. The Rt. 50 Bridge sees action for anglers 
using live eels, live spot, live bunker, swimming shad lures, bucktails with 
plastic worms, and soft bodies attached to lead heads and tied in tandem. 
Buy yourself a bridge net if you plan to do much striper fishing at night 
from the Bridge.

Trout?  Some years we have some trout in September and some years we do not. 
It’s worth trying for them with live spot or peeler crab in the Thorofare or 
Inlet.  Do not use any metal leaders for sea trout as it can spook the 
trout. Use a simple monofilament leadered rig with no extra hardware. 
Sometimes we have small trout up by Route 90 Bridge for anglers using a 
combination bait of bloodworm and squid strips.  In the bay behind 
Assateague we also sometimes get some sea trout with the same bait or 
peelers. Again, do not use metal top and bottom rigs—use monofilament rigs.

Just offshore on the shoals such as Little Gull Shoal and Big Gull Shoal 
croaker and sea trout can be caught with squid strips dangled on 
monofilament top and bottom rigs. Flounder are also in the mix, along with 
kingfish, sea robins, small red hake, and sand sharks.  Sometimes these fish 
are a mile to three miles off the coast. The Artificial Reef site offshore 
of 22nd Street is a good spot to try.

Further offshore at the Bass Grounds and Artificial reef sites such as the 
African Queen and Great Eastern Reef we see some really good flounder 
fishing for anglers using any kind of flounder bait including live minnows, 
shiners, smelts, finger mullet and live spot. I like to use a strip of fresh 
bluefish, spot, or mullet for the flounder offshore. I like to use 
Aqua-clear rigs offshore in the deeper water because they do not tangle when 
you drop them down into the depths.

Along with the flounder, there is usually a decent bite of sea bass in 
September. In the heat of the summer, sea bass fishing falls off, but in 
September the fish sense the coming of fall and start to move over open 
bottom again.  Anglers anchoring over wrecks will also pick up some tautog 
with sand fleas or green crabs.

Obviously, September is a good month to venture out on one of the areas 
party boats. From Ocean City to the Delaware Bay there’s action to be had. 
The crowds have thinned out, so aside from Labor Day Weekend, you should not 
find any of the boats too crowded. Call in advance though. Sometimes “less 
people” backfires and the boats don’t have enough people to go out!

Inshore tautog fishing also picks up in September, though it gets much 
better in October and into November. Anglers fish from the Rt. 50 Bridge, 
the bulkhead from 2nd through 4th Street, and the Ocean City Inlet with sand 
fleas or green crabs and pick up tautog. There’s still plenty of flounder in 
these locations, so it’s a toss-up of whether to go tautog fishing or 
flounder fishing! The only problem with tautog fishing in September is that 
there’s still tons of small sea bass nibbling at your baits. It’s hard to 
keep the tautog bait on when fishing the bayside. The inlet rocks is usually 
your best bet in September for tautog. (Delaware closes their tautog season 
most of September, so stick to Ocean City where the season is open.)

Bluefish!  We’ve had them all summer and we’ll have them in abundance again 
in September. Sorry, they still won’t be large, mostly snapper blues, but 
they are in the bay and surf in numbers. They are fun to catch and the small 
ones are not bad to eat. Fishing the 9th Street Pier, Rt. 50 Bridge, Oceanic 
Pier, Ocean Pier, Ocean City and Indian River Inlets and the surf will give 
you plenty of action with bluefish.

Anglers use lures such as bucktails with a plastic worm, Got-cha Plugs, Spec 
rigs, and spoons from the Inlets or piers and bridge at night. By day, 
anglers catch them bottom fishing with shiners or finger mullet. In the 
surf, you definitely will get into the bluefish action using a whole finger 
mullet on a mullet rig.

“What else is in the surf in September?”

Assateague usually sees a good run of red drum in September. Anglers fish 
for them just like they would for stripers.  A single or double rig made out 
of heavy monofilament, usually with a fish finder rig, and a pretty 
good-sized circle hook. Baits of choice are a spot head, bunker, clam or any 
kind of cut bait. Peelers are also good. Ocean City beaches see puppy drum 
(smaller drum), kingfish, some sea trout, flounder, and short stripers with 
a few keepers mixed in.  The water is still warm in September so we usually 
don’t see anything really big in Ocean City unless it’s a shark or ray. 
Assateague beaches have a quicker drop-off and anglers are more likely to 
catch larger fish such as drum, stripers, and big sharks.  The Delaware 
State Park also sees its share of keeper stripers and a few red drum on some 
of the better beaches such as 3 R’s Road.

The smaller fish in the surf such as kingfish, Norfolk spot or trout can be 
caught on kingfish rigs with a strip of cut bait such as mullet, spot or 
bunker. Combo this with a piece of bloodworm or Artificial Bloodworm and you 
will catch some of these good eating fish. Always try to use what is fresh 
or freshly frozen this time of year. There’s lots of natural bait in the 
ocean and that’s what the fish are feeding on.

Offshore fishing for marlin, tuna, Wahoo, and dolphin is also still very 
good in September.

Crabbing? Crabbing usually falls off in August and picks back up in 
September.  Clamming is also good and the water is warm enough to enjoy the 
hunt!

September is one of my favorite months of the year to go fishing!






 

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