Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• Tuna fishing got started in earnest. The crew of the “Blood Money” headed to the deep and landed both the first bigeye and yellowfin tuna of the season in 800 fathoms and 66° water.
• Bluefin tuna were snappin’ in the Poor Man’s Canyon. The “Restless Lady II” caught their limit of 6 and released many more.
• The shark bite was good with the “HotLine” reporting the first keeper mako shark for the season. The 85” male was caught in 20 fathoms at the Fingers. The first thresher was also reported by the “Capt. Ike II” caught at the 20 fathom line.
What a beautiful Memorial Day weekend! The weather was much better than expected on Saturday, and Sunday offered a flat calm in the canyons. Our only problem remains the water temps. As I write this all the canyons are showing water temps in the low 60°s, with the Norfolk Canyon only being warmer by a degree or 2 from the others. As you can see from the water temp chart, there is warmer water, but it is well west of us around 100 miles or more offshore. This cold water offshore combined with an uncertain offshore weather forecast last Wednesday did result in the Ocean City Marlin Club regretfully canceling the Franky Pettolina Memorial Day Tournament.
One boat did decide to make the long run out last Sunday given the flat calm conditions. The “HotLine” went well east of the Poor Man’s Canyon to 1,400 fathoms and landed the first mahi for the season, a nice gaffer. They also boated two keeper yellowfin tunas and released some undersized ones. Overall they covered 250 miles and burned 250 gallons of fuel! They also set a new record being on the cover of the Coastal Fisherman for two weeks in a row! Other captains I talked to this week are taking a wait and see approach and are evaluating conditions daily. Capt. Chris Ragni of the “Bill Slayer” has trips booked this week and is advising his clients the day before on what are their options, sea bass or reaching for tuna. Same with Capt. Jojo Joachimowski on the “Whiskey Kilo”. Captains Bobby Layton on the “Wrecker” as well as Willie Zimmerman on the “Ro Sham Bo” have been running to the Poor Man’s Canyon to raise some tilefish before heading inshore for sea bass on their recent trips. The general consensus is the fish are coming, but it is hard to figure out when and it’s too expensive to just go looking.
Of course this conversation would not be complete without raising the issue of fuel prices. Diesel is close to $7 a gallon on the dock. At this point all charter boats I have talked to have implemented some kind of fuel surcharge. These range from a fixed additional fee to a fuel allowance and charging the actual fuel cost for anything over the allowance. One captain has a fixed ‘Charter Fee’ that covers the cost of the crew, bait and boat and then adds the actual cost to the fuel used. Prices have also affected bookings, with many reporting slower sign ups for July as anglers wait to see what costs are then. So if anglers want to ‘reach’ for some deeper water fish, the will have to reach deeper into their pockets.
Our weekly “Chum Lines” article is always a good read, and especially this week. Capt. Mark Sampson discusses the expected upcoming changes to mako shark fishing regulations that will for the first time ban recreational anglers from fishing for and keeping makos. He also offers some background on the shark fishing heritage in Delmarva, so check it out.
The offshore forecast looks good through Thursday and we are keeping our eyes on some wind that may pick up on Friday that could lead to some sporty conditions.
Until next time, I will see you at the docks!
Upcoming Tournaments
• The 1st Annual Blues for DU Tournament is being held on June 3rd to 5th with weigh-ins at Bahia Marina from 4:30-7:30 pm. This a new bluefish tournament to benefit Ducks Unlimited. More details at BahiaMarina.com.
• The 2nd Annual Tuna & Tiaras Ladies Tuna Tournament returns on June 17th & 18th. Scales are open both days from 4PM to 7PM at the Ocean City Fishing Center. More at TunaandTiaras.com.
