Article by Larry Jock
It actually felt like a fishing season this week. A good number of fish were landed and the public boat ramp in West Ocean City looked like July 4th weekend. Was it because the sea bass season opened on Saturday? Was it because sharks are beginning to show up in or waters or was it due to a decent flounder bite this week? Probably all of the above, so let’s get at it.
Sharks
As Yogi Berra once said, “it was deja vu’ all over again.” On Thursday, the crew on the “Nontypical” brought back the first mako shark of the season. Yes... that “Nontypical”! The same crew that caught the first mako shark in 2009. This year, they did it two days earlier, hooking the 131 lb. mako on a bluefish fillet in 23 fathoms near the 750 line. Two weeks ago, the “Nontypical” crew actually broke off a mako a little further north, about 5 miles south of the Parking Lot.
On Saturday, three other mako sharks were caught. Angler John Morton on the “Widgeon” caught a 113 pounder in 60-degree water between the Marine Electric and the Parking Lot. On the same day, Ed Richardson emailed me to report catching a mako shark and a blue shark at the tip of the Norfolk Canyon. Ed estimated the mako at 100 lbs. Finally, the “Keep Er Wet” boated a 130 lb. mako and released 12 blue sharks near the Parking Lot.
Blue sharks were thick last season and it looks like it will be the same this year as well. Anglers sharking around the Parking Lot and the Jackspot have reported good numbers of blue sharks.
We didn’t see any threshers come in this week, although one was caught by an angler out of Lewes, DE around the Delaware Light.
Bluefish
Surprisingly, chopper bluefish have been scarce so far this year. On Friday, we did see the largest of the year come in off the “Reel Attitude”. Clark Kline landed a 12 1/2 pounder while trolling east of the Jackspot.
On Saturday, the crew on the “Ramsi” returned with 9 big bluefish that were caught while trolling between the Jackspot and the 20-fathom Fingers.
In the bay behind Ocean City, anglers continue to have a blast fighting snapper blues in the East Channel and in the Inlet. Spec rigs or anything shiny is doing the trick.
Sheepshead
On Saturday, Dave Pasun caught the first sheepshead of the season, a 7 1/2 pounder, while fishing at an inshore wreck. Dave actually released an undersized sheepshead the previous weekend while fishing around the South Jetty. The keeper was hooked on a sand flea.
Striped Bass
For the last couple of weeks, the striper bite off the beach in North Ocean City has been very good. One of the prettiest fish we have seen so far this year was the 47-incher caught by Rich Bell on Saturday. Rich was fishing around 130th Street, using bunker head for bait. The fish was almost lost when Rich was casting out another line and saw one of his rods making a beeline towards the water. Rich was in waist deep water and ended up diving on the rod before it was lost forever. Rich was rewarded with the 35 pounder that is shown on page 8.
Surfcasters off Assateague also had a good day on Saturday with several fish over 35-inches caught, and some even reaching the mid-40’s. They are still battling through the sharks and the rays.
The striper bite off the Rt. 50 Bridge slowed a bit over the last week and a half. In the middle of the week, Matt Carmen swung by the office to have his picture taken with the 34-inch and 36-inch stripers he caught while tossing a Storm lure off the bridge.
Flounder
I wouldn’t say the flounder bite is red hot, but we did see some really nice fish hit the scales this week, with several 26-inchers and a 27-incher being weighed. The throwback-to-keeper ratio is still running high, with a lot of 18-inch fish being released.
On Thursday, Gary James caught a 27-inch flattie at the South Jetty, an underrated spot for catching flounder. We don’t see many fishermen out there targeting flounder, but those that do can have some good days. Also on Thursday, Bob Leach caught a 26-incher that tipped the scales at 5 lbs. 12 oz. Bob hooked the fish on a live minnow in the East Channel, just north of the Rt. 50 Bridge.
Al Maskeroni also boated a 26-incher on Thursday that weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. Al was drifting a minnow in the East Channel.
The “Bay Bee” had some good days last week, returning with fish measuring up to 25-inches. Capt. Bob reported the catches coming in on shiners and squid while fishing in the East Channel and at the mouth of the Commercial Harbor.
Sea Bass
As mentioned previously, the sea bass season opened on Saturday to mixed reviews. Some anglers I spoke to said it was terrible. Others reported good catches. Sounds like fishin’ to me.
Two boats that I know had a good day was the “Jezebel” and the “Morning Star”. On Saturday, Capt. Chester Sadowski on the “Jezebel” returned with 50 sea bass, all caught on clams at the Bow Mariner.
Also on Saturday, Capt. Monty Hawkins on the “Morning Star” took a trip out to an artificial reef and returned with a good catch of sea bass weighing up to 4 1/2 lbs. Capt. Monty reported that the opening day bite was “ferocious” until the tide slacked, then they had to fight for every additional sea bass. Good thing Capt. Monty had his good luck charm, “Sharkbait” Rucker on board!
Tautog
The opening of the sea bass season has shifted the focus of tautog anglers, but some blackfish are still hitting the scales. In addition to the inshore reefs and wrecks, which produce the vast majority of the tautog catches, we also have seen fish come in from the 4th Street Bulkhead.
Tilefish & Black-bellied Rosefish
Deep dropping for Golden Tilefish has gotten more popular each year and Capt. Chris Mizurak on the “Angler” has really got it zeroed in. The crew returned from fishing in 150 fathoms (900 feet) in the Baltimore Canyon with a bunch of tilefish, weighing up to 40 lbs., and some hake and black-bellied rosefish. All of the fish were caught on mackerel fillets.
The toughest part of catching these fish is locating them, since they are pretty stationary, lying on the ocean floor. According to the South Atlantic Regional Management Council, “tilefish inhabit the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope along the entire east coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico south to Venezuela. They are found in waters from 250-1,500 feet deep, where bottom temperatures range from 49 to 58-degrees. The fish live in cone-shaped burrows, and concentrate in small groups or pods. Spawning occurs from March to September, and females lay from 2-8 million pelagic eggs. Tilefish feed during the day on the bottom on crustaceans, clams, snails, worms, anemones and sea cucumbers. They can reach lengths of 38 inches, although growth is slow.”
Tournaments
This weekend is the 1st Annual Ocean City Marlin Club bluefish tournament, and anyone can enter. You can catch your bluefish from a boat or from the shore, and fishing is limited to 1 day on either Saturday or Sunday.
Also, don’t forget to mark your calendar for the Mako Mania Shark Tournament held at Bahia Marina on June 4th, 5th & 6th.
See you at the scales!
