Article by Larry Jock
A bunch of anglers were standing around the other day discussing what a strange fishing season it has been this year. Mother Nature has continually made things difficult, but when boats could get out and/or find clean water conditions, a good number of fish were caught.
The bigeye bite this year has been nothing short of phenomenal and hopefully, we will see an uptick in billfish action with the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 rolling into town this week.
Last week was no exception, with tough conditions on Wednesday and over the weekend.
Poor Girls Open
This year’s Poor Girls Open had 97 boats entered, and only 20 fished on opening day, but those who were there saw an incredibly busy and exciting day with 13 bigeye tuna weighed. The 1st boat to the scale was the “White Lightning”, with 6 very happy anglers and 4 bigeyes ranging from 134.5 up to 155.9 lbs. Right behind them was “Rhonda’s Osprey”, with a pair of eyeballs that weighed 172.3 and 210.4 lbs. The next boat in line was the “Absolut Pleasure”, who not only had 2 bigeyes (133.7 & 166.5 lbs.), but also 2 blue marlin and 2 white marlin releases. Right after the “Absolut Pleasure” was the “Playmate”, with another pair of bigeyes weighing 118.1 and 192.6 lbs. Things mellowed out a bit until the “Jade II” arrived at Bahia Marina with 2 bigeyes, the largest caught by angler Stacy Thomas, weighing 261.1 lbs. This tuna took the lead in the Tuna Division and never looked back.
Bigeyes weren’t the only attention getter at the scales on the first day. As mentioned earlier, the “Absolut Pleasure” had a banner day and several other anglers showed up with billfish release flags as well. Katie Tyler on the “M.R. Ducks” recorded a blue marlin release, north of the Poor Man’s Canyon.
On the second day of the tournament, billfish releases dominated the action. Anglers on the “Fin-Ness” had a great day, releasing 2 blue marlin and a white marlin in the Poor Man’s Canyon and ended the tournament in 3rd place. A short time later, the “Absolut Pleasure” arrived at the scale with 2 white marlin releases. One of the last boats to hit the scales on Day 2 was the “Tighten Up” with Lee Ann Spindler’s blue marlin release and Lynn Runk’s white marlin release, both in the Norfolk Canyon.
The Dolphin Division ended up being won by the team on the “Absolut Pleasure” when Christina Wells boated a 20.1 lb. mahi on the second day of the tournament.
Saturday saw very rough conditions, but there was one big leaderboard change. The “Knot Tellin’“ headed down to the Washington Canyon, where Michelle Melson released a blue marlin and Donna Haffer, Abby Hastings and Michelle Ott each released a white marlin to vault the team into 2nd place in the Billfish Release Division.
Overall, it was another great Poor Girls Open capped off by a $67,500 donation made to the American Cancer Society for Breast Cancer Research. Another remarkable thing about this tournament that some people aren’t aware of is that it follows I.G.F.A rules where anglers are not allowed to pass the rod off after a fish has been hooked. You will see from the pictures throughout the Coastal Fisherman this week that there were some VERY?LARGE bigeyes caught that were comparable to ones that I have seen bring many guys to their knees. Hats off to all of the lady anglers who participated in this year’s tournament.
Billfish
Most of the billfish releases recorded last week came from the Washington and Norfolk Canyons, but a few also came in from the southern end of the Wilmington Canyon and in the Poor Man’s Canyon as well.
On Friday, the “Espadon” caused some excitement at the Sunset Marina scale when they returned with a 725 lb. blue marlin that was caught in the Washington Canyon. The fish was barely breathing after the hour-long fight so the anglers decided to bring it back and get the meat smoked.
Another notable catch came in on Monday aboard the “Wound Up”, who ventured south to the Norfolk Canyon on an overnight trip and had releases of 14 white marlin and 2 blue marlin in addition to boating a swordfish.
The water in the Norfolk Canyon looks to be pushing to the south and the water in the Wilmington is moving towards the Baltimore Canyon, so it will be interesting to see what strategies captains employ in this week’s Mid-Atlantic $500,000. Another question is will the OC boats take over 90% of the winnings again this year?
Tuna
Catches of bigeye tuna have been incredible this year and last week was no exception. Early in the week, the “Reel Chaos” returned from an overnight trip to the Washington Canyon with 4 bigeyes and a dozen yellowfins in the box. On Tuesday, “White Lightning” pulled 3 from the bigeye hole in 200 fathoms in the Washington.
Mother Nature gave the tuna a break on Wednesday with rough seas keeping boats closer to home or at the dock, but on Thursday all hell broke loose. In addition to the 13 weighed at the Poor Girls Open, the “Marli” captured 3 between 181 and 219 lbs. in the Washington Canyon and several other single fish catches were made as well.
Bad weather on Saturday and Sunday put a kabosh on those searching for bigeyes and I did hear a rumor that the commercial squid boats hit the Washington Canyon very hard on Thursday night or Friday, so it should be interesting to see what affect it has on the bigeye action.
Yellowfin tuna were caught up and down the line last week with anglers hooking them on the troll and by chunking. The “Pumpin’ Hard 58” did manage to get a longfin on Friday, a rare catch this year.
Flounder
It wasn’t a banner week for flounder fishing in the bay. A few nice fish were caught, but short fish dominated the action.
If you were really serious about catching a nice size flattie, then your best bet was to venture out of the OC Inlet and head to some ocean structure. Two notable catches came in on the “Moppet” and the “Jezebel”. Anglers on the “Moppet” went to the Old Grounds on Friday and had 7 keepers measuring up to 23-inches. Anglers on the “Jezebel” went out on Friday, but they decided to go to Fenwick Shoal where they ended their day with 15 flounder and 14 triggerfish in the box.
If you do have to stay in the bay, look for the deeper holes in the East Channel, both north and south of the Rt. 50 Bridge.
In the Surf
It looks like panfish are still dominating action in the suds. Spot, kingfish, small croakers, trout, snapper blues and redfish are keeping surfcasters somewhat busy during the day. If you are fishing from the shore at night, be prepared to catch sand sharks and spinner sharks with the occasional skate and ray thrown in to tire you out.
Fall surf fishing tournaments are right around the corner, so give the A.M.S.A. a call and check the local fishing tournament calendar for details.
Upcoming Tournaments
With the MA $500,000 ending on Friday, the next tournament on the schedule is the M.S.S.A Beach N’ Boat Tournament on Saturday. Weigh-ins are at Ake Marine and will be held from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
See you at the scales!
