Article by Larry Jock
This Week Last Year
•157 boats in The MidAtlantic with 93 out of OC and 64 out of NJ.
•765 white marlin released in The MidAtlantic.
•55 blue marlin released in The MidAtlantic.
•Bigeyes showed up deep outside the Baltimore Canyon.
•Winning dolphin and wahoo were caught outside Poor Man’s.
•Flounder fishing on ocean structure was good at the Old Grounds and down at Winter Quarter Shoal.
•Mackerel, albies, bluefish and a barracuda were caught at the Jackspot.
•252 lb. thresher was caught at “A” Buoy.
•Good flounder fishing in East Channel, West Channel and in the Fish Bowl.
•Sheepshead were caught at the South Jetty.
Offshore action was dominated by The MidAtlantic Tournament held all last week. There were 156 boats entered in this years event with 94 fishing out of Ocean City.
Once again, our local boats made us proud, taking over $2,966,000 of the $3,529,000 total prize money. That’s 84%! Hats off to all of the Ocean City boats.
There were several records broken in this years tournament:
• Total payout of $3,528,760.
•Payout for Tuna Division winner (“Stalker”) - $802,275.
•73 blue marlin caught.
•68 blue marlin released.
Although not a record, there were 487 white marlin released throughout the week which amounts to 1.04 releases per boat, per day. In last years tournament, there was an average of 1.73 billfish caught per boat, per day which was second only to the 1.78 average in 2016.
In the Billfish Division, the “Uno Mas” had a good tournament, finishing 1st in points with 1,571 accumulated by weighing a 71 lb. white marlin and releasing 20 others during their 3 days of fishing. The 71 pounder and 10 of their releases came on Wednesday while trolling in the Wilmington Canyon.
Speaking of billfish, it’s hard not to applaud the crew on the “Haulin n Ballin” for the run they have had over the last 3 weeks. They took the top blue marlin spot in the White Marlin Open with a 465.5 pounder. They followed that up with a 74.5 lb. dolphin in the Poor Girls Open that not only won the Dolphin Division, but set a new Maryland state record. To cap things off, last week they won the Blue Marlin Division of The MidAtlantic with a 630 pounder caught on the final day of the event, earning them another $556,000. Great run... great people!
The final day was also exciting in the White Marlin Division when “Moore Bills” returned on the final day with a 72 pounder caught in 500 fathoms in the Washington Canyon to take the lead, but shortly thereafter, the “Intents” showed up with a 72 pounder caught in 100 fathoms in the Baltimore that ended the tournament in a tie with “Moore Bills”.
In the Tuna Division, unlike last year when we saw quite a few bigeyes hit the scale, this year we mainly saw yellowfins. However, on Wednesday the crew on the “Stalker” headed to the Washington Canyon and returned with a pair of eyeballs that tipped the scale at 207 and 226 lbs. to put themselves in the top 2 spots for the rest of the tournament, earning them a whopping $802,274 in award money. It was not a doubleheader with the 207 pounder caught by Darren Impson on an 80 and the 226 pounder hooked by Collin Macomber on a 50, resulting in a 45-minute fight. Those fish were two studs and you knew they were going to be very hard to beat. The 3rd place tuna was a 96 lb. yellowfin caught on the “Dem Boys” in the Baltimore Canyon.
Another boat that is having a year to remember is the “Top Dog”. They won the Big Rock Tournament earlier this year with a 914 lb. blue marlin that won them over $713,000 in award money. In The MidAtlantic, they caught a 33 lb. dolphin behind the Baltimore Canyon to tie the “Reel Estate” who also caught a 33 pounder on the first day of the tournament while trolling at the Rockpile.
Another local boat, “Chain Reaction” took top honors in the Wahoo Division with a 35 lb. speedster caught on the 2nd day of the event while trolling in the Washington Canyon, beating out another Ocean City boat, “Special Situation” who boated a 29 pounder in the Poor Man’s Canyon.
Outside of the tournament there really wasn’t a lot going on.
Cobia are still quietly being caught around Little Gull and Great Gull Shoals by anglers tossing bucktails and eels to fish cruising around balls of bunker. Also at Great Gull, Spanish mackerel continue to hit trolled spoons. Early in the week, the charter boat, “Lucky Break” caught 15 Spanish mackerel at Great Gull with the largest measuring 20-inches.
Inshore, the flounder bite continues to frustrate anglers who are used to an excellent bite on both structure and open bottom at this time of year. The Old Grounds still looks like the place to be for larger fish. Dropping bucktails tipped with strip baits has produced well in the past.
The black sea bass bite is still inconsistent. Reports have come in from several captains of sounder screens lit up with fish, but nothing biting. Everyone seems to think that the colder water on the bottom is the culprit.
The bright spot inshore are the number of bailer dolphin not far off the coast. Reports from as close as Great Gull Shoal have come in and anglers fishing off the coast of Delaware around “B” Buoy and at the DelJerseyLand reef site are finding them there as well.
In the bay, anglers fought the weather for most of the week and when they could get out they found a lot of action, just not a lot of keepers. The best spots have been in the East Channel and Capt. Nick Clemente said that he had a good trip on Sunday morning while drifting in the Thorofare. Anglers need to keep an eye on the Inlet and around the South Jetty since this is the time of year when we start to see flatties showing up closer to the Inlet.
Upcoming Tournaments
This weekend is the Ocean City Marlin Club Labor Day Tournament. Anglers can fish 2 of 3 days from Friday to Sunday. This year, the Club adjusted the format to include an overnight option where lines are in at 8am but have to be out at midnight on Day 1 and out at 3:30 pm on Day 2. Weigh-ins are from 5:30 to 7:30 at Sunset Marina.
Until next week, I’ll see you at the scales!
