Over 60 million people living along the Mid-Atlantic coast are within a short drive of some of the country’s best fishing. From striped bass in New York and New Jersey to flounder in Maryland and Virginia, access is easy and the fishing is great. Starting at the eastern point of Long Island and driving over 500 miles to the eastern point of Chesapeake Bay, traveling anglers pass through some of the world’s biggest cities and best fishing destinations.
1. Long Island, New York
Fall, striped bass and Long Island are almost synonyms, but Jeff Lomonaco at White Water Outfitters in Montauk says not to miss out on false albacore. “It’s crazy the amount of drag they pull. Albacore are super fun to catch,” he says.
Whether seeking information, bait and tackle or a charter, stopping in at White Water Outfitters is a good first move when you pull into Montauk. Inshore, offshore and from-shore, they’ve got the gear, and the place is staffed by professional guides, captains and mates with real-time knowledge.
The best chance to encounter an albacore feeding frenzy is at the east end of the island. The fish show up on the south shore first and then spread to the sound. To find the fish, cruise nearshore waters looking for working birds and schools of bait. Lomonaco says,“Mill around near the structure and watch the sounder for bait marks.” Waiting for albie schools to pop up is a better way to encounter a blitz than running and gunning.
Surf anglers get a shot at the action, too. “Montauk Point, South Shore and the Shinnecock Inlet jetties are good places to encounter an albacore blitz,” Lomonaco says. If you’re launching a boat, the Southampton and East Hampton boat ramps require a pre-purchased daily permit.
When the fish attack bait on the surface, boiling the water and jumping into the air, cast an epoxy jig, such as the holographic Hogy Epoxy Jig, with a light-action spinning reel. Albacore are notoriously sharp sighted; sizing down fluorocarbon leader to 15 pound test can be the key to the bite.
Lomonaco loves chasing albacore with a fly rod. “People come from all over the world to catch false albacore on fly,” he says. A 9-foot, 9-weight fly rod with an intermediate line, a 9-foot, 20-pound tippet and a baitfish imitation is an albacore angler’s arsenal.
The albacore run coincides with the striped bass run, so anglers can expect to find both species in the same areas. “It’s the best light-tackle, fall-run blitz fishing,” Lomonaco says.
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2. Sandy Hook, New Jersey
A fall road trip to the Jersey Shore coincides with the annual striped bass migration. Jerry Zagorski, host of NJFishing.com, says, “Each October, sand eels gather in the New York Bight and striped bass go crazy.” As the water temperature drops into the 60s, juvenile baitfish move out of the shallows and stripers rush in to meet them. “It’s clockwork,” Zagorski says.
NJFishing.com is a great resource with reports and message boards to keep up with the action. If you’re looking for face-to-face intel, bait, supplies, tackle or a charter or headboat, Atlantic Bait and Tackle is a mom-and-pop outfitter on Highway 36 headed south toward Sandy Hook.
The striped bass blitz is easy to access from private boats, headboats and shore. “The fish are within spitting distance of Sandy Hook,” Zagorski says. A few miles away, the Atlantic Highlands headboat fleet is ready to take anglers to the action. Private boaters launch at one of the marinas inside Sandy Hook and run the short, sheltered distance to the Sandy Hook and Ambrose Channels.
“Look for birds and bait, then search for fish with the fish finder,” Zagorski recommends. To mimic a sand eel, anglers use 7-foot medium-action spinning rods spooled with 30-pound braided line and an arm’s length of 50-pound leader to cast a Savage Gear Sand Eel or Ava Diamond Jig.
Surf anglers patrol the Sandy Hook Beach waiting for bait and stripers to move close. A 10-foot surf rod and a large topwater lure are perfect to imitate a fleeing sand eel. Zagorski says anglers fish all night in the worst weather. “Stripers like it rough,” he says.
If the weather’s a little rough for you on the beachfront, Highlands, New Jersey on Sandy Hook Bay has been called “The Key West of New Jersey.” Zagorski says you can’t walk 100 yards without running into a quaint shop or cool restaurant. For more lay day activities, Sandy Hook’s Gateway National Recreation Area features beaches, trails and a 250-year-old lighthouse that’s a visitor’s center.
3. Ocean City, Maryland
Across the Cape May-Lewes Ferry and down Coastal Highway, Ocean City, Maryland offers easy access to nearshore wreck and reef fishing. Capt. Monty Hawkins of the 55-foot headboat Morning Star not only fishes the local wrecks, he helps build them.
Working with the Ocean City Reef Foundation, Hawkins deploys approved materials on reef sites off Ocean City. The long-time captain says fall is a good time to target sea bass and flounder on artificial reefs.
Anglers on self-guided fishing trips launch at the West Ocean City Boat Ramp and head to artificial reefs and wrecks marked on local charts. The online retailer Alltackle.com has a physical storefront a few blocks from the ramp, where you can pick up the gear you need.
Or let Hawkins do the work and take a ride on the headboat. “We provide everything from the rod and reel to rigs and jigs,” he says. Trips vary from half-day to 12-hour, with longer cruises heading to deeper water for bigger fish.
A two-hook bottom rig baited with cut squid is the go-to fish trap, but Hawkins prefers 2- to 4-ounce vertical jigs. “We limited out the other day and never put a natural bait over the rail,” he says. Hawkins recommends a compact conventional reel and 30-pound braided line on a lightweight jigging rod.
Scoring sea bass is almost a no brainer; adding a few flounder fillets to the box is the real prize. Hawkins says fluke sharpies drop a double bucktail rig sweetened with Gulp! to the reef. The set up starts with a 1/8-ounce bucktail on a dropper loop 12 inches above a 2- to 3-ounce bucktail.
As the water temperature cools through fall, sea bass fishing improves with more big fish on the deepest wrecks.
If you’re in town for the first time, visit the famous Ocean City Boardwalk, a 3-mile-long wooden promenade lined with T-shirt shops, kitschy bars, family restaurants and high-rise hotels. Take a ride on the 149-foot-tall Ferris wheel and gobble down a bucket of Thrasher’s French Fries. Soaked in malt vinegar, they’re a greasy, salty local delicacy.
4. Virginia Beach
Three hours south of Ocean City, Virginia Beach sits at the corner of Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Fall fishing kicks off with flounder and sea bass offshore, red drum and tautog inshore and speckled trout and redfish in the backwaters.
To access Chesapeake Bay, launch at Crab Creek on Lynnhaven Inlet and head to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The 17-mile-long bridge/tunnel spans the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, creating one of the world’s largest artificial reefs. Sheepshead and tautog lurk in 5,000 pilings and around rock islands. Drop a 1- to 2-ounce sweeper jig with a whole fiddler crab. Sheepshead dominate the action when the water is warm, and ’tog take over when water temps drop into the 50s.
To fish the ocean, launch at Owl Creek Boat Ramp, leave through Rudee Inlet and head to the inshore and offshore wrecks. Fishing a two-hook bottom rig baited with squid produces a box full of tasty seabass with a shot at a trophy flounder. Or, save time and effort by fishing aboard a headboat based at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center or Dockside Seafood and Fishing Center. Pack a lunch and dress in layers. In spring and fall, weather ranges from hot to cold in a matter of hours.
Post-trip libations may be found a short walk from the Virginia Beach Fishing Center at Waterman’s Surfside Grille. It’s THE watering hole for local anglers and visitors. Order hushpuppies on the side and wash them down with an orange crush made with Waterman’s own coral-filtered vodka.
