Article by Larry Jock
It won’t go down as one of the best weeks of fishing in Ocean City, but some nice fish hit the scales.
BILLFISH
On Wednesdy, the “That’s Right” was trolling in 200 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon when a blue marlin, estimated at 500 lbs., hit a trolled ballyhoo and was released after putting on quite a show. If you want to watch a video of the action, you can see it in high definition at www.coastalfisherman.net.
During the Canyon Kick-off, there were 3 white marlin released. The “Playmate” released a white marlin while trolling in 1,000 fathoms in the Washington Canyon on Friday. The “Par Five” also released a white marlin in the Washington Canyon where they also had a blue marlin jump off on the previous day. On the final day of the tournament, the “Lisa” released a white marlin to take 3rd place in the tournament.
YELLOWFIN TUNA
We didn’t see anywhere near the number of yellowfins caught that we had seen in previous weeks, but a few boats did return with nice catches.
While most boats headed into the deep to find yellowfins, on Saturday the “Bluefin” went to 70 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon (950 line) and ended up going 10 for 12 on yellowfins. In addition, they boated a couple of dolphin.
Most of the boats we saw this week with yellowfins were fishing deep in the Washington or Poor Man’s Canyon, and returned with between 2 and 4 fish, still a nice catch with plenty of meat for everyone.
DOLPHIN
Warming water temperatures are resulting in more dolphin hitting the scales, mainly by anglers in search of yellowfin tuna. We saw a good number of dolphin caught over this past weekend.
In the Canyon Kick-Off, the “Brenda Lou” took top honors in the Dolphin Division with a 20.8 pounder caught on Saturday.
Elsewhere, we saw dolphin being caught on trolled ballyhoo, spreader bars and even cedar plugs from the Fingers down to the Washington Canyon. Most of the action centered around the Poor Man’s Canyon.
BLUEFIN TUNA
After a couple of weeks with anglers wondering what happened to the bluefin tuna, we saw a few nice fish arrive at the docks over the weekend. Not good numbers, but a nice class of fish.
On Friday in the Canyon Kick-off, the “Tighten Up” brought back a 124 pounder from the Washington Canyon and the “Hammer Down” weighed in an 89.8 pounder, caught at the Hambone.
On Sunday, the “Hammer Down” and the “Tighten Up” dueled it out with the “Hammer Down” venturing down to the Lumpy Bottom where they trolled up a 143.2 lb. bluefin on a skirted ballyhoo. The “Tighten Up”, also went to the Lumpy Bottom and ended up with a 92.4 pounder caught on a trolled ballyhoo.
SHARKS
In addition to some dusky and blue sharks being released, we saw two big makos hit the scales on Saturday.
The first one in was a 232 pounder caught by Dave Guinto on the “Wizzy”. The guys were just ready to call it a day when the mako hit a mackerel at the Fingers.
Shortly thereafter, the “Keep Er Wet” arrived at the Sunset Marina scale with a 321 lb. mako, caught in 1,000 fathoms between the Washington and Norfolk Canyons. This mako ate a whole bluefish and took angler William Marvel one hour to get to the boat. The crew also released a couple of blue sharks and another mako during the trip, in addition to keeping 6 dolphin and pulling the hook on a white marlin.
Earlier in the week, the “Reel Naughty” returned from the Twin Wrecks with a 190 lb. mako shark.
WAHOO
Only a couple of days later than the first wahoo caught in 2008, William Wildbergh boated the first wahoo of 2009 on Friday while fishing on the “Tunavision”. The 27.6 lb. wahoo hit a Black Bart artificial lure in 75 fathoms on the southern end of the Poor Man’s Canyon.
FLOUNDER
With flounder regulations set at an 18-inch minimum, anglers have been frustrated with the high throwback to keeper ratio, and it was not any better this week. That doesn’t mean that some nice flatties aren’t being caught. All you have to do is look through this issue and last week’s Coastal Fisherman to see many flounder being caught that weighed over 5 lbs. The fish are there, you just need a little patience.
This past week, we continued to see most of the keepers, and almost all of the larger flounder being caught in the East Channel, north of the Rt. 50 Bridge. We also started to see more bigger fish coming from the flats, north of the Thorofare. A few folks asked me where the “flats” were. Head north through the Rt. 50 Bridge, and hang a left through the channel markers. When you get to the houses on your left, you will see a small island on your right hand side. There used to be two islands here, called Dog and Bitch. Just past the island is a channel that runs north. Head up into this channel, watching your depth. It can get pretty shallow. Up in that area is a great place to either drift or troll for flounder. Work the edges of the channel, casting into shallow water and letting your bait bounce over the edge into deeper water.
Some anglers have also had good luck picking flounder off the barge that is sunk just off the South Jetty. This spot is a popular tautog fishing location, but right now is producing some good catches of flounder.
We also continue to see nice size flounder coming in off the ocean headboats. The “Morning Star” and the “Angler” both returned with some nice flatties last week.
Flounder belly, dolphin belly, bull minnows and Gulp! artificial baits have all been producing this year.
SEA BASS
Anglers are picking at sea bass on ocean wrecks and reefs. The bite isn’t on fire, but enough are being caught for dinner. Squid and clams give you your best shot.
This weekend is the Ocean City Tuna Tournament at the Ocean City Fishing Center. This tournament always draws large crowds and some of the most exciting action we see all year. Weigh-ins are from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM on Friday and Saturday and 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Sunday.
See you at the scales.
