Article by Larry Jock
Well, this is the last Coastal Fisherman of the season. Overall, it was an outstanding year for fishing with only a couple of species (croaker, bluefins) letting us down.
We will continue providing updated daily fishing reports at www.coastalfisherman.net, so make sure you swing by the website each day to see what’s biting.
This past week was tough. It’s not that the fish weren’t there for the taking, it was Mother Nature who made it tough to go out and get them. We really shouldn’t complain though. Our weather this season was generally nice.
Challenge Cup
The 32nd Annual Challenge Cup was held last weekend, pitting the Ocean City Marlin Club against the Cape May (NJ) Marlin and Tuna Club. After being defeated the last two years, our Ocean City boats brought the cup back to Ocean City, beating Cape May with 34 white marlin releases to their 30 releases. The top boat was the “Legasea”, with 8 white marlin releases during the 1 day tournament on Saturday.
Scoring was based upon the top 6 boats for each club. The top Ocean City boats were:
“Legasea” - 8 releases
“D.A. Sea” - 6 releases
“Miss Annie” - 6 releases
“Reel Joy” - 6 releases
“Par Five” - 5 releases
“Spike’s Boat” - 4 releases
The action centered in the Norfolk Canyon where most were able to find white marlin in 30-50 fathoms, although some boats did pick up and run to deeper waters to hook a couple.
Overall, it was a good tournament with 13 boats competing from Ocean City and 23 from Cape May. White marlin releases numbered 99 with a sailfish released as well.
Congratulations to our local boats for doing themselves and the Ocean City fishing community proud.
Marlin
Outside of the tournament on Saturday, weather conditions kept boats at the dock during the majority of the week. We did see boats venture to the Washington and Norfolk Canyons on Wednesday to get some fishing in prior to the forecasted rough seas. The “D.A. Sea” released 33 white marlin in the Norfolk Canyon followed by the “Cerveza” (20), the “Osprey” (12) and the “Reel Joy” (9).
On Thursday, the “Miss Jane II” was the only boat we heard of that fished, and returned with 7 white marlin flags flying.
Based upon what we saw in the Challenge Cup, it appears that we haven’t seen the end of the great white marlin bite anglers experienced this season and the good news is that the fish moved closer inshore into 30-50 fathoms.
Dolphin
Anglers continued to hook dolphin during their search for marlin, tuna and wahoo. Most of the catches are peanut dolphin, but a few are coming in over 15 lbs. On Saturday, the “Marli” returned with 30 dolphin after fishing near the Rockpile and the “Samurai I” caught 20 in the Norfolk Canyon. Earlier in the week, the “Marli” went to the Washington Canyon and hooked 41 dolphin on cut bait.
Tuna
With most boats focussing on the incredible white marlin fishery, those in search of yellowfin tuna have been few and far between. Good thing, because those that did search for tuna have been extremely disappointed. A few were picked up during the week when the “Samurai I” boated 2 on Saturday in the Norfolk Canyon and the “Sea Hunt” and “Marli” each caught a yellowfin near the Rockpile.
Wahoo
A few boats headed to the Hot Dog over the weekend in search of wahoo, but returned empty handed. Prior to the last blow, the Hot Dog was the place to be if you wanted to pick up a few speedsters and even some yellowfins.
Earlier in the week, the “Reel Joy” boated a wahoo in the Norfolk Canyon .
Flounder
Flounder fishing last week was horrible. Water conditions have been slow to improve since Hurricane Earl blew by us a couple of weeks ago. Incredibly, the water still looks like mud, frustrating those in search of flatties.
Throwback numbers continue to run high. For example, on Saturday the “Get Sum” had 30 throwbacks while fishing between the East and West Channels north of the Rt. 50 Bridge. On Wednesday, the “Bay Bee” recorded 70 throwbacks and 3 keepers during their 2 trips.
It does sound like the Old Grounds, off the coast of Delaware, is starting to heat up. It’s quite a run (20 miles), but if the flounder are hitting like they are known to do in this area, it is worth every minute.
Red Drum
Like this time last year, the red drum bite is heating up for Assateague surfcasters and for boaters drifting baits in 40 feet of water, south of the inlet. Last year, the Mudhole was a productive location for reds.
Striped Bass / Bluefish
There was an excellent striper bite around the Rt. 50 Bridge last week for anglers fishing with live spot. We heard it really went off on Saturday when anglers had all the stripers they wanted. Most were undersized, but a few keepers were landed as well.
Bluefish are also in the mix for anglers tossing lures around the pilings. We had been seeing mostly small, snapper bluefish around the bridge, but last week some choppers moved in to tussle with local anglers.
I’ve been getting questioned by folks lately about when our fall striper season kicks into gear. I have found that the best action runs between Thanksgiving and mid-January. We can see a good bite both before and after this time period, but for the most part, the consistent bite runs during that time. My best 3 days last year were December 31st to January 2nd when I released over 100 stripers, all caught while jigging. Talk about fun! Keep an eye on our online fishing report for daily updates.
Tilefish
Each year, we see more and more anglers getting into catching tilefish. For those who aren’t familiar with this species, they are found in deep water and can put up quite a fight when trying to reel them up from the deep. Great northern tilefish, or golden tilefish, are found in very deep water and actually burrow into the ocean bottom waiting to pounce on prey. Since they are very stationary, having precise GPS numbers are of upmost importance.
That being said, having seen the GPS on the “Morning Star”, it is no wonder that Capt. Monty Hawkins was able to put some anglers onto blueline and great northern tilefish last week. Capt. Monty himself landed 2 great northern tilefish, with the largest weighing 35 lbs. His trusty mate, Tucker Colquhoun boated a 12.5 lb. blueline tilefish. Others on the boat got into bluelines as well. Check with Capt. Monty’s website for dates of future tilefish trips.
Sea Bass
The weather made it difficult to get to ocean wrecks and reefs in search of sea bass during the week, but the weekend really picked up with good catches and larger fish. Capt. Monty said it was the most consistently good bite all year. The Great Eastern Reef, African Queen and Winter Quarter Shoal have been producing nice catches.
I want to take this time to thank those involved in bringing you the Coastal Fisherman each week. Columnists Dale Timmons, Sue Foster, Pat Schrawder, Rick Willman, “Mama” Jock and Mark Sampson put a lot of time and effort into their columns and I appreciate the value they bring to the paper every single week.
I would also like to thank our readers, whose loyalty both flatters and amazes me each season and inspires us to put out the best fishing newspaper we possibly can.
I would also like to thank the Coastal Fisherman “crew” consisting of artist Daina Kazmaier, my wife Mary, son Larry and my parents Larry and Maureen Jock. These folks work incredibly hard during the season and many times, go way beyond the “call of duty”. I don’t know where we would be without any of them!
Finally, I want to thank our advertisers, without whom there would be no Coastal Fisherman. In today’s world, businesses have many advertising options at their disposal, but the vast majority of our advertisers have been with us for many years and have seen the value in advertising in the Coastal Fisherman. We appreciate all of our advertisers and are happy to be a part of their success.
Please remember the role advertisers play in bringing you the Coastal Fisherman each week and, when possible, patronize them as much whenever you can. Let them know you have seen their ad in the Coastal Fisherman. It’s the part YOU can play in guaranteeing the Coastal Fisherman publishes for many seasons to come.
Although we will be taking a few weeks off to recharge our batteries, don’t hesitate to give us a call to take a picture of your catch. You can also email your photo and fishing reports to [email protected].
Have a great fall and look for the Winter Edition of the Coastal Fisherman to come out during the 1st week in January.
This “Paperboy” will see you on the water!
