Article by Larry Jock
It was a tough week of fishing, especially offshore, with fish scattered up and down the line.
The Poor Girls’ Open was another successful event with 435 lady anglers competing for $83,875 in award money.
The first day only saw 10 boats fish. Action was slow at the scales, but the “Billfisher” did release 4 white marlin near the Rockpile to take the early lead in the Billfish Division. Several other boats released 2 white marlin. A few dolphin were landed, with the “Marlin Magic” catching five in the Wilmington Canyon that weighed between 10.2 and 14.2 lbs.
Day 2 started with a bang when Karen Peet on the “Pumpin’ Hard 66” threw a 57.4 lb. yellowfin on the scale. This fish held on to take 1st place in the Tuna Division. The “Muff Diver” was next at the scale, weighing a 21.4 lb. dolphin, caught in 50 fathoms on the southern end of the Poor Man’s Canyon. This fish ended the tournament in 2nd place in the Dolphin Division. The “Moore Bills” weighed a 50.8 lb. yellowfin, and ended up winning 3rd place in the Tuna Division. The yellowfin was caught on a ballyhoo at the Rockpile. The rest of the day at the scales was dominated by dolphin, with a couple of yellowfin sprinkled in. The “Reel Toy” did release 3 white marlin to take over the 2nd place spot in the Billfish Division.
The third day of the tournament saw a lot of leaderboard changes. The “Bali-Who” released 4 white marlin in 35 fathoms near the Rockpile and held on to win 3rd place in the Billfish Division. The “D.A. Sea” ventured up to the Spencer Canyon and released 2 blue marlin and 2 white marlin, winning the “Billfish Division” with 420 points. Mary McKinney on the “Reel Desire” weighed a 57 lb. yellowfin, winning 2nd place in the Tuna Division. This fish was also caught in the Spencer Canyon. The “Predator” threw a couple of big dolphin on the scale and captured 1st place with a 31.6 pounder and 3rd place with a mahi that tipped the scales at 21.2 lbs. They also released 2 white marlin during their trip to the Spencer Canyon, over 90 miles from the O.C. Inlet.
Other notable catches during the tournament were the “Last Straw” and the “American Lady”, each releasing a blue marlin. The “Last Straw” reported hooking the blue marlin, estimated at 425 lbs., outside the Washington Canyon. With yellowfin tuna being scarce this year, I should mention that the “Yellowfin” found a school of smaller yellowfins, around 25 lbs., 10 miles north of the Lobster Claw.
Overall, the action wasn’t as fast and furious as we have seen in prior Poor Girls’ tournaments, but once again it was a great time for anglers and spectators. Also, hats off to the tournament for donating $46,000 to the American Cancer Society for breast cancer research.
Cubera Snapper
Nobody can remember a cubera snapper being caught off the coast of Ocean City, but Brad Cave of Dagsboro, DE landed a 40 pounder on a live spot on an ocean wreck (tugboat). This is one mean looking fish. They average between 30 and 50 lbs., and can exceed 100 lbs. These are the largest species in the snapper family and are primarily found in Florida, rarely venturing north.
Wahoo
On Thursday, the “Ebb Tide” weighed a 41 lb. speedster caught in 35 fathoms outside the Hot Dog.
We have also received reports of wahoo being caught by trollers around the Chicken Bone.
Flounder
The flounder bite was pretty steady throughout the week but fell off over the weekend. This is pretty common during the summer months when heavy boat traffic seems to turn off the bite.
In the bay, the best flounder action continues to center around the East Channel, north of the Rt. 50 Bridge up to Harbour Island. Some flatties are also being caught in the Inlet. Anglers are still weeding through numerous throwbacks in order to get some keepers in the cooler. Anglers are finding luck using live spot and peanut bunker or Gulp! artificial baits, primarily the 4-inch Swimming Mullet in white or chartreuse.
By far, the best locations to catch larger flounder have been the ocean wrecks and reefs. Some local anglers are even finding great results, making the 20 mile trip up to the Old Grounds around “DB” Buoy. This buoy is located in the Shipping Channel leading into the Delaware Bay and has been a hot spot for Delaware fishermen for years.
South Jetty
According to Capt. Nick Clemente on the “Get Sum”, in addition to small bluefish and stripers, anglers are finding sporadic catches of triggerfish and sheepshead around the South Jetty.
Croaker
If you want action, now is the time to take advantage of the croaker bite in the Inlet, the Thorofare and up around the Rt. 90 Bridge. Capt. Nick told me that croaker are definitely increasing in size and he has had good luck catching big croaker on the south side of the Inlet, along Assateague Island. Headboats are also finding schools of croaker off 52nd Street and around Purnell’s Reef off 22nd Street.
Striped Bass
Stripers, along with some bluefish mixed in, are still being caught around the Rt. 50 Bridge at night. We also received reports that the bite around the South Jetty has turned back on after the full moon. Anglers drifting live spot, eels or bucktails tipped with Gulp! artificial baits are having the best luck landing a linesider.
In the Surf
Sue Foster at Oyster Bay Tackle said, “We had more reports of snapper bluefish in the surf this week. There were still some huge rays and lots of sharks at night. The bluefish were biting on finger mullet or simply chunks of finger mullet on surf rigs. We had reports of croaker after dark from the beach on bloodworm and squid. Norfolk spot and kingfish were biting first thing in the morning on bloodworms, nightcrawlers, and Artificial Fish Bite Bloodworms. Some anglers reported doing well on kingfish at dusk. (Heat of the day is sometimes slow on kings). Sharks and rays were biting any kind of cut bait or fresh caught fish such as croaker, spot, bluefish, kingfish or whole small squids. Once the "heat of the day" gets overhead, the surf fishing can really slow down. GO EARLY, and then go at dusk and after dark for the best results.”
When this report hits the streets, we will be in the middle of the Mid-Atlantic $500,000. Total payout is estimated to be around $1,750,000 with 135 boats competing. Thirty five of those boats are fishing out of Ocean City.
Hard to believe that the next tournament on the schedule is the 51st Annual Labor Day White Marlin Tournament. Weigh-ins will be at Sunset Marina on September 4th, 5th and 6th from 3:30 to 7:00 pm.
See you at the scales!
