Article by Larry Jock
Usually, once or twice a season I could write the fishing report on a matchbook cover, and this would definitely be one of those weeks.
Hurricane Irene definitely put a damper on fishing with dirty water in the bay and sporty seas offshore. Heck, a couple of days the inlet was practically impassable. We saw one big sportfishing boat try to enter the inlet and just turn around and head back north.
Flounder
During the week, flounder fishing was definitely slow for those looking to throw a keeper in the box. Anglers continued to catch good numbers of short flounder with the throwback ration being as high as 60 to 1.
However, by the weekend, and especially on Sunday, the bite improved greatly. Anglers drifting live bunker or mullet around deep holes in the channel were able to land some beautiful fish. Steve Wagner gave us a call to have his picture taken with the fattest 24-inch flounder I have ever seen. This fish weighed an amazing 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was caught on a live peanut bunker around the pilings off Martha’s Landing.
On Saturday, striper slayer Kevin Weber changed gears and landed a couple of 4 pounders on live bunker in the Fish Bowl. This is the area north of the Rt. 50 Bridge between the East and West Channels.
It looks like the subway cars at the Susan Power Reef could turn into a top producer. We have seen some nice sea bass come in from that artificial reef and we are now seeing good size flounder being caught there as well. On Saturday, the “Angler” ventured out to the reef and returned with a nice 24-inch, 6 lb. 2 oz. flattie.
Bluefish
Snapper bluefish were terrorizing flounder anglers fishing with live bunker all weekend. Larger bluefish were found roaming around the pilings of the Rt. 50 Bridge.
Red Drum
This time last year, there was a good red drum bite starting for anglers fishing just off Assateague Island and further out at the Mud Hole. I’m hearing this bite may be quietly heating up again for anglers this year. On Sunday, Capt. Monty Hawkins reported releasing a 41.5-inch, 27 lb. red drum over 20 miles off the beach. Pretty amazing!
White Marlin
Boats that headed offshore picked at white marlin all week, with action heating up over the weekend.
Early in the week, the bite centered in the Washington and Norfolk Canyon. “No Quarter” returned on Monday with 20 white marlin releases during an overnight trip to the Norfolk. The “Billfisher” released 6 white marlin in the Washington Canyon.
On Wednesday, the top catch came in from the “D.A. Sea” with 10 white marlin releases in the Washington Canyon.
On Thursday, the Ocean City Inlet was so rough that boats didn’t take a chance either coming or going. The outgoing tide bucked the East wind and made things treacherous.
Saturday saw a good bite near the Rockpile, where both the “Billfisher” and the “Sea Slammer” each released 9 whites. Other boats headed north of the Washington, where the “Osprey” and “Pool Party” each released 4 white marlin and the “Trust Fun” released six.
On Sunday, the action really took off, especially in the Norfolk where several boats recorded multiple white marlin releases. The “Billfisher” led the way with 14 releases, followed by the “No Quarter” with 10 releases. The “Reel Joy” was a little north, and released 8 whites in the Washington.
Dolphin
Boats looking for white marlin were able to find some good size dolphin in addition to a load of bailors.
The big catch of the week was made by junior angler, Tesher Freng, who captured a 43 pounder while fishing on the “Pool Party”. The bull dolphin was hooked north of the Washington Canyon on Saturday.
Tuna
The only yellowfin tuna that we heard about last week was caught on Friday in the Washington Canyon by an angler on the “Crush Em”. It seems like boats are having a rough time locating them after the hurricane blew through the area.
Upcoming Tournaments
This weekend is the Challenge Cup that pits Ocean City anglers against those coming down from Cape May, NJ. There are no weigh-ins for this tournament, only bragging rights for the winner. The tournament is by invitation only and will take place on September 16th and 17th. Best of luck to our Ocean City team. Bring home the trophy, again!
September 23rd, 24th and 25th is the A.M.S.A. Red Drum Tournament. This is a surf fishing tournament for anglers fishing off of Assateague Island. This tournament was historically run by a local tackle shop that is no longer in business, so the tournament was taken over by the A.M.S.A.
We do want to alert folks that both the Ake Marine Prime Time Rockfish Tournament and the Black Friday 550 Rockfish Tournament will not be held this year. Both tournaments have been cancelled. However, the Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce will hold their 1st Rockfish Tournament out of Pines Point Marina. The tournament will be held
on October 29th. You can register online at www.oceanpineschamber.org.
See you at the scales!
