Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• The “Max Bet” took top honors in the Release Category during the Poor Girl’s Open with two white marlin and two blue marlin releases while trolling in deep water over 1,000 fathoms east of the Baltimore Canyon.
• The “Knot Right” caught a 56.9 lb. wahoo just north of the 800/800 in the Washington Canyon to secure 1st Place in that division during the Poor Girls.
• Angler Eamonn “Irish” Carey was fishing inshore for flounder during the Paradise Grill Flounder Pounder and caught two small bluefin tuna on 20 lb. braid near the Delaware Lightship using a 6” Gulp bait.
August is normally prime billfishing season in the canyons of the Mid-Atlantic. That is why we see marlin tournaments like the White Marlin Open, Steve Harman’s Poor Girls Open and the MidAtlantic held over a 3 week period during the month. This year however has proven to be a little challenging at the tournament scales with no qualifying white weighed at the 50th Annual White Marlin Open and only one blue marlin. This despite over 550 billfish releases over the 5 day event. Last week we saw anglers competing in the Annual Steve Harman’s Poor Girls Open. This was a billfish release tournament with the top boat winning with 4 releases. Most had one or two for their day fishing.
All eyes remain on billfishing as we move toward the end of August. With two marlin focused tournaments already complete with mixed results and the 32nd MidAtlantic having started last Monday, interest is high to learn if the marlin are here and where! The good news is they are here, just maybe not in the numbers or size they have been in the past. As for tuna, the action remains similar to the past few weeks. Anglers are finding mainly yellowfins in the 35 to 55 lb. range with a couple over 60. We only had one bigeye report for last week and that was on the 16th. The good news however, is a number of boats had solid peanut mahi catches, and we have seen a decent amount of wahoo in the mix too.
Billfish
As we reported last week, there where over 550 billfish released over the 5 days of the White Marlin Open. The weekend after the Open saw a drop in reports, probably as boats recovered from the tournament! The charter boat “Roll Groove” shared a white they caught in the Baltimore Canyon. While measurements where not shared, from the picture, that one could have been a million dollar contender a few days earlier! Later in the week we had reports of whites being released in the Baltimore Canyon like the 2 from the “Spring Mix II”. The “Boss Hogg” released one in the Poor Man’s and boated 27 mahi. Most of our reports for Thursday through the weekend came from the anglers in the Annual Steve Harman’s Poor Girls Open held at the Bahia Marina. This is a ladies billfish release tournament that also includes awards for tuna, mahi and wahoo. The Baltimore Canyon was the most frequent location with many being found in deeper water, 700 fathoms or more east of the canyon. The “Buck Shot” took 2nd Place at the event releasing two whites and a blue. These were caught early and were their only bites for the day. 3rd Place went to a crew on the “Southern C’s” that fished Saturday. They released whites from the Baltimore as well. It’s worth noting that this boat took 3 different crews out on all three days of the event, including last Friday with 10 - 15’ waves! That was some tough ladies. The “Finatic” reported a first ever release of a white for Rose Parry. They were offshore of the Poor Man’s in 700 fathoms. This year’s Junior Angler Award went to Anna Deckelman for a white marlin she released at the Rockpile while fishing on the “All In”. She also deserves real recognition for donating her $1,000 prize back to the tournament as a gift to the American Cancer Society.
It is worth noting a few sailfish were caught during the event as well.
At this point, if you are keeping track, you are probably asking who took top honors for the event? Well, that would be the charter boat “Reel Chaos” from their trip on Saturday. Capt. Anthony Matarese Jr. took a different strategy from the fleet and headed 98 miles east and a little north to fish outside the Spencer Canyon. His team had to deal with some tough weather, but it paid off when they went 4 for 5 on white marlin. They even had a blue on for a while before it pulled the hook. As the only boat with 4 releases for the event, they secured 1st Place and a prize payout of $101,835.
While there is a focus on the anglers, the real winner from this event is the American Cancer Society. Each year the event and the Harman family raise tens of thousands of dollars to help find a cure for cancer. This year saw a donation of $115,000, bringing the total dollars raised by the event to almost $2,000,000. You can see the full results and pictures in our coverage starting on page 62.
Tuna
As mentioned at the start of the report, the majority of tuna caught last week were yellowfins. While catches were reported across the canyons and at inshore lumps, most crews returned with low single digits in the box. A notable exception was on the charter boat “Spring Mix II” on Monday of last week. Capt. Chris Watkowski was trolling outside the Baltimore and returned to the Ocean City Fishing Center with 7 chunky yellowfin from the same trip they nabbed 2 white marlin. Our only bigeye report was last Wednesday from the crew of the “Genesis” out of Sunset Marina. Angler Mike Wakefield from Baltimore, MD reeled in a 64” and 180 lb. eyeball that hit on a skirted ballyhoo in the Washington Canyon. That was also the only bigeye report we had since the WMO. They do seem to swim in schools and come and go in patches.
The biggest tuna in the Poor Girl’s came from one of our favorite boat names, the “Too Many Martini’s”. While we perceive this as an oxymoron, the crew still landed a nice fish! The 68.5 lb. yellowfin was caught offshore of the Poor Man’s on the troll along with a 55.5 pounder. 2nd Place went to the “Game Over” for a 58.7 lb. yellowfin from the Washington.
Dolphin and Speedsters
Many peanut sized mahi were reported over the past week. Most were caught while trolling for tuna or marlin and were found across the canyons and inshore lumps, like the ones near Massey’s Canyon. The “Action Jackson” out of the Indian River Marina caught 23 in the Baltimore including 2 gaffers, with the heaviest at 15 lbs. The “Bill Slayer”, also out of the marina, reeled in over a dozen, as well as blueline and golden tilefish from the Poor Man’s Canyon. The “Miss Darlene” trolled the Baltimore for tuna, but could not find a single one. They did however catch a dozen dolphin and a beautiful golden tilefish.
The top dolphin in the Poor Girl’s was a 24.2 lb. mahi caught on the first day of the event in the Baltimore Canyon by the “Southern C’s”. They also got a 10.8 pounder securing 3rd Place as well.
Some years we don’t see many wahoo, especially in tournaments. This year has been different, with at least 1 of or more speedsters hitting the scales in the last two tourneys. Early last week the “Sherri Lynn” reported a 57½” wahoo they caught on some lumps near Massey’s Canyon that hit on a skirted Select Ballyhoo from Rick’s Bait & Tackle. During the Poor Girl’s, two impressive fish took the top 2 spots. 2nd Place went to the “Jacked Up” out of the Bahia Marina for their 51.8 lb. wahoo caught north of the Hot Dog. They also caught a 20 lb. false albacore that was only 8 ounces short of the Maryland State Record. 1st Place went to a boat with one of the most difficult names to spell, the “Mikks’n It Up”! Despite the spelling, Alexa Mikk got the job done, landing the winning 56.6 lb. speedster in 18 minutes after it hit on a purple and black Ilander.
As I write this report on Monday, the MidAtlantic Tournament has reported a preliminary count of 181 boats and an estimated $5.7M payout. The weather for now looks better earlier in the week, however we all know how that changes!
So until next week, I will see you at the scales! §
