Article by Larry Jock
Despite windy weather all week, we still saw a respectable number of fish come in from anglers fishing in the bay behind Ocean City and Assateague Island.
The windy weather definitely put a damper on inshore and offshore fishing, but the real culprit is the water temperature which actually dropped a few degrees this week, now down to the high 50’s.
Sharks
The first thresher shark of the year arrived at Ake Marine on Sunday. Anglers on the aptly named “Shark Killer” fished in 8 foot seas at the Fingers and ended up boating a 178 lb. thresher after hooking it on cut bluefish. They also released a dusky and 3 blue sharks during the trip.
The charter boat, “Restless Lady” also ventured out on Sunday, but went to the Marine Electric where they released 4 blue sharks and caught some bluefish on the chunk.
On Memorial Day, several thresher sharks arrived at the scales, led by the 281 pounder decked by the crew on “Hellbent” while chunking at the Twin Wrecks. Right behind “Hellbent” was the “Rare Breed” who arrived at Sunset Marina with a 265 pounder caught south of the Fingers on a mackerel fillet.
We also saw a 201 lb. mako shark weighed at the OCFC by the crew on “All In”. The 80-inch mako ate a whole mackerel in 30 fathoms behind the Hot Dog.
Tuna
The crew on the “Reel Chaos” ventured out to 500 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon on Memorial Day and released a bunch of small yellowfin, keeping one that measured 28-inches. Capt. Anthony Matarese, Jr. reported water temps hovering around 66-degrees.
In the Surf
It has been a disappointing spring season for surfcasters, and it’s a shame because those folks are some of the most dedicated anglers you would ever meet.
We did see more stripers landed than we have been seeing in recent weeks and also a few black drum were caught as well. Quite a few of the stripers were in the upper 30-inch range and were caught on fresh bunker. However, anglers fishing off Assateague Island and the beaches in North Ocean City continue to get harassed by a lot of sharks (dogfish and black tips), skates and blowfish.
Striped Bass
Anglers fishing around the South Jetty last week were surprised with the number of stripers roaming the rocks, especially on Friday morning when several nice size linesiders were caught. The largest was a 48-incher hooked by Zach Goodrich on a bucktail. Zach’s group ended up with 7 stripers that morning. The King also caught a quick pair on Friday morning with the largest measuring 38-inches. Both were caught on his AllTackle septor rig.
Saturday saw a lot of boat traffic around the jetty but that didn’t stop Brooks Kline from capturing a 38-incher while fishing on the charter boat, “Lucky Break” with live spot.
Big Bird Cropper reported an excellent bite on Sunday night, although most of the fish were below minimum size.
The area around the Rt. 50 Bridge has also been producing some good striper action. On Thursday night, Dan Conroy hoisted a 43-incher over the rail that he caught on a pink Zoom during the outgoing tide.
Black Drum
Outside of the black drum being caught by surfcasters off Assateague Island, we saw a good catch come in on Saturday by the crew on the charter boat, “Lucky Break”. They ended up with 5 black drum caught in the bay near the Assateague Bridge while using clams for bait.
Flounder
With all the windy weather during the week, anglers who have been spoiled with pretty clean water this spring found some dirty water in the bay behind Ocean City. However, between the Thorofare and the areas around the duck blinds and behind the O.C. Airport, flounder fishermen were able to scratch up enough for dinner.
Some big fish were caught throughout the week, led by Bob Foster’s 26-incher caught near the duck blinds and Samantha Campbell’s 26-inch flattie hooked in the Thorofare.
For the first time this year, we saw more fish caught on minnows and shiners than on Gulp! artificial baits.
Sea Bass
According to Capt. Monty Hawkins on the headboat, “Morning Star”, the sea bass bite has been tough since the season reopened on May 19th. Anglers are catching enough for a meal, but limits are few and far between. Capt. Monty seems to think that the bulk of fish are avoiding the frigid 44-degree water temperature on inshore haunts and are staying further offshore.
We did see several fish come in off the “Morning Star” and the headboat, “Angler” that weighed 4 lbs. or more. Roger Swanson landed the heaviest one of the week, a 5 pounder, while fishing mid-week on the “Morning Star” at an artificial reef.
On Friday, the “Jezebel” hit a couple of wrecks before settling on the Great Eastern where they ended up with 34 sea bass caught on squid and minnows. Their largest fish measured 19-inches.
Upcoming Tournaments
We are off this weekend, but the shark tournaments are right around the corner starting with Bahia Marina’s Mako Mania on June 7th, 8th & 9th. This tournament can be a very exciting one and Bahia Marina is a place where you can get close to the action.
See you at the scales!
