"The croaker are here. How do you catch them? Where do
we
go?"

Anglers in boats can easily catch some croakers this time
of year. They are plentiful in certain areas and are
extremely easy to catch.

"What kind of rig should I use?"

The most important thing to know about croakers is that
they have a smaller mouth than a flounder, so you need
slightly smaller hooks. I like to use a simple top and
bottom rig with two #4 or #6 leadered hooks attached. If
you
are targeting sea trout as well, you may want to stay away
from the wire top and bottom rig and choose a monofilament
top and bottom rig. (Trout are sometimes spooked by wire.)
If the water is murky, pick out hooks with silver spinner
blades on them. Use enough sinker weight to hold the
bottom, 1 to 2 ounces, preferably a bass cast type sinker.

"Where should we go in our boat?"

One of the most consistent areas is the drift from the
Route 90 Bridge towards the Thorofare. (The Thorofare is
on
the west side of the bay and runs from buoys #16 to #6.) It
seems that the croakers bite best on a moving tide. When
the tide slacks, the croaker quit biting. I always find
that croaker fishing is a good way to pass the time,
waiting
for the perfect flounder tide, which is two hours before or
after high tide.

Some anglers like to anchor for croaker. To do this,
anchor your boat just off the channel on either side of the
Rt. 90 Bridge and cast towards the channel. Cast out and
retrieve in very slowly along the bottom. If you do this,
you will also catch a few trout.

You will also catch croaker in the main east channel
between 9th Street and the draw of the Bridge. Sometimes
larger croakers are in this area, but the "bite" is not
consistent. Drifting through the inlet can also give you
some catches of larger croaker. Drifting outside the inlet
and on the south side of the south jetty can be good
croaker
territory. The bay behind Assateague usually contains some
croaker all summer long. Again, these croaker may not be
as
large, but more predictable. Drift between buoys #8 and
#10.

"What kind of bait should I use?"

My all time favorite bait is a piece of bloodworm tipped
with a small tapered strip of squid. With this bait you
can
also catch trout, blowfish, flounder, porgies, Norfolk
spot,
and any other fish that is about. Croaker fishing is a
great way to occupy a boatload of kids, because something
is
usually biting.

"I hate to use bloodworms!"

If you just don't want to use the bloodworms you can
substitute them with nightcrawlers, or skip the worm
altogether and just use squid. The croaker will continue
to
bite, but you might miss out on the trout and spot. Many
anglers have started using bait shrimp to catch croaker
with
good success.

"Can I catch flounder and croaker at the time?"

Sure. Use a simple top and bottom rig and insert a larger
snelled hook on the bottom stand-off (about a size #1 or
#1/0 wide gap hook) and a smaller snelled hook on the top
stand-off (about a size #4 or #6.) Bait your bottom hook
with either a live minnow or frozen shiner with a strip of
squid on the same hook. Bait your top hook with bloodworm
and squid, plain squid, or shrimp. To hook a "bait shrimp"
,
cut off the very end of the tail, and insert the hook in
the
tail section and slide the whole shrimp on the hook.
Anglers have been using the bait shrimp in the Chesapeake
Bay areas this spring with good success, and yes, they are
less expensive than bloodworms!

"We don't have a boat. Where should we go?"

Croakers and other panfish can be caught from almost any
pier in Ocean City. The pier at 125th Street offers mostly
Norfolk spot, but occasionally small croakers bite there.
Small hooks and pieces of bloodworm are your best bet here.
The pier behind Convention Hall at 41st Street gives up
small croakers as well. This is a good place to take the
kids at high tide. This location is more likely to produce
croakers than the 125th Street Pier. The Ninth Street Pier
that is located on 9th Street and the bay is a popular
croaker and spot hole. You are more likely to catch larger
croaker here. The bulkhead along 2nd through 4th Street
has
croaker along with lots of little sea bass. The Oceanic
Pier, Shantytown Pier, and the Rt. 50 Bridge have catches
of
larger croaker. The Ocean Pier that runs parallel to the
Ocean City inlet is a very good place to fish for croaker.
They do especially well there at night. Fish just behind
the crest of the waves.

"Can we catch croakers in the surf?"

Yes, almost all summer long anglers will pick up croaker
in
the surf. The best bait for them is a combination bait of
bloodworm and a small strip of squid. Anglers also use
bait
shrimp, squid alone, or a piece of peeler crab or clam.
Croakers are not that particular when they are running.
They are very easy to catch. They practically hook
themselves. Like fishing in the bay, the most important
thing to remember when fishing for croaker in the surf is
not to use a hook that is too big! A size # 4 or #6 is all
you need. A kingfish rig or small bluefish rig is perfect.
Use the top and bottom type rigs rather than a single rig.

Croakers bite during the day or at nighttime. A
surprising
number of croaker bite at night. These tend to run a
little
larger than the ones hitting during the day. It does not
seem necessary to use bloodworms after dark. Squid alone,
shrimp, cut bait, or peeler crab is the bait for evening
fishing. Cast out, and then very slowly bring your rig
back
into shore. You can also catch ling cod, kingfish, and
Norfolk spot when you are targeting croakers.

Croakers are fun to catch, but no fun to clean. Remember
that the croaker shrink when you start to clean them. They
are related to the drum family, and like the drum, a large
proportion of their body size is their head. The easiest
way to clean a croaker is to scale the fish, and simply
"head and tail." Filleted croakers are good but it takes a
lot of filleting to get a "mess."

"How do you tell the difference between a croaker and a
spot?"

Both look similar because they are silver in color, have a
spot, and yes, they both make a croaking sound. The
croakers have barbles under their chins, and have very
sharp
gill plates. The spot have no barbles and the gill plates
are not sharp. The croakers tend to be longer than the
spot.

Catching croakers is fun. These fish make fishing active
for kids and adults alike. When the flounder aren't
biting,
when the kids are getting bored, then it's time to go
croaker fishing!

Good fishing…