Article by Larry Jock
So far, this has been a fairly frustrating early season. The fish are out there, but windy and rainy weather are causing sea conditions that are too gnarly for most who want to venture 60 to 80 miles east.
We really didn’t see many boats head out during the early part of last week, but luckily, the back end was “fishable” and anglers loaded up, especially offshore.
In previous weeks, the yellowfin bite centered around the 461 Lump, but last week it moved slightly south with good action at or below the Bight of the Washington Canyon. We saw yellowfins being caught anywhere from 70 fathoms outside the Crotch to 500 fathoms outside the Washington. Fishing really didn’t get good until Thursday when anglers on the charter boat, “Marli” took on the rough seas and were rewarded with 23 yellowfins and 8 mahi from 600 fathoms in the Washington. Capt. Mark said the temperature break went from 69 to 75-degrees.
On Friday, a few boats headed offshore and returned with great catches. The charter boat, “Moore Bills” led the way with 19 yellowfins and 3 mahi caught in 70 fathoms outside the Crotch. “That’s Right” ended up with 18 yellowfins and a half dozen mahi in 70 to 100 fathoms outside the Crotch and “White Lightning” had 17 yellowfins and 4 mahi in 75-degree water in 500 fathoms outside the Bight of the Washington.
Saturday saw a lot of boats break the Inlet and although the number of yellowfins per boat wasn’t as strong (which isn’t uncommon on a weekend), we did see quite a few fish hit the dock. The “Haulin’ N Ballin”, with Capt. Howard Lynch at the helm, fished in 200 fathoms between the Washington and Norfolk Canyons (650 line) and ended up with 15 yellowfins in the box. “White Lightning” trolled in 200 fathoms outside the Crotch and caught 11 yellowfins and “That’s Right” had 9 yellowfins and a pair of mahi from 100 fathoms. “Ole School” returned with 11 yellowfins from the Bigeye Hole and “Magic Moment” took an overnight trip to the Bigeye Hole and ended up with 13 yellowfins in 68-degree water. A consistent theme on Saturday was that the fish were mainly biting on trolled ballyhoo with not many hitting plastics.
The catch that had the Sunset Marina dock buzzing on Saturday came in on the charter boat, “Boss Hogg” when Jason Appel’s 203 lb. bigeye hit the planks. This is the largest bigeye tuna we have seen so far this year and will surely have many boats heading to the Washington Canyon at the first opportunity. Jason’s bigeye, along with 7 yellowfins and a pair of mahi, was hooked on a trolled ballyhoo in 200 fathoms on the 650 Line.
Interestingly, the bigeye almost didn’t get boated when the rod snapped with only 10 feet of line left in front of the leader. Fortunately, with experienced mates, Rich Tshudy and Eric Blanks in the cockpit, they were able to get to the leader and put a gaff in the fish. Three other bigeyes were also caught on Saturday by anglers on “Da Chief”. Their tuna weighed up to 84 lbs. and were caught in 200 fathoms south of the Washington Canyon.
Closer to shore, a few sharks were caught on Saturday. “All Tide Up” went to 10 miles east of the Hot Dog and returned with a 116 lb. mako shark hooked on a bluefish fillet. They also caught and released a tiger shark estimated at around 300 lbs. The Marine Electric site produced a 127 lb. mako shark for anglers on the “Finatic” who hooked the beast on a whole bluefish.
Headboats saw a mix of sea bass and flounder on ocean structure. Sea bass fishing is mediocre right now but the flounder bite seems to be picking up steam.
Striper fishing in the Ocean City Inlet was fantastic last week, but you had to be willing to settle with releasing most, if not all of your catch, because the rocks were loaded with shorties. Most fish were in the 20 to 24-inch range and were being caught by anglers tossing swim shads and lures. There were a few keeper fish mixed in. Budd Heim and Kevin Welkner caught fish up to 36-inches. Stripers were also caught around the Rt. 50 Bridge where anglers found them mixed in with small bluefish.
While we are talking about striped bass, remember that the regulations in Maryland changed on June 1st. You are now allowed to keep 2 fish per day/trip measuring 28 to 38-inches and 44-inches and above. You can keep any combination, just nothing from 38 to 44-inches.
We heard many short tautog were caught last week by anglers fishing along the rocks at the South Jetty and along Martha’s Landing in the West Channel, south of the opening to the Ocean City Fishing Center. The fish need to be 16-inches, which is tough to find in the bay for anglers fishing with green crabs.
Flounder fishing in the bay is horrible. Windy conditions have created dirty water conditions and we just aren’t seeing many fish being caught. The only flatties we did see last week were hooked on the flats, north of the Thorofare and in the East Channel, south of the Rt. 50 Bridge.
Upcoming Tournaments
This weekend there are two tournaments on the schedule. The 27th Annual M.S.S.A. Tuna-Ment is scheduled from June 17th to the 19th. This tournament runs out of a couple of ports, Ocean City being one of them. Weigh-ins will be held at Atlantic Tackle from 4:30 PM to 8:00 PM on both days.
The other tournament is the 37th Annual Ocean City Marlin Club Small Boat Tournament on Saturday and Sunday, the 18th and 19th. You do not have to be a member of the Marlin Club to fish this event and there are separate inshore and offshore divisions. Weigh-ins will be held at Sunset Marina from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM.
See you at the scales!