Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• High winds and soaring temperatures put a hurt on the offshore bite.
• Most of the action during the OC Marlin Club’s Kid’s Classic was inshore or in the bays.
• Captain’s began chunking for tuna at the inshore lumps with good success at the Hotdog with the Baltimore Canyon being the place for trolling. There were tuna in the southern canyons, however shark attacks on the tuna as they got close to the boat continued to be some of the worst captains had seen in years.
• The first longfin tunas of the season were reported. It was a double hookup for sisters Morgan an Kayler Michael in the Baltimore Canyon.
It was a beautiful week in fabulous Delmarva and a steady stream of boats from Lewes to Cape Charles got out on the rip all week. The word for the offshore bite this past week would be picky but consistent. Most boats looking for tuna were able to boat mid range single digits with a few exceptional catches. Some are still trolling and others have switched to chunking at the inshore lumps. Billfishing remains slow, however a few boats willing to reach deep water past the canyons have been having some success with multiple releases including the first reported sailfish. Peanut mahi abound at the sea bass pot buoys and some little tunnys and bonitas found their way to the scales this week. So let’s get into the details!
Tuna
With the tuna bite being picky this week, we did not see a huge amount of boats heading out, but there were many especially on the weekend. The reports we got were of solid mid single digit catches of 50 to 60 pound yellowfins. Interestingly there seemed to be an even mix of fish caught on the troll and nice catches by captains chunking butterfish. For those that chose to troll, the southern Poor Man’s Canyon was the hot spot with the northern Washington second. The “Marli” reported a couple trips to the Poor Man’s returning with good sized yellows and a number of boats fishing offshore in the 18th Annual Ocean City Marlin Club’s Kid’s Classic Tournament returned with fish from there as well. One of the “Marli” trips had an interesting twist. As the crew was fighting the largest tuna they got that day and as it got closer to the boat, mate Jake Pilkerton noticed it was tangled in a heavy line as was the boats rudder! So overboard he goes to clear the rudder while mate Jax “the Cactus Kid” Moore gets the yellowfin in the boat. Overall they pulled in about 150’ of heavy line to dispose of properly! Another notable highlight of the week for trolling occurred on Sunday when the “Wrecker” brought in 16 yellowfins. They pulled a couple while chunking at the Hotdog, but got the rest after switching to the troll toward the Poor Man’s Canyon. They were all good size in the upper 40 to 60 pound range.
For those that chose to chunk, the inshore lumps were the target. The hotspot was the Hambone with many boats finding 55 pounds or more fish. The top tuna during the Ocean City Marlin Club’s Kid’s Classic Tournament was found there by the “Soft Money” and it tipped the scales at 69 lbs. Nearby lumps, the Chicken Bone and Hotdog were also good spots.
The hot bigeye bite from last weekend’s Ocean City Tuna Tournament has cooled significantly. We had reports of less than 5 eyeballs with 2 caught last Thursday. Capt. Luke Blume on the “C-Boys” called us to grab a picture of a 188 pounder they reeled in from the Washington and the “Moore Bills” reported a 193 lb. fish. Both were weighed at Sunset Marina.
We had no reports of bluefin or longfins this past week, however about a couple dozen little tunnys and bonitas came to the scales during the Kid’s Classic. It is hard to differentiate these two but the visual difference is on the tops of the fish. The false albacore (little Tunny) has a patterned stripe while the atlantic bonita has long running stripes.
Billfish
A highlight for this week was the report of the first sailfish caught for the season. The “Blood Money” made an overnight trip starting last Thursday and headed to deep southern waters, 1100 fathoms east of the Washington Canyon. They were rewarded with the sailfish as well as going 3 for 4 on white marlin and catching a tuna. If I know this crew, the tuna was probably a mistake! The “Billfisher” repeated this strategy during the Kid’s Classic running 98 miles east of the Washington as well last Saturday. They came to the scales flying 4 white marlin release flags as well as a sailfish release. They also had a single tuna!
Two blue marlin releases made their way to us from the “Old Hatt”, who had one in the Poor Man’s and the “Sandbob” in the Washington Canyon.
Everything Else!
There seems to be ample peanut mahi around the buoys for the sea bass pots. The “Spring Mix II” worked them on Sunday and brought in 21. Some gaffers have been picked up by boats trolling for tuna. The “Wigg One” took top honors for dolphin in the Kid’s Classic with a 17 pounder from the Poor Man’s.
Blueline tilefish and triggerfish are plentiful in the canyons and some of the inshore spots like the Fingers. While we did not get many reports of golden tilefish this week, we have noted several restaurants in town have it on their menus this week, so the commercial catch must still be going strong.
Believe it or not we do not have a tournament this weekend, but rest assured we have some big ones just around the corner. Next up is the Big Fish Classic hosted at the Talbot Street Pier. This is always an exciting and entertainment filled event. Check out the details in the Upcoming Tournament section!
Until next we I will see you at the scales! §
Upcoming Tournaments
• The Annual Ocean City Marlin Club (OCMC) versus the Ocean City Light Tackle Club (OCLTC) Shoot Out is July 22nd - 24th. This intra club rivalry is a billfish release only competition and as such there are no weigh ins. More at OCMarlinClub.com.
• The 56th Cape May Marlin Tournament is July 28th - 30th hosted by the Canyon Club in Cape May, NJ. This is one of the oldest and prestigious release tournaments in the Mid-Atlantic. More at SouthJerseyTournaments.com.
• The next big money tournament in our area is the Big Fish Classic! It is the 9th rendition of the event this year and will be held July 28th - 31st. Unique to the Big Fish Classic is the 32 hour fishing window with unlimited anglers allowed during that time. This allows for a lot of time on the water with most boats spending the night offshore from Friday to Saturday. Always lively at the scales with lots of entertainment at the Talbot Street Pier. Scales are open Friday & Saturday 4-9PM and Sunday from 4-8PM with awards & payouts following at 8:30PM. Be sure to check out the action and lively vendor village.
