Article by Larry Jock
Crossing the Labor Day line, signaling the end of the “official” summer season, most people start to wonder what type of fall and winter fishing season we will experience. Will the billfish bite get hot like in previous years? Will the flounder action on ocean reefs and wrecks continue its incredible pace? When will the stripers show up and will they come inside the 3-mile line?
Well, this weekend saw improved billfish action in the canyons and the ocean flounder bite was as strong as ever. The weather wasn’t ideal on many days, but hey, it’s September.
Marlin
We definitely saw more marlin flags flying this past weekend than we have seen in quite some time. Several boats took over night trips to the Norfolk Canyon and points farther south, and returned with a lot of laundry flying. The “DA Sea” came back on Sunday from a multiple overnighter with 29 white marlin releases. On Saturday, the charter boat, “Billfisher” returned to Sunset Marina with 22 white marlin releases after spending an overnighter in the Norfolk Canyon.
Most of the fleet looking to get into billfish headed to around 50 fathoms in the Wilmington Canyon on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with most experiencing 3 to 10 white marlin bites per boat, and some boats released blue marlin as well.
In the Ocean City Marlin Club Labor Day White Marlin Tournament, the “Par Five”, with Capt. Charlie Rodriguez at the helm, won 1st place in the Billfish Release Division with 13 white marlin releases during their 2 days of fishing. They fished in the Wilmington Canyon where on Saturday they released 7 whites and followed that up with 6 more on Sunday. Second place in the tournament went to the “Reel Joy”, with 7 white marlin releases and a blue marlin release, all in the Wilmington. Fresh off their WMO win, the “Odinspear” took 3rd place with 7 white marlin releases.
I do want to clear up an error in last weeks report when I wrote that the “Wound Up” was having great success hooking white marlin while live-baiting grouper. I was told by the owner of the “Wound Up” that they have never live-baited with grouper. I must have misunderstood the conversation I heard at the dock. I have since found out that I should have reported it as tinker mackerel.
Mahi
Dolphin were caught in good numbers, especially around the Hot Dog and in the Washington Canyon. In the Labor Day Tournament, “Kylee’s World” won 1st place with a 15.4 pounder caught just south of the Marine Electric. The “Shadowfax” took 2nd place with a 14 pounder caught in the Washington and the “Reel Fantasy” showed up on the final day with a 13.6 pounder to take over 3rd place. Their dolphin was also caught in the Washington Canyon.
Bigeye Tuna
Speaking of the “Reel Fantasy”, their 3rd day of fishing also produced a couple of bigeye tuna, weighing 150.2 and 155.6 lbs., good enough to take 1st and 2nd place in the Tuna Division of the Labor Day Tournament. I believe they had 4 or 5 bigeye bites and came away with the winning pair. The fish were caught on ballyhoo and Squidnation daisy chains.
On Friday afternoon, the bigeye bite turned on in 200 fathoms in the Wilmington Canyon and several boats were there to take advantage of it. The charter boat, “No Quarter” slayed 4 bigeyes out of 7 bites, with the heaviest weighing in at 215 lbs. The “Reel Chaos” also boated a large bigeye, theirs weighing 196 lbs. After hearing about the bite in the Wilmington Canyon, the “Boys Toy” steamed up from the Baltimore Canyon and was there in time to boat 6 bigeyes, with the largest weighing 210 lbs.
Yellowfin Tuna
Although yellowfin tuna have been scarce, the “Sushi” and the “Jade II” were able to bring some back to the dock last week.
On Saturday, the “Sushi” was down in the Washington Canyon, among the whales, and caught 23 yellowfins while greensticking.
On Sunday, the charter boat, “Jade II” returned to the Ocean City Fishing Center after an overnight trip to the Wilmington Canyon where they boated a half dozen yellowfins, along with a 104 lb. mako shark and a dolphin. They also released a small swordfish, a tiger shark and a couple more makos.
Flounder
Although flounder are being caught in the bay, most notably in the East Channel, in the Fishbowl and up behind Harbour Island, the bite on ocean structure continues to entice most flounder fishermen to head outside the Ocean City Inlet.
Anglers fishing the area around the African Queen had some tremendous days last week. The “Jezebel” braved some snotty seas on Thursday and ended up with 13 quality flatties. They then followed that up with 21 keepers on Friday, with the largest weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz.
Those who have numbers for the Old Grounds, up by the Delaware Bay Shipping Channel, were also rewarded with some outstanding catches. The “Slack Grabber” pulled 16 keepers off the ocean bottom on Wednesday while fishing with Gulp! artificial baits and flounder belly.
If you don’t have access to a boat, now is the time to book a trip on a local head boat. The “Morning Star”, “Angler”, and the “Judith M” have all been coming back with outstanding catches of flounder lately.
Cobia
On Sunday, John Schiffer captured a fat, 50 lb. cobia while fishing with bunker at Great Gull.
Croaker
It looks like the croaker bite is getting better in the bay. Max Thumma reported catching numerous croakers right behind Bahia Marina and there were also reports of anglers catching them up around the Rt. 90 Bridge.
Red Drum
One of the biggest surprises this year has to be the red drum bite in the bay. Fish continue to be caught from as far north as the Ditch down to the Assateague Bridge. Most anglers are having the best success catching 20” to 24” fish around the Rt. 50 Bridge and in the Inlet with an occasional larger fish in the mix.
A notable catch was junior angler, Chase Burbage, who caught a red drum, a black drum and a striper, all on sand fleas by the Rt. 50 Bridge. Chase was fishing on the charter boat, “Ocean City Guide Service”.
In the Surf
Not much new to report from the surf. Panfish still dominate the action with skates, rays and small sharks taking up the slack.
Upcoming Tournaments
The only tournament on the schedule for this weekend is the 8th Annual Bahia Marina Flounder Pounder. The tournament is a one-day event, held on Sunday, September 8th. Anglers can fish from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM, with scales closing at 5:00 PM. This is always a fun tournament and last year’s winner pocketed over $5,100.
The annual September 11th Memorial Spot Fishing Tournament is set for Wednesday, September 11th at the Ocean City Fishing Center. This is a great tournament for the kids, and the entry fee is only $5. Anglers can fish right from the docks of the Ocean City Fishing Center. Registration begins at 4:00 PM and fishing hours are from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
See you at the scales!
