Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• The White Marlin Open was the earliest it could be in 2021 running from August 2 - 6. The big winner was the “Sushi” who brought in the winning white marlin to the scales as almost the last boat with a 76” and 85.5 lb. fish they caught deep in the Norfolk Canyon.
• Just outside of the Poor Man’s Canyon was a hot spot for blue marlin. The “Mama C” caught a 559.5 lb. blue there on a pitch bait and the “Canyon Lady” landed one at 511 lbs. The “SEVEN” found the largest blue for the WMO at 775 lbs. in the Wilmington, also on a pitch bait.
• Big tunas were found in the Wilmington and Spencer Canyons.
As I write this report, the White Marlin Open has already kicked off with 292 of the 408 boats registered fishing! This year there is $8.6 million dollars up for grabs in the world’s richest white marlin tournament across 11 categories and even more calcuttas. While it has been a hard year for marlin, over the past 2 weeks we have seen more releases, especially blue marlin over the last weekend. As we are saying now, ‘they are rare but they are there’! The other saying during the WMO is ‘it only takes one’. To help out this year the tournament has adjusted the lines in time from the normal 8:30 AM to 8:00 AM hoping the extra half hour will put anglers on more fish. The organizers have also stressed the importance of conservation and asking the anglers to be conscience of the current standings so as not to bring in marlin that would not be in the money. Also new for 2022 is a Swordfish Division that replaces the Shark Division due to the ban on mako fishing for the next few years. As of now the weather looks good for Friday offshore so that should make for an active day at the scales with lots of last minute changes. Good luck to all the anglers and we know there will be excitement at the scales as always.
As for fishing over the last week, it was solid but remained a tunapalooza with almost all yellowfins. Like last week, much of the action was centered around a weekend tournament, this time the 14th Annual Ocean City Marlin Club’s Ladies Tournament, “Heel’s & Reel’s”. There was a strong turnout with 67 boats registered while many other boats stayed in the slips prepping for the WMO.
We did see an uptick in marlin releases, but overall reports to us were less than a dozen combined. A highlight though has been the wahoo bite. We had the ‘Heaviest Wahoo’ for Maryland change hands three times last week as big 80+ pound speedsters hit the scales. The tournament also had some nice mahi’s over 20 lbs. with the biggest at 31.2 lbs. Let’s break down the details.
Heel’s & Reel’s
With a strong turnout we knew the scales would be busy, however the weather for day 1 was sketchy so only 15 boats went out, meaning 55 boats were planning to fish on day 2! Team “Top Dog Hook Optics” set two bars on day 1. First was the only billfish release, a blue marlin from the Wilmington Canyon as well as boating a 76 lb. yellowfin tuna, putting them in the top spot for Billfish Release and Tuna Divisions. Day 2 started with the “FFMD” waiting at the scales and several more queued up in the harbor. Danielle Robertson on the “FFMD” released a blue marlin in the Poor Man’s Canyon and took top honors in the Junior Angler Division. We also saw the “Buckshot” return from the Baltimore with 2 blue marlin release flags flying. That secured them the top spot in the Release Division. What followed next was 20 other boats bringing fish to the docks. Mainly yellowfins, and heavy ones at that, with most in the upper 50’s to upper 60’s.
Still, the top 2 spots for tuna held from day one, but then word came in that a bigeye was coming. The “Just One More” had an eyeball on the line late in the day that they were still fighting in the Baltimore Canyon after lines out. They had to hustle back and just made it as the last boat to the scales. They blew up the leader board with a 230 lb. fish, locking in 1st Place in the Tuna Division as well as getting on the leader board in the Dolphin Division.
Some nice fish were weighed for mahi including a 31.2 pounder from the “Following Seas” that they trolled up in the Poor Man’s. That one withstood a couple challengers, including a 25.6 lb. from the “Just One More” and took 1st Place in the Mahi Division. See our full coverage starting on page 72.
Tuna
Earlier last week many were still chunking at inshore lumps, however as the weekend arrived it was back to the troll. Baltimore was the hotspot for sure and offering up heavy fish. 60, 70 and even an 81 lb. yellowfin by the “Spring Mix II” were raised in that canyon. The Poor Man’s and Massey’s were productive, but with smaller fish. The bigeye from the tournament was our only report last week and unlike the Big Fish Classic, we did not hear of any longfin or bluefin tunas either. I can’t imagine that will stay the same with over 400 boats in the WMO.
Billfish
“Rare but there” is the motto as we shared. The blues caught over the week were spread out, with 3 reported from the Baltimore, 2 from the Wilmington and 1 from the Norfolk. The white marlin seemed to be spread out. We heard from the “Boss Hogg” that they went 2 for 4 last Thursday in the Poor Man’s Canyon and the “Canyon Crew” had one there as well on Wednesday. The “Reel Steel” found one in the Washington on Friday and the “Seven” reeled one in from the Baltimore!
Mahi & Wahoo
This fishery has improved, especially the speedsters. During the Heel’s & Reel’s, three nice size mahi hit the scales with the winner from the Poor Man’s and two mid 20’s fish from the Baltimore. Lots of peanuts remain and are around the sea bass and lobster pot buoys. The wahoo reports started with the “Bail Out’ sharing the 55 lb. fish they got in the Poor Man’s trolling ballyhoo. They were followed by an 81 lb. speedster caught by the crew on the “Makowish”, also in the Poor Man’s, only to be topped on Sunday when the “New Release” brought an 85 lb. wahoo from the Baltimore Canyon to the scales at Sunset Marina!
While not really ‘offshore’ there were a couple other cool catches to share from last week. Numen Bilal with his son Evren and friends hooked into a big southern ray off the beach in Fenwick Island. The fish took over 45 minutes to beach on 50 lb. braid and was estimated to weigh over 200 lbs. Another notable surf catch was from Chris Whiteman. While there have been many reports of sand sharks from the surf, Chris pulled in a 10’ 4” tiger shark to the shore at Assateague Island using stingray for bait! Both of these cool catches were released to swim another day.
Until next week, I will see you at the scales!
Upcoming Tournaments
• The 49th White Marlin Open hosted at Harbour Island in Ocean City is on this week! The world’s richest white marlin tournament is always a show! Different for 2022 is the location of the Marlin Fest viewing and vendor area which is being held in the Ocean City Inlet parking area immediately adjacent to the Inlet. This location is a great option to watch the boats come back as well as see the weigh ins on the jumbotron. Scales are from 4:00 - 9:15 PM every day. Get in on the fun.
• The 29th Captain Steve Harman’s Poor Girls Open returns to Bahia Marina on August 18th - 20th. This fun filled ladies only billfish release tournament benefits breast cancer research and has donated over $1.7 million to the American Cancer Society. Go check out the Pink Party, vendor village, Chinese Auction, Bras Competition and of course the anglers Best Dressed Competition. Scales are open every day from 4 - 8PM. More at PoorGirlsOpen.com.
