Article by Larry Jock
This Week Last Year
•644.9 lb. thresher shark was caught at the Cigar.
•200.9 lb. mako caught in the Baltimore Canyon won the Mako Mania Tournament.
•Threshers were caught at the Cigar and in Massey’s Canyon.
•Bluefins were caught at Elephant Trunk and Hot Dog.
•Yellowfins were scarce, but some were caught at the south end of the Poor Man’s.
•Bigeyes were caught in Norfolk and Washington Canyons.
•Sea bass fishing was strong on natural ocean bottom.
•Best flounder bite was by the Duck Blinds in the bay behind Assateague Island.
•Thorofare produced some catches of flounder.
•Stripers and bluefish were caught in the surf.
Marlin
The big news last week was the catch and release of the first white marlin of the season in Ocean City. It was a little crazy because on Saturday, Scott Neuschwender arrived late in the afternoon with a white marlin release. With no other reports coming in throughout the day, it appeared that Scott had caught the first white of the season. We then heard rumors of a boat that was on a double overnighter that had released a pair of whites, but nobody was positive that this was the case. On Sunday morning, the crew on the “Uncle Keith” arrived at the commercial launch in West Ocean City and had, in fact, released 2 white marlin on Saturday morning while fishing in 660 fathoms between the Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons, earning them $11,000 in prize money. The Town of Ocean City will award them $5,000 and they will also get $6,000 from a group of businesses that enhanced the prize money a couple of years ago (Atlantic Tackle, Bahia Marina, Bank of Ocean City, Coastal Fisherman, Ocean City Fishing Center and Sunset Marina). Neither the angler or the “Uncle Keith” are members of the Marlin Club, so they will not receive the $5,000 that the club annually awards.
That brings us to Steve Selander on the “Hot Rod” who headed out to the Hot Dog on Sunday and released a white marlin at 9:10 in the morning. Steve is a Marlin Club member, so his release will earn him $5,000.
There were also a few blue marlin hooked last week, but none came tight. The charter boat, “Last Call” had one come loose around the 461 Lump on Saturday. The following day, the “Longshot” broke one off in 800 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon that they estimated at 400 lbs. Also on Sunday, the “Brenda Lou” was deep outside the Washington and had one pulling drag before it swam away.
Dolphin
We saw a lot of dolphin arrive at local scales last week and the great news is that there was a definite increase in the average size. I saw quite a few of them in the 11-14 lb. range caught in the Baltimore, Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons, but anglers on “The Zipper” got into some larger ones on Friday, up to 25 lbs., while fishing in 100 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon. No surprise with water temperatures in the mid-70s.
Tuna
We did see a few yellowfins caught last week, but bluefins continued to dominate the action with most of the fish coming in from the Baltimore Canyon and a little south towards the Poor Man’s. Several boats not only had their 27” to 47” fish, but their over-47” fish as well. The largest bluefin so far this year in Ocean City was caught on May 27th by angler Steve Brokenshire on the “White Lightning”. Steve’s bluefin measured 66-inches and weighed 155 lbs. He hooked it on a trolled ballyhoo in the Poor Man’s Canyon.
Sharks
Just in time for the Mako Mania Shark Tournament this weekend, we heard of several makos released in the canyons and a couple of big threshers hit the scales.
On Saturday, Marc and Mark Troch on the “Tiffany Lynne” caught a 553 lb. thresher while fishing at the Fingers. There was also a 146 pounder caught earlier in the week at the Fingers.
A 159 lb. mako was caught in the Poor Man’s Canyon on Sunday by anglers fishing on the “No Limit”.
Sea Bass
It was a good week for sea bass fishing, but you had to get in 100+ feet of water to find the best bite. Anglers on the headboats “Judith M”, “Morning Star” and “Angler” returned with some limits around the rail and fish close to 5 lbs. On Friday, Kemper Cave on the “Angler” caught a 4 3/4 pounder in 100 feet of water while using squid for bait.
Cobia
Cobia season in Maryland opened up on June 1st with a 40-inch minimum size. Last week, we saw a couple caught in the surf along the Maryland and Delaware coast. Bill Greenwood started it off on Tuesday with a 32-incher caught and released while soaking bunker in the suds off Assateague Island. On Sunday, Tom Lane was fishing in the surf and caught a 37-incher at Savages Ditch, just north of Indian River, DE.
Bluefish
The last month has seen some fantastic bluefish action in the bay behind Ocean City. We also saw some bigger fish caught along the coast as well, but the majority of fish are coming in from the Ocean City Inlet and around the Rt. 50 Bridge. On average, the fish are snapper sized, but a few big choppers have been in the mix. Fishing with rubber shads, Gotcha plugs or anything shiny has done the trick.
Striped Bass
Right now, the best striper action is around the Rt. 50 Bridge, both during the day and at night. The fish are short, but plentiful. Buddy Martin fished off the bridge mid-week and ended up with 19 throwback stripers with most in the 24 to 25-inch range, but he did have a 30-inch keeper in the mix. All were hooked on 1 oz. jig heads tipped with Super Flukes.
Weakfish
Jeff Kauffman boated a 27-inch weakie in the Ocean City Inlet last week that tipped the scale at 5 lbs. 9 oz. He caught it on a 5-inch Bust Em soft plastic bait.
Sheepshead
There are good numbers of sheepshead around the South Jetty right now. Crabs are the ticket.
In the Surf
It continues to be a forgettable spring for surfcasters along the coast. Once again, the striper season was a bust, but the black drum bite was good and bluefish have been taking up some of the slack. This past week, anglers found short stripers in the suds and some good size gators.
Flounder
Dirty water conditions made flounder fishing challenging last week, but we saw catches coming in from the Thorofare, East Channel and around the South Jetty.
Slow trollers using some type of blade on their rig are finding success and those drifting the channels are still doing best with 4-inch white Gulp Swimming Mullets.
I’m still waiting to hear reports from anglers who have tried the new American Stink artificial baits. They are impregnated with scent, just like the Gulp baits, but they are supposed to be a lot more durable. If you get a chance to test them out, give us a call and let me know how you did.
Upcoming Tournament
This weekend is the 23rd Annual Mako Mania Shark Tournament at Bahia Marina. The tournament is June 7th - 9th with weigh-ins each day from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. You get to be very close to the scale at this tournament, so it is a great one to see in person.
Until next week, I’ll see you at the scales!
