Article by Larry Jock
What a weekend of fishing we had in Ocean?City with two new Maryland state records set, one by an angler in the Shark Tournament and the other by an angler wishing he was.
On Friday night, the “Toy Boy” created plenty of excitement at the Ocean City Fishing Center when they unloaded a 642 lb. thresher shark that set a new Maryland state record. The old record was 613 lbs. set back in 2003 by Don Lorden. Brent Applegit flew in from Boulder, CO and ended up catching the big thresher while fishing with his dad and brother. Incredibly, the shark was caught on 40 lb. test line and took only 1 hour and 40 minutes to get to the boat after being hooked at the Fingers. The fish arrived so late at the scales because it was too large to get into the boat and had to be towed to the dock. It really was an incredible catch!
Speaking of incredible catches, everyone by now has surely heard about the 876 lb. mako shark that was caught on the final day of the Ocean City Shark Tournament by Jim Hughes on the “Nontypical”. Yep, the same “Nontypical” that caught the first mako of the year, released the first white marlin of the year, won first place in the Mako Mania Shark Tournament and now has won first place in the OC Shark Tournament AND set a new Maryland state record. Talk about being on a roll!
Jim was fishing in 500 fathoms between the Washington and Poor Man’s Canyons with Tim McGuire, Bobby Layton, Ray Thompson and Capt. Terry Layton.
Here’s how the catch went down. The shark was drawn to the boat by Capt. Mac’s Monster Mash Chum and was originally hooked but came loose after biting through 580 lb. monofilament with a 6-foot leader of 19-wire. It then moved over to a bonita fillet that was attached to a set-up with 100 lb. braid and a 600 lb. cable leader. This time it came tight, and the fight was on.
According to Jim, the shark immediately dove, but after some of the pressure was taken off the line, it surfaced and Jim was able to get it to the boat after a 1 hour fight. Jim said the fish actually towed the boat for the first 10 minutes.
After the fish was gaffed, it was tail roped and towed backwards in an effort to subdue it and eventually finish it off. The shark was then lashed to the side of the boat, and the “Nontypical” headed for the dock. Unfortunately, the peck fins made the ride too unstable and the trip was aborted. The crew then tried for over an hour to get the fish into the boat without success. At that point, Capt. Marty Moran arrived on the “Marlin Magic”, and after clearing it with the Tournament Director, the mako was loaded onto the larger boat and brought to the dock at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
Truely impressive in size, the shark measured 137 total inches with a 74-inch girth.
Terry was extremely grateful to the entire crews of both the “Marlin Magic” and the “Pumpin’ Hard”.
“I would like to thank Gary Stamm and the crew of the “Pumpin’ Hard” and Capt. Marty Moran and the crew of the “Marlin Magic”, said Layton. “Gary and his crew were in 1st place, and knowing that our fish was larger than his, they still offered to stay around and assist us. That was a true gesture of sportsmanship. A special thanks goes out to Capt. Marty Moran and his crew for hanging around for almost 2 hours after fishing time had ended, and delivering the fish to the scales for us. Even though we had storms heading our way, the “Marlin Magic” crew offered to stay with us through the entire ordeal.”
The previous Maryland state record for mako shark was 766 lbs. set in 1984 by Frank Gaither, who was in the crowd when Jim’s 876 pounder was weighed. It was a great scene to see the torch being passed, and Frank should be very proud to hold the record for almost 25 years.
If you want to see the weigh-in, you can view it on our website at ww.coastalfisherman.net.
Two other notable shark catches in the Ocean City Shark Tournament were the 271 lb. mako caught by the “Pumpin’ Hard” and the 243 pounder caught by the Canyon Crusher. In a “normal” shark tournament, both of these makos could have easily claimed the top prize, but if you are going to get beaten out, there’s no better way to go then by a state record.
Overall, it was a fantastic tournament with another final day filled with great catches. I’m already looking forward to next year.
YELLOWFIN TUNA
Before a stint of bad weather heading into the weekend, we saw some great catches of yellowfin tuna early in the week. On Tuesday, the “Restless Lady” arrived at the Talbot Street Dock with 11 yellowfins, all caught in 100 fathoms at the southern end of the Poor Man’s Canyon. In addition to the 11 yellowfins kept, the crew released 12 others.
Also on Tuesday, the “Reel Chaos” really blistered the yellowfin, coming back with 20 in the box and releasing another 45 yellowfins. These fish were also caught in 100 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon.
Most of the yellowfin caught were hooked on ballyhoo and spreader bars.
BLUEFIN TUNA
With most boats either fishing for yellowfins or sharks, and with the bad weather moving in mid-week, we didn’t get many reports on bluefins.
Early in the week, huge schools of cookie cutter bluefins in the 40 lb. range were seen cruising on the 20 fathom line, just north of the Washington Canyon.
In the Ocean City Shark Tournament, only one bluefin tuna was weighed. The “M.R. Ducks” arrived at the scales with a 41 pounder caught on a green machine.
STRIPED BASS
After several weeks of a good striper bite around the South Jetty, this past week seemed slow with not many being caught. Water temperatures in the Inlet are ranging from the upper 60’s to the mid-70’s, so those fish have probably moved on to our northern neighbors.
FLOUNDER
The best flounder bite seems to have moved to the East Channel, between the Rt. 50 Bridge and Harbour Island. Anglers are still having to weed through short fish to get their keeper, but some nice fish were definitely caught.
Bad weather kept most anglers at the dock during the week, but those that ventured out over the weekend found a pretty good bite in clean water.
Anglers are finding success with the new Assateague Tackle Deadly Double Flounder rig. This is an offshoot of the Assateague Tackle Delmarva Double flounder rig and has spinner blades instead of skirts.
Bull minnows and squid along with the Gulp! Alive swimming mullet seem to be the ticket to getting the keeper flattie.
Those anglers venturing out to ocean wrecks and reefs are finding some nice sized flounder.
BLUEFISH
After a couple of weeks of snapper bluefish roaming our bay waters, it looks like some larger choppers are beginning to congregate around the Rt. 50 Bridge area. One angler told me on Monday that it is “all the fish you want” when drifting around the bridge at night.
SEA BASS
Anglers hitting the ocean reefs and wrecks are still coming back with some nice catches of sea bass, although a lot of patience is needed since the throwback ratio is still high. Squid and clams seem to be the best baits.
IN THE SURF
Surfcasters are finding mostly sharks and rays, although some chopper bluefish are also being caught. Most are finding snapper bluefish feeding during the early morning hours and these fish can be a blast on light tackle. Any kind of cut bait will do, or for that matter, casting an artificial lure will also do the trick.
This weekend is the MSSA Tuna-ment at Sunset Marina. The Ake Flounder Pounder scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled.
See you at the scales!