Article by Larry Jock
What an exciting long weekend of fishing we had in Ocean City with a lot of mako sharks caught along with big threshers, and the largest flounder of the year caught out of Ocean City.
Mako Mania Shark Tourney
Action was particularly exciting at the 14th Annual Mako Mania Shark Tournament hosted by Bahia Marina. As you saw on the cover, the big catch in the tournament was the 627.6 lb. thresher shark caught by Kevin Taylor on the “Playn-Hooke”. The thresher ate a whole bluefish in 35 fathoms near the Hot Dog and was only 14.4 lbs. shy of the current Maryland state record of 642 lbs. set last year by Brent Applegit.
Another noteworthy catch in the tournament was the 293.6 lb. mako shark caught on the final day of the tournament by Tom Perry on the “No Limits”. Tom hooked the mako on a whole bluefish in 30 fathoms behind the Hot Dog. Tom’s catch just nosed out the crew on the “Salty Sons”, who landed a 236 lb. mako in 30 fathoms outside of the Hot Dog.
As I mentioned, there were a lot of makos caught over the weekend. In the tournament alone, catch reports showed 45 makos released during the 3 days of fishing. You know there were some more releases, since not all captains remember to hand in their catch reports. The “Playmate” led all boats with 14 mako releases, all in 30 fathoms inside the tip of the Washington Canyon.
Finally, I want to mention that the tournament and Bahia Marina were also kind enough to donate $1,000 to the Ocean City Marlin Club in memory of Jimmy Jackson, to be used towards youth fishing initiatives. They also donated $2,000 to the Ladies Auxillary for their Scholarship Fund. Pretty work!
Bluefish
Chopper bluefish had been scarce so far this year, but it looks like things may be starting to heat up.
The largest bluefish of the year out of Ocean City was caught during the Mako Mania tournament by Jeremiah Leader on the “Keep Er Wet”. The chopper weighed 14.3 lbs. and was caught in 36 fathoms near the Rockpile.
We also saw nice size bluefish, in the 9-11 lb. class, caught near the Hot Dog, Sausages and the Hambone. Hoochies and ballyhoo were most effective, but the big chopper landed by Jeremiah actually ate a whole bluefish.
Small bluefish are still roaming our bay waters and have been especially active at dusk for anglers fishing with bucktails and spec rigs. Anglers saw larger bluefish, up to 20-inches, around the Rt. 50 Bridge.
Bluefin Tuna
In the middle of the week, Capt. Mark Sampson on the “Fish Finder” emailed me to report seeing 50 lb. class tuna chasing bait on the 20 fathom line near the Jack Spot.
Anglers in the Mako Mania tournament also reported seeing both bluefins and yellowfins, but had no luck getting them to eat. These anglers were fishing around the Sausages, the Hot Dog and the Fingers.
On Friday, Rich Schott caught a 64.5 lb. bluefin tuna in 62-degree water at the lower Sausage. The bluefin hit a trolled ballyhoo and is the largest bluefin we have seen out of Ocean City so far this year.
White Marlin
Now, don’t get excited. The first white marlin hasn’t been hooked yet, but it should happen within the next couple of weeks.
Last year, the “Nontypical” released the first white marlin on June 10th.
Flounder
The 19-inch minimum size really has flounder fishermen frustrated this year, with a lot of 18 to 18.5-inch fish being reported.
We did see a whopper hit the dock off the “Bay Bee” when Scott Peterson arrived with a 30-incher that weighed in at 9 lbs. 8 oz. Capt. Bob had the boat drifting off the north tip of Assateague Island and reported Scott’s line being in the water for only 15 seconds before the big flattie ate his squid and minnow combination.
We have seen other keepers coming in from the East Channel and in the Sinepuxent Bay behind the Ocean City Airport. It also looks like the flats to the north of the Thorofare are starting to heat up. We had some reports of short flounder being caught on the outside of the South Jetty, around the hump.
Minnows, squid, shiners and the Gulp! swimming mullet have all been producing the most flounder.
With so many flounder being caught that are close to the 19-inch minimum size, it’s important to remember to measure the flounder with its mouth closed. If its mouth is open, the fish will actually measure longer, which could get you in trouble with the DNR if it is close to the minimum size.
Striped Bass
We continue to see nice sized stripers being caught in the Inlet and around the Rt. 50 Bridge. There was a very good bite around the South Jetty on Friday afternoon and right into Saturday morning. Anglers drifting live bait across the tip of the Jetty did very well.
We are seeing macrobacteriosis on some stripers this year. These fish tend to have red blotches, usually around the back third of its body. From what I have read, the disease doesn’t make the fish harmful, but anglers should avoid handling the fish without gloves.
Sea Bass
As Capt. Monty Hawkins on the “Morning Star” reports, sea bass tend to go into a funk in June. The catches are still there, you just need to work harder to get them. Capt. Monty reports that the “high hook” on the boat is typically in the high teens in terms of the number of fish, which is still a wonderful day of fishing.
The largest sea bass caught out of Ocean City was landed by Nate Leader, a 6 pounder, while fishing at an artificial reef.
Tautog
With most inshore anglers switching their attention over to sea bass, we aren’t seeing as many tog hitting the scales.
There has been a good bite along the 4th Street Bulkhead and also around the South Jetty. Anglers fishing off headboats are also nicking a few at ocean reefs and wrecks.
Sand fleas, green crabs and brown crabs have all worked well.
Upcoming Tournaments
The next tournament on the schedule is the South Jersey Shark Tournament which runs from June 10th to June 13th in Cape May, NJ. A few boats from our area always make their way north to participate in the tournament.
Locally, the Ocean City Shark Tournament is next on the schedule, with fishing days on June 17th, 18th and 19th. With the shark action we have seen lately, the scales should be hot and heavy. This is also a great tournament for children, with Capt. Mark Sampson taking time to educate youngsters on sharks and shark fishing.
See you at the scales!
