Article by Larry Jock
I want to start this week’s report with a big “Happy Birthday” to Laverne “Goodie” Good who celebrates his birthday on July 15th. Goodie, an excellent angler and a slip holder at the Ocean City Fishing Center, is battling some health issues right now, and we want him to know that we are all thinking of him and wishing him a speedy recovery.
Flounder
Water temperatures warmed up into the upper 70’s during the outgoing tide, and the flounder were snapping last week. The West Channel and in the bay behind Assateague Island were the two spots to be for those looking for keepers. The West Channel in particular has provided good action for the last couple of weeks. Finding the deeper holes is the key.
One of the top catches of the week occurred on Thursday when the “Get Sum” returned with 8 keepers in the box. The “Bay Bee” also had a good day on Saturday, returning with 6 nice flatties from the South Bay. They also had 125 throwbacks.
As far as single, big fish are concerned, the “Happy Hooker” boxed a 23-incher on Wednesday while fishing with shiners near Harbour Island. On Friday, the largest fish of the week was caught by Michael Livingston when he hooked a 26-inch, 6 lb. 6 oz. flattie in the Thorofare. Michael used a bucktail tipped with squid to land the big flounder.
Another good sign for flounder anglers is that big flatties are starting to show up on inshore wrecks and reefs. Fish up to 4 1/2 lbs. have been caught lately by anglers dropping clams on structure. The Twin Wrecks was mentioned as a location where large flounder were spotted.
Sea Bass
For those seeking sea bass last week, some days were good and some days were excellent. Capt. Monty on the “Morning Star” had some outstanding days returning with sea bass up to 4 lbs. The Susan Powers Reef at the Jackspot and the Great Eastern Reef gave up some nice fish last week for those fishing with clams.
Striped Bass
We only saw a few stripers caught this week, with all of them coming from around the South Jetty. The fish are tight to the rocks as proven by their beat up tails. Those drifting live spot across the tip had the most success. The largest fish we saw landed this week was the 38-incher caught by Bradley Martin on Wednesday. “Skip’s Charter & Guide Service” also had some good, multi-fish days last week at the jetty.
Bigeye Tuna
On Wednesday, the “Marli” really caused some excitement when they returned from 200 fathoms in the Washington Canyon with a 280 lb. bigeye tuna. This is the largest bigeye tuna we have seen in Ocean City over the past 5 years. It took every angler plus one of the mates to get this monster in the boat after it was hooked on a ballyhoo dressed up with a blue and white Ilander.
On Sunday, the “No Quarter” weighed a 237 lb. bigeye hooked in the Washington Canyon.
Bluefin Tuna
Several big bluefin tuna were caught last week by anglers trolling ballyhoo at the Hambone, the Hot Dog and in Massey’s Canyon. Several fish between 57 and 59-inches were captured.
On Thursday, Dave Henzler on “That’s Right” muscled in a 117 lb. bluefin tuna. The 59-inch fish was fooled with a trolled ballyhoo at the Hot Dog. Also on Thursday, the “Ranger” returned to the Ocean City Fishing Center with a 57-incher in the box, caught in Massey’s Canyon.
On Saturday, anglers on “Capt’N Puggs” boated a 59-incher that tipped the scales at 110 lbs. This fish was caught at the Hambone.
At the same location on Sunday, the “No Scales” caught a 58-incher and the “Dream Come True” landed the heaviest bluefin so far this year, a 123.5 pounder, on a trolled ballyhoo.
A heavier bluefin tuna was released on Sunday by anglers on “That’s Right”. The bluefin, estimated at 500 lbs., was released in the Washington Canyon.
Yellowfin Tuna
We’ve been spoiled this season with large numbers of yellowfin brought back to the dock. Only a few boats recorded double digit catches but smiling anglers are still coming back from trips with good numbers of yellowfins. The bite continues to center in the Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons in deep water but have also worked their way into 30-70 fathoms right up the line.
Sunday was a good day, particularly for 3 boats. “Tighten Up” returned early with 8 yellowfins caught in 70 fathoms in the Washington Canyon. “That’s Right” was also in the Washington and threw 12 yellowfins on the dock at Fisherman’s Marina. “Rhonda’s Osprey” weighed 282 lbs. of tuna that was caught on ballyhoo in the Washington Canyon.
Throughout the week, most boats that found yellowfin tuna came back with 1 to 4, but a few were able to hook 7 to 9 during their trip.
Billfish
Anglers in the Washington Canyon and south towards the Norfolk Canyon hooked into some white marlin over the weekend. “Grande Pez” had 3 releases just north of the Norfolk Canyon. On Thursday, “Rhonda’s Osprey” also recorded 3 white marlin releases, and a blue marlin release in the Poor Man’s.
Blue marlin were hooked by several boats during the week. On Tuesday, “Reel Chaos” released a blue marlin in the Baltimore Canyon. We didn’t see another one until Thursday when “Rhonda’s Osprey” recorded the release mentioned above. On Friday, the “Jade II” weighed a 520 pounder after it died 3 hours into the fight. The meat was donated to the local shelter. Finally, on Sunday “Rhonda’s Osprey” released another blue marlin, estimated at 350-400 lbs., in the Washington Canyon.
Wahoo
The largest wahoo of the year came in on Sunday when 10-year-old Ashton Fisher muscled in a 62 pounder at the Hambone.
Jeff Gayan on the “Fugitive” captured a 50 lb. speedster in the middle of the week in the Washington Canyon and anglers on the “Yellowfin” boated 2 wahoo weighing 32 lbs. and 47.5 lbs. during a trip earlier in the week.
Dolphin
Dolphin continue to be caught by anglers targeting tuna and billfish. Those trolling in the southern end of the Poor Man’s Canyon, the Washington Canyon and along the 30 fathom line as far north as the Tea Cup were able to find some nice size dolphin.
In the Surf
Sue Foster at Oyster Bay Tackle reports, “We're still getting reports of Norfolk spot in the surf along with catches of kingfish, sand perch, croaker and a rare snapper blue. Anglers are using bloodworms, Fishbite Bloodworms, and little pieces of squid or fresh bunker for these panfish. There are a lot of big rays and smaller skates whether you want them or not. Sandbar, sand tigers and duskies are around with the larger sharks biting at night.”
Upcoming Tournament
This weekend is the 24th Annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament, hosted by the Ocean City Fishing Center. Boats are allowed to fish 2 of 3 days, beginning on Friday. Weigh-ins are held from 4:00 to 7:30 pm on Friday and Saturday and 4:00 to 7:00 pm on Sunday. This is always an exciting tournament with big fish and big crowds, so make sure you get to the Ocean City Fishing Center early to get your prime seat.
See you at the scales.
