"What's fishing like around here in September and October?"

Many people want to know when is the best time of the year to come to Ocean
City to enjoy good fishing. The whole month of September and the first two
weeks of October is when the weather is most predictable. This is the time
we call "Indian Summer."

Flounder fishing can be excellent during this time frame. The flounder
move from the upper reaches of the bay and start migrating out to the ocean.
Two hours before and after high tide sees some excellent catches of
flounder. The main east channel, just north of the Route 50 Bridge near the
draw span probably sees at least 50 per cent of the flounder catches this
time of year. The flounder seem to "stack up" by the Bridge as they move
towards the inlet.

Anglers use the usual live minnows or shiners with squid strips with good
success, but anglers using larger live baits that they catch in their cast
nets do even better. Live spot, finger mullet, or alewives catch the larger
fish. You need to keep these alive in an aerated bucket or a live well
circulating with fresh salt water. Some anglers not set up with an aerator
do well with fresh or frozen finger mullet fished dead. Others have good
luck with a large fillet of lizardfish (those ugly prehistoric looking brown
fish). Flounder will take a small lizard fish live if you hook it through
the lips. Use these larger baits on a single long-leadered hook
(approximately 30 inches) set up on a fish finder or an egg sinker rig so
your bait does not spin.

September and October are the times to drift the deepest holes of the bay
and the inlet for trout and stripers. Anglers use live spot, alewives, or
finger mullet for the trout. They also do well with bait such as peelers,
or lures such as bucktail jigs or 4- or 5-inch soft bodies jigged on a lead
head. MirrOlure and Rattletrap lures also work well. Cast towards the rocks
near the South Jetty or cast towards the pilings of the Route 50 or Route 90
Bridge.

Stripers like live eels as well, and they are readily available to buy at
most bait and tackle stores. They are hardy and live well. All you have to
do is put them in a cooler tray in an iced cooler. Right before you are
ready to go fishing, throw a little ice in a bucket with a couple of the
eels to slow them down. Hook them through the eyes or lips and use on an
egg sinker or fish finder type rig. (Hint: Grab them with a rag, glove or
paper towel when you pick them up.)

Anglers drift the main east channel, offshore of the Coast Guard Station,
the deep hole in the inlet close to the seawall just east of the Oceanic
Pier, the inlet itself, or cast towards the tip of the South Jetty. Anglers
drift just South of the South Jetty, or they drift Little Gull Shoal or any
shoal area offshore within the 3-mile limit. Anglers also drift the Fenwick
Ditch where Harpoon Hannas Restaurant is and close to the Route 90 Bridge
with good success this time of year.

September and October are excellent months to drift offshore along the
shoals and Artificial Reef sites for sea bass, trout, flounder and croaker.
(By now the croaker have left the bay, but are very prevalent just
offshore.) All you have to do is drift strips of squid or any kind of cut
bait. Flounder especially like strips of fresh bluefish or mullet. You will
also catch your share of horn dog sharks this time of year, along with some
sand sharks, dusky sharks, and rays.

"What about surf fishing?"

The fall is for surf fisherman and most are very excited to hit the beaches
now that summer is over. Cooler weather knocks down the flies and
mosquitoes and fishing improves. The beginning of September sees snapper
blues, flounder, kingfish, trout, and stripers. As the fall progresses we
see larger blues and larger stripers. Usually we have surf fishing activity
in our area through Thanksgiving.

Red drum hit the beaches on Assateague in September and early October.
This run can be great or just mediocre depending upon the season, but most
local surf anglers will try their luck. If they don't come up with a drum
they may get lucky and come up with a sizable striper. Though we do get
some puppy drum and a few larger drum in Ocean City, the larger numbers of
drum are caught on Assateague. This is probably due to the sloughs and
structure of the beach on Assateague that we do not have in Ocean City. In
addition, most of the drum are caught in the 4-wheel drive area, so if you
want to catch drum and large stripers in the surf on Assateague and have a
4-wheel drive, purchase a 4-wheel drive permit at the ranger station.

The rig used to catch red drum and big stripers is much the same. Use a
large hook, either an Octopus or circle-type hook in the #4/0 to #6/0 range.
(Some circle hooks are labeled differently and some brands will be a #10/0
to #11/0 size.) Set these hooks up on a monofiliment or Flouocarbon leader
in the 30 to 50-pound test range with a fish finder rig. No float is
necessary. Use a big chunk of any kind of fresh bait you can get your hands
on such as mullet, bunker, spot, or fresh bluefish. (Drum and stripers are
sometimes spooked by wire leaders or Styrofoam floats.) Sometimes anglers
fishing for stripers or drum will use a heavy-duty top and bottom rig with
two leadered Octopus type hooks in the #3/0 to #6/0 range.

"How about bluefish!"

Bluefish are easy to catch and usually plentiful in September and October.
The slammer blues (over 12 pounds) won't be plentiful until November, but
every once in a while you will catch one. These larger blues are mixed in
with 3 to 5 pound blues, which are a lot of fun to catch and are very good
to eat when they are this size.

The best rig to use for these blues is a whole finger mullet rig with a
whole fresh or frozen finger mullet. This rig is probably the most popular
rig for surf anglers to use throughout the fall season.

"How about night fishing?"

Night fishing in the surf with strips of fresh mullet or spot will catch
you trout, blues, or stripers. Cast out, and reel in slow along the bottom
with a two-hook monofilament surf rig with medium sized floats.

Night fishing from the Route 50 Bridge, Oceanic Pier, Ocean City and Indian
River Inlets, and Shantytown Pier will catch you trout, blues, and stripers.
Bait of choice is the live spot, alewives, eels, or finger mullet. Lures of
choice are Got-cha Plugs, soft bodies in the 4 to 7-inch range attached to
lead heads in the ½ to 1 ½ ounce range. Bucktail jigs with a plastic worm
worked close to the bottom will usually catch a fish if the fish are there.
Sometimes the fish will be breaking on the surface and "surface poppers"
work well.

In September and October we also have tautog increasing in size and
numbers. (In the summer they tend to run on the small side.) The bulkhead
from 2nd through 4th Streets, the ends of the streets at 5th and 6th
Streets, the Ocean City Inlet, the Indian River Inlet, and near the draw of
the Route 50 Bridge produces nice catches of tautog. Anglers use sand fleas,
clam, green crab, speckled crab, marsh crab, or any kind of sectioned crab,
on a short leadered Octopus styled hook in the #1/0 to #2/0 range with a
flat or torpedo shaped sinker in the 2 to 4-ounce range.

September and October is a great time to go fishing. So.

Good fishing.