May 4th, 2008

Fishing Report by Sue Foster


Water Temperature (WTMP): 54.9 °F

Larger stripers hit the surf on Assateague this weekend. Only a few bluefish 
were reported along with lots of dogfish and skates. A few kingfish, a 
flounder or two and some black drum were also reported from Assateague surf. 
Some flounder were caught from the Ocean City bay. Oceanic Pier continued to 
see some bluefish, skates, a very few flounder and a good tautog bite. 
Maryland has officially set the new flounder regs for us in the Coastal 
Bays. It is 17 1/2 inches with a three fish creel. Tautog limits are still 
14-inches but the knew creel limit is 4 fish per person. Later in the season 
it will go down to two. In Delaware: "Roy Miller announced that the flounder 
regs have been signed by John Hughs and will become effective on May 11th. 4 
at 19-1/2" open all year.

Assateague surf finally turned on with some nice stripers. Not many were 
caught, but the ones that were taken were really nice!


"Coop" posted on May 2nd on Stripers Online: "After 5 weeks of non stop 
working and no fishing, finally hit the beach a few hours and caught my 
personal best...51" and 46.5 lbs...was hoping she would top out at 50lb but 
came up short."

"CJS" posted from Saturday: "Fished the beach yesterday 10AM-8PM with my 
buddy Tom(GrownMenRunnnin).
Small Bluefish on the second cast. Skates and dogs throughout the day. 
Skates were bigger than normal and aggressive. Dogs were either really big 
or tiny. Between 1PM and 2PM, I got two nice stripers 40" and 31". Both 
released."

Shanon from Buck's Place (410-641-4177) reports on May 2nd:   "I just 
weighed in a nice Rockfish caught in the surf at Assateague Island today!! 
Chris Miller from Littlestown, PA caught a 46", 23 1/2" girth, 35 1/2lbs 
Rockfish on bunker." His picture is in our  Photo Gallery.

Others just caught sharks and skates. One local said he spend the weekend on 
Assateague and caught 9 stripers and one black drum. (He released some of 
the stripers.)

  Bev from Harbor Tackle (410-213-9365) reported on May 1st: "The surf is 
producing a little better; however, not many stripers being reported. A few 
kingfish, black drum, 20 inch plus bluefish, a 22 inch flounder, smooth 
dogfish, spiny dogfish, and let’s not forget skates from the suds."

We didn't hear much from the Ocean City surf this week at all. We did hear 
of some stripers around the Ocean City Inlet.

In Delaware surf, it was much the same. A kingfish here and there. Dogfish. 
Occassional striper or bluefish, but there seems to be no consistency with 
the blues. And I didn't hear much about stripers. I saw one report on Cafe 
Locale where an angler caught a number of bluefish up to 20" from Gordon's 
Pond surf area. (That's in the Cape Henlopen State Park.)

Fred Cottrell e-mailed in "On Saturday April 26, two 20" bluefish on finger 
mullet just south of Roosevelt Inlet on the outgoing tide."


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!

 Tautog fishing has been excellent this past week. Tautog like green crabs 
or sand fleas. Places to catch tautog are: The bulkhead from 1st to 4th 
Streets. The ends of the streets at 5th and 6th Street, the Route 50 Bridge 
near the "draw," the inlets, and the end of the Oceanic Pier. One customer 
came in and said he fished the Oceanic Pier for flounder and couldn't catch 
a thing. Here comes an angler with green crabs, pulls out 4 nice tautog 
right in a row!


If you have any fish reports or tips please share them with us  on
our Ocean City Md Fishing Forum 
Board
or e-mail Sue Foster at:  Oyster 
Bay Tackle.
E-mail me your name and where you are from so we
can put you in our weekly fish reports!

Need  surf
rigs? We have plenty in our shops or buy online!

 J.J. from the Oceanic Pier (410-289-2602) reports some bluefish and shad 
action at night on the pier. Tautog action has been good at the very end of 
the pier. There weren't a lot of flounder, but there were plenty sharks and 
skates. He didn't see any trout. At the inlet he heard there were a couple 
stripers caught including a 39-incher caught on a lure.

Larry Jock from the  Coastal
Fisherman  reports from the bay!:


Thursday and Friday- May 1st and 2nd, 2008
"Tom Yarko landed 3 keeper size flounder, two 20 inchers and a 19 incher, in 
the Thorofare between Buoys 15 and 16. Tom used minnows and flounder belly 
for bait. Flounder are still being caught in the bay. One nice one was lost 
at the boat near the Convention Center yesterday. The angler said it was 
easily 6 lbs.
Small bluefish are being caught all over the bay.


We at Oyster Bay Tackle had some reports of flounder caught around the Rt. 
90 Bridge, Thorofare, and Convention Hall Channel. Dakota Bittner and his 
Dad, Thad, went out on Saturday and Dakota came back in with a 19 1/4" 
flounder. They were fishing near Buoy #9 with live minnows.  Dakota's 
picture is in our  
Photo Gallery


 Flounder bite on  flounder
rigs baited with live minnows, shiners, smelts and squid.  Aqua-clear
rigs are very popular flounder rigs. So are the Sea Striker 2-hook 
flounder rigs in either  
chartreuse or  
pearl.



"The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Service 
need
 anglers to continue to participate in the 
Summer Flounder Volunteer Angler Survey. This 
survey is the sole reason we in Maryland have a smaller size limit than 
surrounding states.


  Clark from Old Inlet (302-227-7974) reports on the 1st: "Keeper 
stripers have been reported from the Indian River Inlet. Charlie Heite 
weighed a 9 pounder on the incoming tide on a bucktail. Bluefish up to 18 
inches on the beach."
"

 Old Inlet Bait and Tackle is now running the Annual May Spring Surf Fishing 
Tournament. It will be held May 10th. Info on the Tournament is  here. 
At the bottom of the page is a link for printable registration form.


Anglers now need a DE Fishing License to fish, crab, and clam in DEL:   The 
state has published a very good  
FAQ on the license requirement.

Licenses are now available at Fenwick Tackle, Oyster Bay Tackle and Old 
Inlet. "Delaware law requires your social security number to get a license. 
Tackle stores CANNOT issue the license without it. A passport or 
work/education visa or passport can be used in leiu of a SSN for foreign 
born anglers. Also, if you are getting a boat license you will need to show 
your current boat registration and it cannot be expired. Residency is 
determined by your driver's license. If you have a house in Delaware, a 
boat registered in Delaware, but your driver's license is Maryland, you have 
to buy a non-resident fishing or boat license.

Individual Delaware Fishing Licenses are now available  
online.  What you want to do is print the sample license to make sure it 
will print OK. Then follow the links and buy your licence and print it out. 
It's as simple as that! You can also print a form and send in for your 
license. It takes 15 days so do it now! The boat licenses are not available 
online, so you need to go to a license agent to buy them. If you plan to 
fish in Delaware this summer, please try to get your license online. Most of 
the agents are hand writing the licenses, and a wait in a line is likely 
especially if it's a busy weekend or a fishing tournament weekend. There is 
also the problem that many agents are running out of licenses on busy 
weekends.  The 7 day licenses can be printed in advance with your desired 
dates, so you can buy them in advance also!
 

We have been selling these licenses for several weeks at Fenwick Tackle. We 
are selling these licenses as a convenience and we did not make up the rules 
and regulations. Another words, "Don't shoot the messenger!" It's not our 
fault and we are only following the rules. If you have an issue, please call 
the Del Dept of Fish and Wildlife. On occasion we have been cussed out and 
argued with. Please take into consideration that license writing is labor 
consuming and non profitable. Please bring in all your information and your 
reading glasses! Have patience. Customers buying rods, reels, tackle and 
bait come first.  Using a credit card costs extra, so bring cash. And 
please, no checks!
  

Capt. Monty on the "Morning Star" reports:


Thursday; nice bass and tog mix, Friday almost all tog, Saturday mostly 
bass, Sunday a mix of bass and tog.
Transition.
It's going to bust loose soon. Rare tog, more bass. Usually all bass.
The fishing was hardly 'red hot' this week, but it had it's moments. When 
the bass cooperated high man would have 12 or 14. Some of the tog action, 
particularly Sunday, was epic; the kind of bite few have witnessed.
Didn't last long. Sure was fun..
Then there was the lonely flounder that Pam caught. 8 1/2 pounds. Good fish 
but skinny. Should have gone 12 pounds.
Also had a pair of cod.

Ocean City Reef Foundation - The Dinner - Hall's Restaurant 61st Street 
Bayside - 5 to 8 - Very Casual. The Hall family has been incredibly generous 
with this event for over a decade. Their restaurant, food and staff donated 
without charge to help build better fishing and scuba diving off the coast.
Fantastic.
A lot of great fishing tackle - all manner of stuff in the silent, chinese & 
live auctions.
I bought 2 'Morning Star Approved' rods & reels for the event and am kicking 
in some tickets as well.
Most of the tackle shops kick in some great outfits. There will be lots and 
lots of stuff!
All you can eat Italian - $15.
Better fishing than ever - Priceless.

The only thing about artificial reef that's not natural is the substrate.
We've a lot of work to do.
Bring some folding money and the checkbook...
Regards,
Monty



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

Watch the 
weather."

Monty E-mail him for more info. E-mail  Monty for information. Reservations
410 520 2076 To receive Capt. Monty's newsletter e-mail  Capt. Monty.

Captain Victor on the Ocean Princess e-mailed in to say he is ready to go 
fishing!  The Ocean
Princess will be making its first spring trip, Saturday May 3rd, since the
Princess went into the boat yard after a great January of Tog fishing, see
photo's on our web site at www.theoceanprincess.com.  We are looking for
some good sea bass and tog fishing to start off the season.  The Ocean
Princess will be sailing May 3 and 4th and then every Friday, Saturday,
Sunday and Monday until May 23rd.  On May 23, June 6 and June 13, we have
12 hour wreck fishing trips scheduled.  The boat is limited to 35
passengers on these trips, reservations only.  Call 410-289-6226 to
reserve your trip.



Larry Jock from the  Coastal
Fisherman  reports from the ocean!:  "Friday, May 2, 2008- The 
"Ursula Priscilla" arrived at the docks with a load of tog caught at the 
African Queen. Thursday, May 1, 2008-The "Ursula Priscilla" had a good 
tautog trip again today, coming back with 20 fish all caught at Russell's 
Reef on green crab.
Pam Maus landed an 8 lb. 8 oz. flounder while fishing on the "Morning Star" 
at an artificial reef.
Anglers on the "Morning Star" also landed a bunch of nice tog and sea bass. 
One angler caught himself a sea bass, a cod and a tog.


 Stop by to the Oyster Bay Tackle location and buy your 2008 Ocean City
Reef Foundation Charts. The donation fee for these charts are $25. $27 if 
you use a credit card. These charts pin-point all the GPS numbers for all 
the
Artificial Reef materials that have been scattered near offshore wrecks, 
reefs, and
obstructions. The charts give you hundreds of numbers to find sea bass, 
flounder, croaker, sharks, and tautog. All the money collected goes back 
into the Artificial Reef Foundation.  You can buy them  
online.


Capt. Rick Yakimowicz of the "Thelma Dale V" Reports from Fisherman's Wharf 
on April 28th:
 "....Good weather and a few willing customers allowed us to actually get 
out away from the docks more this week than any other week so far this year. 
Tog fishing is still just about as good as it gets on our regular full-day 
trips with fish that have been averaging between four to six pounds and 
poolfish that weigh in over double digits nearly every day!...



If you would like any more information about any trips sailing out of the 
Wharf or you would like to reserve a spot for one of our special 12 hour 
trips or night fishing for drum or you would like to book a charter please 
give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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


His full report and boat info is  
here.

Joe Shetzlerof Magnolia, DE. e-mailed in to prove the stripers are biting in 
the Del Bay! "At the tender age of almost 60, I took my first striper 
venture into the Delaware Bay out of Bowers Beach on Friday, 4/25/08. I was 
lucky enough to be under the tutelage of 3 experienced striper anglers 
(Fred, Tim and Dave) who schooled me in the nuances of the hunt. The 
schooling paid off...I caught a 28" and 30" striper. We also caught a mess 
of Spiny Dogfish and Oyster Crackers, but my rockfish was my highlight. I 
shall return and try it again!" His picture is in our  Photo Gallery.


New Jersey news! Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports: "The boats of the Beach Haven 
Charter Fishing Association are finding feisty bluefish ranging from 3-12 
pounds. These fish are being caught on metal lures, bait strips, and clams 
meant for bass or drumfish. Captain Carl Sheppard of the “Starfish” found 
bigger blues to 12-pounds, or “gorillas” as he calls them. He also reports 
small striped bass along with a few black drum. The “Starfish,” licensed for 
20 passengers, received a perfect score on its Coast Guard inspection. 
Captain Fran Verdi on the “Drop Off” has been working hard to get through 
the bluefish to the stripers. He duplicated last week’s catch of a black 
drum, landing a 33-pounder this weak. He reports the water temperature in 
Great Bay at 57-degrees. The fishing offshore of Oregon Inlet in North 
Carolina has just improved dramatically. Captain Lindsay Fuller on the “June 
Bug” will be staying there for another couple of weeks. The catches include 
lots of nice yellowfin tuna, big mahi-mahi, and even some wahoo. Information 
on the association can be found at www.BHCFA.com"


Please feel free to e-mail me your fishing reports, either inshore or
offshore, from the Ocean City or Delaware area.   E-mail  Sue Foster

(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 summer flounder 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.
 The RFA is fighting hard for our right to fish.



 2008 Tide
Charts
Need to tie a knot? Click 
Here. This is really cool! You can also click  Here!

(Tides at bottom of page!)

Good fishing...

 Annual May 
Madness Sale! Spool your reels for 1 cent per yard. Drawing for 
prizes. And more!!!



 Gift
Certificates  Call 410-524-3433 or order 
ONLINE.



Oyster Bay Tackle (410-524-3433) will be open Friday 8-7, Saturday 
7:30-7, Sunday 8-4. The rest of the week 9 to 5.  Fenwick Tackle 
will be open most days 8-6  Call (302-539-7766).   For information e-mail  Sue
Foster. I always check my e-mail at least once a day!

Many anglers e-mail me questions about buying new and used boats and
trailers, and you know, I'm just not the boat expert. But a really good
friend of mine,  Linda Esham
is. She works at  Action 
Marine  in
Selbyville, DE. (302-436-2340 or 866-600-BOAT) and she can give you some
good advice and answer your boat and trailer questions for fishing in the
Ocean City, Maryland and Delaware Coastal areas.

Need a gift certicate? Give us a call at 410-524-3433. You 
can also buy
them 
online. New! Besides Gift Certicates we now also have Gift Cards for 
Oyster Bay Tackle. They work just like a credit card! 

2008 White Marlin Shirts are here!  Order 
 ONLINE.

2007 White Marlin Shirts on Sale!  Order  ONLINE.

We now have saltwater flies.

 We have a some 7 1/2 foot "rental quality" wooden pole beach umbrellas 
(149.99) and custom
umbrella bags (19.99) at our Oyster Bay and at our (no tax) Fenwick Tackle 
location. These make nice presents.

We have Calcutta hats, visors, t's, long sleeve t-shirts, sweatshirts, tanks
and new 
T-shirts on our online mall. We have the  Bloodworm scented
Fish Bites in stock. You can buy these items    online.



Tire deflators are great! Call Oyster Bay Tackle at 410-524-3433 or order  on line.
There was a great story on Tire Buddy II tire deflators in the
Ocean City Beachcomber newspaper last fall. I got permission to
re-print the story by John Bozman on my web site. Go to  Tire Buddies
to read his
article.

We also now carry the  
Oasis Trailhead Tire Deflators. 59.99 for set of 4 in store. 54.99 plus 
s/h online.

To buy a dozen assorted flounder rigs for $21.99. (Reg- 28.08) call
410-524-3433, stop
in our stores or 
Order Online.

To buy a selection of a dozen of the most popular Got-cha Plugs in our area
for 39.99 
Shop Online or call 410-524-3433.

We have a great value on a stuffed surf box

Big surf box for 49.99- a $56 value- available on line, at both our
stores, or call 410-524-3433.

We offer a great value in our stores or on our web site of
a package of 12 assorted surf rigs. (Value $28.28) for $23.99. 
Surf rigs buy online or call 410-524-3433.

To buy a big stuffed  Flounder box
for 49.99 stop in our stores, Shop Online, or call 410-524-3433.-

We have 
6-packs of bucktails   and we
have fishing
books.

 There's a new product out called "Rod Log." It is an affordable storage
system for your rods and reels you can set up in your garage or carry with
you to your boat. Check it out. It is on the bottom of our  Products page.  Or order
the  Rod
Logs online.

Visit our  online mall year
round.  Check it out and 
e-mail me with any comments or suggestions.

We have a   Australian Gold
Suntan Lotion web page that shows all the Australian Gold Suntan
Products available in both our retail stores. Oyster Bay Tackle~410-524-3433
and Fenwick Tackle~302-539-7766.

Visit our  Website.

Visit our 
Drifting Easy Archives  to learn where and how to crab, clam and fish in
our area.

 Sale! 
We have lots of rods and reels out for this season by
Daiwa, Tica, Sea Striker and Okuma. The Tica
surfcasting rods  throw up to 10-ounces. We have 
St. Croix Premiere surf rods   (8.5 & 10)  in spin and conventional in
stock as well. We are carrying Tica Dolphin Surf Rods this year in 9, 10, 
and 11 foot.

If you have any fish reports please share them with us on our  Fish Talk Board or e-mail
Sue Foster at:  Oyster Bay
Tackle.  E-mail me your name and where you are from so we can put
you in our weekly fish reports!

Visit our 
T-shirt page of our Online Mall to see all the t-shirts available
including this year's popular Calcutta T-shirts and our new Inshore-4
T-shirt.

Tire Deflators, Calcutta t-shirts, 2006 White Marlin Open,
Storm Wild-eyed Shad lures, Gift Certificates, Got-cha Plugs, Ugly Sticks,
Tica rods, new Okuma surf rods, Daiwa reels, Windcheaters, Mann's, Stretch
25 lures, Mullet Rigs,
Aqua-Clear Tangle free Rigs, Tsunami Shads,  Tandem Rigs, Spec Rigs,
Beach Runner surf rods on sale, Penn Reels, Okuma reels,
Collapsible Bridge and Pier Nets, Rat-L-Traps, Calcutta Hats, Stuffed Tackle
Boxes and more. Stop in to our shops or  Order Online.

E-mail Sue Foster at:  Oyster Bay
Tackle
if you have any questions about our inventory or if you want to place
an order for an item we do not have on-line.

Tides: These are ocean tides, add 2 hours for the bay, approximately 1 hour 
for Indian River. Add approximately 6 hours for low tides:

High Tides:

Monday, May 4th,  7:01 A.M. and 7:27 P.M.
Tuesday, May 5th,  7:51 A.M. and 8:18 P.M.
Wednesday, May 6th, 8:43 A.M. and 9:11 P.M.
Thursday, May 7th,  9:35 A.M. and 10:04 P.M.
Friday, May 8th,  10:28 A.M. and 10:59 P.M.
Saturday, May 9th,  11:23 A.M. and 11:56 P.M.
Sunday, May 10th,  12:22 A.M. and 12:22 P.M.