Article by Larry Jock
Prior to the windy conditions moving in on Friday afternoon, tuna fishing in the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons was red hot for those chasing yellowfin tuna. On Wednesday, the charter boat, “That’s Right” headed to the Poor Man’s Canyon and had 14 yellowfins after trolling in 100 fathoms. Thursday was, by far, the best day of the week with a few boats returning to the dock with double-digit catches of yellowfins from 80 to 100 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon where water temperatures were in the 67 to 70-degree range. The charter boat, “Marli” led the way with 16 yellowfins with the “Boss Hogg” right behind with 15 and the “C-Boys” coming back with 14 tunas. Several other boats ended their successful day with high single-digit catches. The quality of the yellowfins last week was the best we have seen so far this season with several of the tuna hovering around the 50 lb. mark. As usual, the majority of yellowfins were hooked on trolled ballyhoo and spreader bars, but we also saw a couple caught on the local favorite, Squidnation Flippy Floppy Thing. Jersey-based, Joe Shute lures have also gained in popularity in our area and a few of the yellowfins were caught on ballyhoo dressed up with various Joe Shute’s.
On Friday, a few boats got yellowfin and bluefin bites around the Hot Dog in the morning before windy conditions set in and on Monday, June 26th, the “Myra HT” headed to the Hot Dog first thing in the morning and ended up boating a 56-inch bluefin.
On Sunday, a couple of blue marlin were caught and released. The first blue marlin of the season was caught by Sasha Serpa on “Maryland Pride” at 11:18 AM while trolling in 1,000 feet of water, south of the Baltimore Canyon. Anglers on the “Primary Search” also released a blue marlin after hooking it on their green stick in the Baltimore Canyon. Since the “Maryland Pride” is not a Marlin Club member and the club does not recognize fish caught on a green stick, the $2,500 award for the first blue marlin caught by a Marlin Club member is still there to be won.
Also on Sunday, Keith Brasure on the “Fish Frenzi” caught and released a white marlin in 50 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon where they also boated a pair of yellowfin tuna as well.
From the sounds of it, sea bass fishing is not exactly red hot right now, but there have been some flashes of solid action. Anglers have had to travel out to 100 to 130-feet of water to get into good size knotheads and have used clams, squid or Gulp! artificial baits. Luckily, anglers hitting ocean structure have been rewarded with an improving flounder bite and the improvement has not only been in the number of fish being caught but also in the average size of the fish. On Thursday, anglers on the charter boat, “Fish Bound” ended their day with 18 flatties in the box along with a dozen sea bass after fishing at the Old Grounds. Their largest flounder measured 23-inches. You also saw on the cover of this issue the 28-inch, 9 pounder caught by David Burgess. The Old Grounds is a very large area so getting some good numbers from anglers who are used to fishing up there is the key to success.
In the bay, flounder fishing looks like it is on the upswing with the Thorofare being replaced by the East and West Channels as the top flounder spot. On Sunday, the flounder headboat, “Bay Bee” drifted the East Channel and returned to the Ocean City Fishing Center with 9 keepers in the box. Flounder pounders are having the best luck while using white Gulp! Swimming Mullets or live minnows for bait.
We have also seen a fresh batch of big bluefish in the bay, particularly around the Rt. 50 Bridge. On Saturday, Devin McCauley caught a 12 pounder on a Z-Man shad during a trip aboard the charter boat, “Ocean City Guide?Service”. Capt. John Prather put his anglers on some big bluefish again on Sunday when they returned with fish weighing up to 10.4 lbs. Anglers on the charter boat, “Lucky Break” also got into gators, measuring up to 35-inches, while tossing bucktails in the inlet last Thursday.
The South Jetty has also been a good area to pick-up flounder, bluefish, small stripers and even some tautog. Matt Shoup at Fenwick Tackle reported a good tog bite on Monday morning while fishing with sand fleas.
Anglers are also picking up a few sheepshead around the jetty. Remember, sheepshead and black drum can be easily confused but the most reliable way to tell the difference is that sheepshead have forked tails while black drum have flat, paddle-like tails in addition to barbels (whiskers) on their chins.
Upcoming Tournament
This weekend is the Ocean City Marlin Club Canyon Kick-off. Weigh-ins are Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM at Sunset Marina.
Until next week, I’ll see you at the scales!
