Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Anyone who has fished offshore or paid much attention to what has been caught so far this year has likely realized that it hasn’t exactly been a standard season. Much to the delight of local fishermen, billfish, tuna, dolphin, sharks, cobia and a few other species started to bite two or three weeks earlier than usual making it more reminiscent of the first week of July than the middle of June. It’s still too early to say for sure, but so far this is really shaping up to be a great fishing year. It’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out when we actually hit July, whether or not the fishing will plateau between now and then or maybe just keep on getting better.
There’s been a lot of speculating but not much complaining about the early season action, and while no one can tell for sure what’s in store for the rest of the summer, a lot of us have taken note of the offshore conditions that might have brought all this about. First and foremost have been the water temperatures which, back in early May, started showing signs that they were going to do something special for us this year.
Usually in May, the average temps offshore are struggling to get into the mid-to-upper 50’s. Then sometime during the first week of June they finally hit the 60-degree mark and slowly creep up until about the third week of the month when they hit the 70’s. But this year someone started turning up the thermostat a couple weeks early. I was surprised in mid-May when the water was already around 60-degrees but didn’t figure the temperatures would keep climbing at the steady pace that they did. Now here we are over the hump of June and we’re already looking at water temperatures in the mid-70’s. Mother Nature’s calendar must be showing her that it’s July already!
Besides being unusually warm, most folks who have been out there will probably agree that the offshore waters have been extra clear this spring. I’m not exactly sure of the reason for this and clear water doesn’t always equate to more fish, but I don’t think it can hurt and it sure is a confidence builder when you can look down and see your bait 30 or more feet below the surface. But the clarity of water is dependant upon a lot of factors and is something that can literally change overnight. Changes in the current, the wind’s strength or direction, a sudden plankton bloom, heavy rains and who knows what else can easily turn crystal water to muck and leave anglers scratching their head wondering what the heck happened. But for the last month the waters from just outside the Ocean City Inlet to as far off as you want to go have been exceptionally pretty and I’m hoping that whatever is making it that way will keep it up all summer.
While clear water and warm temperatures are great, perhaps the most encouraging thing a lot of us have been noticing offshore this season has been the amount of baitfish that have been showing up anywhere from 2-20 miles offshore. I’ve seen schools and schools of sand eels, menhaden and a lot of other little critters that I have no ideas what they were but I’m sure they’re something that big critters would be happy to munch on. Even in the back bays right now there are plenty of schools of little bunker, again, earlier than usual. You can have the best water conditions in the world, but if you don’t have the bait you’re not going to have the predators. We’ve got the bait!
Mention warm, clean water and lots of food and someone might think you are talking about the perfect vacation spot. If things keep going this way I’ve got a feeling there might just be a whole lot of fish that decide the nearshore waters off Delmarva are just that. It’s been a number of years since the zone 20-30 miles off the beach has been the hot ticket for hooking up to a mix of tuna, dolphin and maybe a marlin or two, but right now the stars seem to be aligning for such a thing to happen. Anglers should also keep an eye on the Jackspot and look for an opportunity to drag a spoon behind a planer across the shoal. This could just be the year when we see a strong return of king mackerel. With fuel prices the way they’ve been I’m sure I’m not the only one who would fully enjoy the opportunity to spend more time fishing this summer and less time at the pump watching the numbers spin!
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
