Article by Larry Jock
Well, this is the last issue of the year and it would be hard to argue that it wasn’t a good fishing season. It started off with a good striper run off the beach. Anglers caught a lot of flounder, although the vast majority were too short to keep. Cod were more abundant this year than anyone can remember and sea bass action has really taken off over the last few weeks. Offshore, the yellowfin tuna bite was strong for a good part of the summer and anglers can’t complain about the dolphin, white marlin and blue marlin bites. Overall it was a another good year!
Billfish
This past week, Mother Nature really threw a wrench into things with absolutely horrible weather over the weekend. It was really a shame, especially for offshore anglers searching for billfish. Early in the week, most offshore boats headed to the Washington and Norfolk Canyons where the white marlin bite was going strong. On Tuesday, the “D.A. Sea” returned from an overnight trip to the Norfolk with 23 white marlin releases. The “Osprey” also went overnight to the Norfolk and had 13 releases. Further north, the “Billfisher” released 11 whites in the Washington Canyon.
Mid-week, the bite really heated up in the Washington Canyon, where the “Billfisher” (13), “Cerveza”?(13), “Wave Paver” (11), “Reel Joy” (11) and the “Reel Chaos” (10) all recorded double-digit releases.
On Thursday, the weather started getting bad, but a few boats headed to the Washington Canyon and again returned with solid release counts. The “Cookie Monster” (9), “Wave Paver” (9), “Espadon” (5) and “D.A. Sea” (5) led the way.
Dolphin
It looked like it was going to be an incredible week for anglers looking to bring dolphin back to the dock. The fish were plentiful and larger than we have seen lately. Early in the week, anglers on “That’s Right” caught 54 dolphin in the Wilmington Canyon and the “Marli” boated 22 dolphin near the Rockpile. Other dolphin were caught by boats in the Washington and Norfolk Canyons.
Tuna
Unfortunately, the yellowfin bite is still basically nonexistent, but one was caught early in the week in the Wilmington Canyon. “That’s Right” also got into them up in the Lindenkohl Canyon. The “Billfisher” also caught 2 blackfin tuna in the Norfolk Canyon.
Flounder
Flounder action is still hot, although the throwback ratio is still running very high. Big flatties are now being caught in the deep holes and around structure in the bay. Bob Spetzler caught a 9 pounder on Wednesday while dropping off the 3rd Street Bulkhead. Also on Wednesday, Brenda Murphy caught a 24-incher on live spot in the Thorofare and a day earlier, Mary Stadler landed a 6.5 lb. flounder along the rocks on the north side of the Inlet.
Water temperature hovered around 70-degrees, but got as low as 65-degrees when the cold front moved through. The water was dirty for most of the week, but cleared up on Saturday morning. Live bait is still the ticket for capturing the larger flounder.
Red Drum
At this time last year, we experienced a solid red drum bite just off the beach on Assateague Island, and it looks like it may be getting ready to happen again. Capt. Mark Sampson on the “Fish Finder” called to report releasing a 51-inch red drum while bottom fishing only a mile off the coast. Keep your eye on this area from just south of the Inlet down past the?Assateague Bridge
Sea Bass
Anglers fishing at ocean wrecks and reefs are finding plenty of sea bass action, but like flounder, the throwback ratio is running over 10 to 1.
Capt. Monty Hawkins on the “Morning Star” had some great days last week, returning from 20-30 miles offshore with good numbers of fish and some nice size ones as well. On Saturday, Capt. Monty reported several of his anglers caught close to 200 sea bass and they were done fishing by 1:30 in the afternoon.
Croaker &?Tautog
The only reports we heard about croaker and tautog came from an angler who stopped by the office to report that he was catching them off the North Jetty on Monday. He said that the croaker were big!
Since this is the last issue of the year, I want to thank those involved in bringing you the Coastal Fisherman each week. It really is a team effort. Columnists Sue Foster, Julie Ball, Rick Willman, Pat Schrawder, Mark Sampson, Marty Gary and “Mama” Jock really put in a lot of time and effort into bringing you entertaining and informative columns and I appreciate all their hard work.
I would also like to thank our readers. They are very loyal and provide us with inspiring comments that keep us putting out the best fishing newspaper possible.
The Coastal Fisherman is really a team effort and without our “crew” it just simply couldn’t happen. A heartfelt “thanks” to our artist, Daina Kazmaier, my parents, Maureen and Larry Jock, my wife, Mary and son, Larry III. They really pour their heart and soul into the paper every week and I am grateful for their dedication.
Finally, our advertisers. Without them, there wouldn’t be a Coastal Fisherman. Please keep this in mind when you are going to purchase something, especially online. Everyone knows that times are tough right now and local companies need your business. Your support can mean all the difference in the world to them and they deserve our loyalty. Please give them your business and make sure they know that you saw their ad in the Coastal Fisherman. They need to know that their advertising is paying off and it’s the part that you can play to make sure that future generations will enjoy the Coastal Fisherman as much as you do.
We will be taking a few weeks off to recharge our batteries and get ready for the big Winter Issue that hits the streets in January. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to give us a call to take your picture or you can simply email it to us at [email protected].
I wish everyone a great fall/winter season. Let’s all hope that we have a great striper run this year and that the fish will find a way inside the 3-mile line like they did 2 years ago.
Thanks for reading the Coastal Fisherman!
