Ocean City Maryland Flounder Fishing
I fish for flounder by drifting in the main channels of the local bays. Good baits for flounder fishing include live minnows, squid and shiners. While fishing for flounder, other species such as black sea bass, bluefish, croakers, spot and others may be caught. All these fish are bottom dwellers, so keeping the baits baits at that level is important. The most popular rig for flounder fishing is the Carolina rig. It includes and egg sinker, swivel, 2-3 foot leader and 2/0-3/0 wide gap hook.
Flounder fishing usually gets underway near Ocean City in mid-April to early May. During this time, we fish in the flats and other shallow areas where warmer water is found. Tides are very important for fishing the waters of Ocean City, with outgoing tides being preferred. as the tide falls, baitfish schools are pushed into deeper water which often spurs a feeding frenzy which can include flounder and many of the other inshore fish. As the weather warms during the season, flounder bite more aggressively, often congregating in cooler, deeper water which is 10-30 feet deep.
During slack tide, artificial baits such a Berkley Gulp or Fishbites are a good choice. The embedded scents seem to give anglers an edge while fish await the next tide. This is one of our favorite local fishing techniques.