Article by Larry Jock
It was a real roller coaster of a week for fishing, especially offshore, but when the bite was on, it was off the charts.
Tuna
The tuna bite throughout last week was a real mix of good and bad days. It all started on Tuesday in 80-100 fathoms where several boats caught 15-18 yellowfin tuna on trolled ballyhoo and spreader bars. The following day anglers found slick conditions in the Baltimore Canyon where there were more marlin caught than tuna.
On Wednesday, the big news was the 73-inch, 235 lb. bigeye tuna caught by first time offshore angler, John Curry on the “Double Trouble”. You can read their interesting story on the cover of this issue.
On Thursday the tuna bite improved slightly with fish scattered in 100 fathoms in the Baltimore canyon. Anglers on the “Talkin’ Trash” did catch 11 yellowfins while trolling the 100 fathoms line from the Baltimore to the Poor Man’s Canyon and the “Moore Bills” boxed a dozen yellowfin on the north end of the Poor Man’s. A?few other boats recorded single-digit catches in both the Baltimore and the Poor Man’s.
Friday wasn’t much of a day and on Saturday the weatherman absolutely butchered the report, keeping a lot of anglers at the dock. The “Reel Tight” did make it out to the Poorman’s and returned with 16 yellowfins and a half-dozen mahi in the box. Anglers on the “Dawg Haus” put together a morning trip after they saw how incorrect the weather report was and headed out to 30 fathoms where they caught a 95 lb. bluefin.
Sunday’s tuna bite was strong in the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyon. The “Siren” was one of the first to return after catching 18 yellowfins in 100 fathoms, north of the Poor Man’s. “That’s Right” had 13 yellowfins a little deeper in 300 fathoms in the Baltimore and “Rhonda’s Osprey” was in 70 fathoms when they boxed 13 yellowfins and 3 mahi. Finally, anglers on the “Marli” caught 18 yellowfins, 3 mahi and recorded a white marlin release at the north end of the Poor Man’s.
Also on Sunday, a group of guys from the Pennsylvania National Guard chartered the “Over-Board” and returned with a 185 lb. bluefin that they caught while trolling in 20 fathoms straight out from the Ocean City Inlet.
Dolphin
Throughout the week, anglers returned with smaller dolphin caught while trolling for tuna. Some were also caught on the chunk. The largest dolphin came in on Thursday when anglers on the “That’s Right” put 12 in the box including a 25 pounder caught in the Baltimore Canyon.
Marlin
Several white marlin and a couple of blue marlin were caught and released during the week by boats trolling in the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyon. Anglers on the “Marli” had a good day last Wednesday when they released 4 white marlin in the Baltimore Canyon.
Flounder
You would have to say that the flounder bite is on the upswing, both in the bay and on inshore structure. Anglers were blessed with several days of very clean water in various spots around the bay. The key was finding those spots and when you did you typically found the flatties. The bay behind the Ocean City Airport and down further near the duck blinds continued to produce catches of keeper flounder and we also saw some come in from the East Channel as well.
We have started to see an increase in the number of bigger flounder coming in from ocean reefs and wrecks and this bite is sure to get better as the season progresses. If you have never tried flounder fishing in the ocean, do yourself a favor and join the Ocean City Reef Foundation so you can get their reef charts. It is the best money you will ever spend and flounder fishing in the ocean is a blast because you will find bigger fish and less boats to contend with.
Croaker
The first reported croaker of the season was caught on Wednesday by Max Thumma while drifting a minnow in the Thorofare. Last year we didn’t see much of a croaker bite, but if you are looking to catch some croaker, the mouth of the Commercial Harbor is usually a good place to look. Fishbites or small pieces of cut bait work well on hardheads.
Weakfish
We saw a few weakfish caught at the South Jetty throughout the week by anglers fishing with Gulp Swimming Mullets and Roy Rigs.
Spadefish
On Monday as this report was being written, Jim Fedele on the charter boat, “Get Sum” was surprised when he caught an 8 lb. 8 oz. spadefish along the docks at Harbor Island.
Cobia
We don’t see too many cobia venturing into the bay behind Ocean City, normally finding them cruising the surface on the shoals not far off the coastline, but last week anglers on the “Get Sum” caught 2 small ones in the Ocean City Inlet. The largest one, a 37-incher, was caught last Tuesday and an 18-incher was hooked on Wednesday. This year, cobia have to be 40-inches to keep.
Bluefish
If you want to catch small snapper bluefish, you can find them around the bridges, but it looks like if you want to find good numbers of big choppers you will need to head out into 20 to 30 fathoms near the Hambone. That is where Capt. Mark Hoos on the “Marli” came across them on Sunday while looking for bluefins. There were a bunch of them and the largest one caught tipped the scale at 11 lbs. 11 oz.
Sheepshead
There were several sheepshead caught last week by anglers fishing with crabs around the North and South Jetties.
In the Surf
Action in the surf is slow right now. Surfcasters are catching a few small bluefish and kingfish but most of the bites are sharks and skates.
Upcoming Tournament
This weekend is the 36th Annual Ocean City Marlin Club Canyon Kick-Off. You do not have to be a Marlin Club member to fish in this tournament. Anglers can fish 2 of 3 days, Friday through Sunday and weigh-ins are from 5:00 to 7:30 each night at Sunset Marina. If the tuna bite remains strong, these are three weigh-ins you won’t want to miss.
Until next week, I’ll see you at the scales!
