Fishing in Assateague Island National Seashore

Assateague Island is a 37-mile barrier island running along the Atlantic coast of Maryland and Virginia, separated from the mainland by coastal bays and accessible by a single bridge.

The island is narrow — only a couple of miles wide at its broadest — and the fishing reflects that geography: surf on the ocean side, calmer bay water on the back side, and the inlets and marshes in between. Surf fishing is the main draw.

Striped bass — called rockfish locally — move through in spring and fall, following menhaden and mullet along the outer beach. Larger fish tend to show at dawn, dusk, and after dark, and fresh peeler crab, cut menhaden, and sand fleas are the standard baits.

Bluefish run through the same seasons and hit hard when they're around. Red drum and black drum both show up in the surf, with red drum also using the estuaries and inlets as juveniles.

Northern kingfish and summer flounder round out the regular surf and near-shore catch.

Flounder fishing in the inlets and back bays runs from roughly April through October, with the shoulder months — April, May, September, and October — historically the most productive. Access shapes the experience here.

The lifeguard-protected beaches are closed to fishing, so most surf anglers work the stretches beyond them. An Over-Sand Vehicle permit opens the more remote sections of beach that foot traffic doesn't reach.

The OSV zone is open year-round, and the permit is valid for a year from the month of purchase. In Virginia, anyone fishing between midnight and 5 a. m. must be actively fishing and needs an annual Overnight Fishing Pass, issued in person at the Herbert H.

Bateman Visitor Center. No separate NPS fishing permit is required in Maryland. Licensing follows state lines. Maryland anglers need a Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Sport Fishing license; Virginia anglers need a Virginia Saltwater Fishing license.

Out-of-state anglers with reciprocal licenses must register with the relevant state program — free, but required. Crabbing and shellfishing are allowed in designated bay areas; check at a visitor center for current locations.

The island's conditions change constantly. Tides shift the sand, rearrange the cuts and troughs, and move the fish.

That's the nature of fishing a barrier island — what worked last week may not hold today, and reading the water matters as much as anything in the tackle bag.