Bay/Inlet and flounder fishing charters in Ocean City MD
Bay/Inlet and flounder fishing charters in Ocean City MD
Bay/Inlet and flounder fishing charters in Ocean City MDBay/Inlet and flounder fishing charters in Ocean City MD
Fish the protected waters of the bays behind Ocean City and Assateque Island for flounder, striped bass, bluefish and an assortment of other fish. Or just go crabbing, clamming or check out the sights and see the famous wild pony's of Assateque, as well as Bald Eagles, nesting Ospreys, herons, pelicans and all sorts of other local wild life. Bring your kids as they are always welcome. We love taking families and letting them enjoy a part of Ocean City different then the typical boardwalk, miniature golf and water parks! Our 3 and 4 hour fishing charters are a perfect blend of time on the water to catch fish and time for newcomers and children to get acquainted to fishing. And since all tackle, including rods, reels, bait, unlimited rigs as well as drinks are included, the overall price isn't much different then being on one of the crowded headboats.
You will be fishing aboard a 2018 21ft customized Carolina Skiff. The shallow draft is perfect for these bays as it is stable and can cross over the shallowest of bars to reach deep holes which others can't get to. It is equipped with a 115 Suzuki outboard, bow mounted Minn Kota electric trolling motor, GPS, fishfinder, livewell and two coolers (one for fish and one for drinks) and all required safety equipment.
On board is no shortage of tackle necessary for anything you may encounter, as well as plenty of quality Tsunami rods with Penn reels, all for your use. All required licenses are supplied as well as a cooler stocked with water and assorted sodas. Capt. Wayne recommends bringing a light jacket, sunglasses, sunscreen and hat. Otherwise, all you have to do is arrive and he will be ready to go after a short briefing.
Even though the boat and Capt. are licensed for up to six people, for comfort it is recommended to keep your group at no more then 4 anglers.
Give us a call at 443-944-5484 to set up a trip. Required is a 10% deposit which is fully refundable up to 3 days before the trip.
About The Captain
Wayne Blanks has been involved in fishing one way or another for most of his 50 years. He started on a boat doing offshore fishing charters and went from there. Almost 30 years later, and after working on both charter and private boats, traveling as far away as Cabo San Lucas and Costa Rica, he decided to settle down at home here in Ocean City, MD. Always loving the inshore rockfish, bluefish and flounder fishing we have here on the Mid-Atlantic coast he set up Bayside Guide Service.
Our Schedule
We are docked at Bahia Marina, on 22nd street bayside in Ocean City, MD. We'll start running fishing charters on April 15th.
The bluefish and flounder start to appear in April and if we're lucky the big blues will make an appearance like they did last year. April through June is also an excellent time to catch and release small striped bass around the bridge. If your into fly fishing, this is the time of year to bring your fly tackle.
The flounder fishing will steadily improve as the summer comes on, peaking in September and October. Again, if you like fly fishing, the flounder are typically stacked up in the shallows by the middle of September through October. By mid September the striped bass should be improving as well as the fall bluefish bite and though our season officially ends Oct 31st, we may keep the boat in the water through Nov, depending on the fishing and weather.
Bring your kids
Here at Bayside Guide Service, we believe kids are the future of our sport and we specialize in 3 hour fishing charters so they don't have enough time to get bored. Even though flounder fishing is what we specialize in for the kids, we will do our best to keep them entertained. Depending on the time of year there can be plenty of smaller fish to catch, such as spot, croaker and assorted other fish to put a bend in the rod. We could even do some crabbing or clamming to do something different. Whatever you feel would be best to keep them happy so they can take home memories of their Ocean City vacation with a little fishing.
what to expect
What to expect from your charter
Thank you for taking interest in Bayside Guide Service.
So you've decided to charter an inshore fishing trip for you and your friends and family. You may be an experienced angler or this may be your first time. It doesn't matter as we cater to both. It can be a totally "hands on" experience for those who are experienced or you will be coached through and helped with the whole process if you have never done this before.
Try to arrive about 15 minutes before departure so capt. Wayne can go over the safety equipment and where it is. He will also go over the type of fishing he recomends for the day as tide and weather conditions, as well as availability of live bait, can determine the recomended way of fishing. Now would be a good time as well to take care of any "business" you may need to do as there is no head on the boat. But we are always only a few minutes from a public rest area if needed while out there and Wayne will accomodate you the best he can.
The most common method of fishing is drifting the channels for flounder. There you will be using dead shiners and squid strips. If live minnows are available they will be supplied and we also have an assortment of artificials, such as gulp, to try as well if needed.
Earlier in the season (May and June) you might fish the bridge where we go piling to piling to cast bucktails, plastic swim baits and rattle traps for striped bass and bluefish. Last year was excellent for mixed size bluefish and undersized striped bass. Striped bass have to be 28" to keep but the vast majority are in the 20 to 24" class, but they are fun to catch.
Later in the season (mid September through October) can be the best time of the year, as you have the flounder starting to stack up in the shallows and the striped bass and bluefish start to turn on again around the bridge. This is the time of year that can produce speckled trout and weakfish as well as red drum. The bay can be loaded with baby bunker at this time so we'll try to have some in the live well when you arrive to have live lining under the bridge an option.
Later in the season is when we start doing more night trips to the bridge as well. These trips are mostly catch and release striped bass but as the waters cool you'll have the best chance at catching a keeper striped bass or sea trout. These trips will involve casting lures to the pilings or live lining bunker if available under the bridge. If weather permits, we will run these trips through November.
We do our best to supply live bait for our charters when available but sometimes wind and water conditions make it impossible to catch and sometimes the shops are out of minnows but artificials work just as well and we'll always have plenty of dead bait.
We will also be rigged with plenty of quality tackle so we'll be ready for anything we may encounter, as well as having a cooler stocked with plenty of waters and an assortment of sodas.
Our aim is to show you a good time by taking you fishing and pointing out the assorted wildlife you may encounter, from nesting ospreys to dolphins and eagles as well as Assateque's famous wild pony's. capt. Wayne will do his best to put you on fish. There are legal size limits as well as quantities which we must abide by so I like to let it be known that most flounder are going to be under the legal size of 16 1/2 inches, but we do get plenty of "keepers" throughout the season so there is the chance of catching dinner. As stated earlier, striped bass must be 28 inches and those we catch here are mostly 20 to 24 inchers. As of this writing bluefish are 5 per person charter boat limit.
Again, it is recommended to get up with capt. Wayne as the trip nears to go over any details, such as a specific type of fishing you may want to do. Also, if there are any young children let Wayne know so he'll have the right size coast guard aproved life jacket on board, (we currently have two 50 to 90lb and one 35 to 90lb rated on board + adult sizes).
If you have any questions at all, give capt Wayne a call and we hope to see you this summer.