Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• The “Buckshot” won the Billfish Release Division of the 64th Annual Marlin Club Labor Day White Marlin Tournament with a total of 7 white marlin released offshore of the Poor Man’s Canyon, including going 5 for 8 on day 2 around the 160 line.
• Kai Cropper speared a rare 66 lb. cubera snapper in about 30’ of water at an inshore wreck.
• There were a lot of white marlin releases in deep water east of the canyons from the Wilmington down to the northern parts of the Poor Man’s. The “Reel Joy” released 7 in one day.
Storms, winds, billfish and mahi were the dominant headlines for last week offshore. Winds this summer are nothing new, however we have entered into a fairly active hurricane season as demonstrated last week with not 1 but 2 systems traveling north. Fortunately for us they were pretty far offshore, but their effect was present in both sea conditions in the canyons and notable erosion on the beaches. It was enough though for the Ocean City Marlin Club to cancel their Annual Labor Day White Marlin Tournament. It would have been their 64th. There were nonetheless a few days of manageable weather and anglers were seeing some of the best marlin fishing of the season!
Even so, tuna were more elusive, and those that did find some had to fight sharks to get most or any of it to the boat. All the same, most trips came back with a lot of meat as dolphin were abundant offshore and inshore.
Billfish
The week started out strong with whites and blues being released mainly offshore of the Baltimore Canyon around 600 fathoms. Capt. Luke Blume had the charter boat “C-Boys” there and went 1 for 2 on blue marlin as well as filling the box with mahi. The “Pumpin’ Hard” with Capt. Mike Burt out of Sunset Marina hit the dock with 3 white marlin and 1 blue marlin flags flying. They went 3 for 5 on whites. Jim Ramos from Mount Vernon, WA found some luck a little closer. He released a 65” and 71 lb. white in the area of the Hambone that hit on a pink skirted ballyhoo.
Weather then cooled the action for most of the weekdays with boats finally getting out over the weekend. Sunday in particular saw a flurry of action across the southern canyons. Capt. Joe Drosey on the charter boat “Rhonda’s Osprey” called to let us know he would be at his slip at Fisherman’s Wharf with a nice catch of mahi, a tuna and both a white and blue marlin release from the Washington Canyon. A nice day on the rip for sure, but more was to come. The charter boat “Turnin’ Fins” with Capt. Jake Shaffer was also in the Washington and its anglers Alyssa Leandra & Jenna Robinson released 3 whites. This included a first release for both girls! They also tossed some mahi in the cooler.
Further north was hot as well. The “Boss Hogg” with Capt. Alex Beane headed to the Poor Man’s Canyon where their crew went 6 for 12 on white marlin and broke off on a blue marlin. They also put a 6 man limit of 60 fish on ice! The private boat “Kilo Charlie” saw Capt. Howard Lynch run further north to troll in the southern waters of the Spencer Canyon. Steve Henry caught his first white marlin after it hit on a naked ballyhoo.
Other billfish were in the mix. Capt. Bobby Layton of the “Wrecker” chose to work the canyons north of the Baltimore and he and his crew were rewarded with 2 swordfish. They were deep dropping for these swords and the largest was 150 lbs.
Tuna and Tuna Parts
We have been reporting that shark attacks on hooked tuna have been a problem over the past few weeks, specifically for yellowfin. It did not seem that they were as aggressive with bigeye tuna. Perhaps due to their size. That changed a little this past week. Capt. Dave Midgett on the “All In” returned to the Ocean City Fishing Center last week after an overnight trip to the Washington Canyon at the bigeye hole. They had numerous bites but could only manage to get 2 eyeballs to the boat before sharks completely destroyed them. Even one of the bigeyes boated had some damage by the tail. The “Ro Sham Bo” with Capt. Willie Zimmerman did an overnight trip in the Washington as well. They too hit the fishing center with 2 yellowfin tuna, a white marlin release and a boat limit of over 50 dolphin.
Earlier in the week Capt. Mark Hoos on the “MARLI” took a group out to the Washington Canyon. They had 16 bites overall including one cover up on 10 rods. They hit the dock at Sunset Marina with 4 yellowfins intact and 3 heads! The sharks got the rest.
Capt. Chris Ragni on the “Bill Slayer” took a different tact for his trip. He was fishing the Baltimore Canyon and after getting a couple yellowfins aboard along with over 30 mahi in the box, he switched to tile fishing. They raised over 25 using Nomad Design Tackle Streaker jigs.
What Else Was Out There?
You can see from the report so far that dolphin ruled the catch offshore for quantity. You didn’t need to fish the canyons either. Blue water was at the reefs and wrecks with private and charter boats making major hauls. Capt. Monty Hawkins on the headboat “Morning Star” got out midweek and was not having success finding sea bass or flounder willing to bite. So, he ‘paddled’ out a little further offshore and got his first boat limit catch of the season, on mahi! The “If Knot 4 U” dealt with some salty seas last Friday to fish the Jack Spot, but got their limit of taco meat! The charter boat “No Limit” out of the Indian River Marina worked Reef Site 11 and got a gaffer to top off a limit catch of flounder.
False albacore have also been in the mix. The “100% on Board” headed out only 3 to 5 miles and caught over 30 bonito using small spoons and cut bait.
Late summer and fall is actually a great time to get offshore. Typically, the marlin bite is stronger and with less boats fishing the pressure is less. Fall is also time for sword fishing and a number of fall inshore events and surf tournaments.
That seems about it for this week, so keep sharing what you find on the rip.
Until next week I will see you at the docks! §
Upcoming Tournaments
• The 22ndAnnual Memorial Spot Tournament will be held on September 10th. This family event focuses on fishing from the docks at the Ocean City Fishing Center with categories for spot and other fish. No skill is needed and the entry fee is only $5. Awards at 5PM. For more info call 410-213-1121.
• The Bahia Marina Flounder Pounder is next Sunday, September 10th and is hosted at Fish Tales in Ocean City. This fun tournament is great for families, kids and serious bay anglers. More info at BahiaMarina.com under tournaments.
