Charles Southall landed this cobia early June. (Photo courtesy Ken Neill) No fewer than 10 emails touting the good offshore fishing have crossed my screen in the past week or so leading up to polishing off this month’s piscatorial predictions. Bluewater fishing friends in both Ocean City and Virginia Beach are fired up, as success has been good in the last half of June. Yellowfin tuna action has been decent to strong in the Washington Canyon, Poorman’s north to Spencer canyons had a very good blue marlin bite going on off of Virginia the past couple of weeks. From what I hear, there seem to be a lot of fish everywhere. The flounder fishing got off to a slow start, but has improved significantly these past few weeks. Virginia fishermen have done well on red and black drum, and already many pretty cobia have been boated. In Maryland waters we’ve seen slow action on red drum and speckled trout, but the blues have shown up and the resident rockfish have been cooperative, particularly for those chumming. The spot and croakers are just now moving up the Bay, so by the time you read this it ought to be good fishing for these smaller drums. Lots of options for all types of anglers. And don’t forget to participate in PropTalk’s Fishing Challenge (proptalk.com/the-proptalk-fishing-challenge-2015). Read on for what PropTalk’s pros will be chasing this month. Delmarva Coast “Mid summer is the time for bottom fishing in the ocean and in Delaware Bay,” predicts Eric Burnley. “Croaker will be the top catch in the bay along with the occasional flounder and small trout. The best locations will be the reef sites where it is also possible to find a few trigger and spadefish. Baits will include squid, live minnows, and small pieces of hard crab.” Captain Charlie on Island Queen Charters (left) and MSSA's Rob Pellicot with some early season flounder caught in Chincoteague. (Photo courtesy of Island Queen Charters.) If you want to fish the ocean, Eric says the menu “changes a bit as flounder will top the list of available species. Last year the Old Grounds was the place to be for flatfish, and a strip of squid or fresh fish on a bucktail or Delaware Bay Green Machine did the trick.” And don’t overlook the occasional sea bass, as these tasty fish can be mixed in with the flounder. Aboard the charter boat Marli, based out of Sunset Marina in Ocean City, MD, Captain Mark Hoos will be catching yellowfin tuna in the offshore canyons and finishing the day catching inshore bluefin tunas, which normally show around the middle of July. Caught some good tunas aboard my boat "BattleWagon" last week in the Baltimore Canyon off of Ocean City. Four yellowfins, a few Mahi and one 163 lb Big Eye tuna. It was a successful 1st trip offshore on the new boat. Photo courtesy of Deane Ford “White Marlin action will improve during August,” Captain Mark believes. “Marli will be competing in Ocean City’s White Marlin Open; this is the world’s largest billfish tournament.” According to Ric Burnley, the beginning of the end of summer doesn’t mean the end of great fishing out of southeast Virginia. Quite the opposite. Let’s start with the offshore fishing scene, which Ric says should be at its best. “While tuna, dolphin, and wahoo will be available along the 100-fathom curve, anglers will focus attention on white marlin. Look for the fish to ride eddies of warm water down the edge of the Continental Shelf. Target the fish with naked ballyhoo on a circle hook. Draw marlin to the boat with squid teasers and dredges.” If the offshore game isn’t for you, Ric suggests fishing the Bay for spadefish, triggerfish, and flounder, which should be excellent on structure in the Bay and ocean. “For sheepshead and triggers, fish a chunk of clam or a whole fiddler crab on a single-hook bottomrig with a 3/0 livebait hook. For spadefish, use a piece of clam on a No. 1 hook and short 30-pound leader with a split shot or small eggsinker. For flounder, drift a live spot on a three-way rig or bounce a two- to three-ounce bucktail and squid strip around wrecks, rocks, and pilings,” he says. Already the cobia fishing in Virginia has been outstanding. And Ric expects it should be at its best as the fish congregate at the mouth of the bay to migrate into the ocean. “Look for these fish around the pilings of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, channel buoys, and out in the open from the CBBT to the mouth of the Bay,” he suggests. “Throw a two-ounce bucktail or a live eel at marauding cobia. Look for big schools of red drum in the same areas.” Maryland Chesapeake Captain Richie Gaines thinks August is going to be a great fishing month, as the stripers, blues, and Spanish typically chase schools of bait and can be caught breaking on the surface. “I fish the main stem of the Bay at this time of year and start off each day fishing structure in eight-12 feet of water,” he says. “As the sun climbs in the sky, the anchovies get active which triggers the predators. I start chasing birds working over schools of breaking fish, and we usually catch 50-100 schoolie-sized stripers with a few blues and Spanish mixed in.” Liz Bieler of Marty's Bait & Tackle, here with Andrew Trostle of Annapolis, with a 41.25-inch release citation striper. (Photo courtesy of Marty's Bait & Tackle) Captain Richie prefers to cast one-ounce pearl white Lil Bunker spoons into the frenzy and retrieve them quickly when the fish are up and then jig vertically over the school when they sound. “I prefer these metal jigging spoons, as they have single hooks, great action, and hold up well on the bluefish,” he adds. Aboard Tuna the Tide, Captain Mark Galasso says there are lots of schoolie rockfish around, with the occasional 30-plus inches to make things interesting. He says once the fishery gets fired up “we should have a great summer. We’ll start doing more light tackle trips on the new Everglades. Shallow water stuff as well as jigging around Kent Island.” He adds that he’ll troll up north of Love Point for rock and bluefish as we get into August. Once the blues arrive in good numbers, he’ll make the switch to hoses and spoons. Virginia Chesapeake PropTalk’s Captain Tyler Nonn of Tidewater Charters plans to spend the next month fishing the lower Chesapeake and coastal Virginia, where he’ll lead clients for cobia, among other gamefish. “As summer continues, look for more cobia to pile into the lower Bay and Virginia’s coastal waters. With early reports of cobia already far up in the Bay, it’s likely to be another good season, he says. “Look for fish in or around lower Bay shoals, tide rips, current seams, and structure. Bubble gum, black, and chartreuse 10-inch Hogy soft plastics on one- to three-ounce leadheads continue to put fish in the boat. Let’s hope the wind lets up a little during this middle part of the summer!” Spencer Elford, here with his dad Scott, caught a 59" 58.8 lb cobia chumming out of Messick, VA. Mr. Brown Suit swallowed a bunker head. (Photo courtesy Scott Elford) “We are entering my favorite time of year to fish the shallows of the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck,” says Captain Chris Newsome of Bay Fly Fishing. “We hit the water early or late in the day to take advantage of aggressive fish and mild temperatures. Summer provides the best opportunity for species diversity. Striped bass, speckled trout, redfish, flounder, and bluefish are just a few of the varied fish to make the list.” He predicts that July will be the best month for targeting flounder. “When conditions are right, we catch good numbers of flatties around shallow structure,” he says. Once August arrives, 40-inch red drum move onto local hideouts, when Captain Chris’s clients tangle with these bulls on light tackle through early October. “Striped bass action is incredibly consistent during the low light hours of the day. Every summer, we have mornings with more than 100 rockfish landed on fly,” he adds. “Due to the consistent fishing and nice weather, this is the most popular season to get young anglers on the action. I always enjoy turning the next generation into lifelong anglers. A morning sunrise or evening sunset tops off a memorable trip.” by Captain Chris D. Dollar For tips on where to find the bite, visit proptalk.com/hookups