Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• Hurricane Earl blew through and cooled most of the action for the week.
• It was a good week for billfishing after the storm. Most were still trolling east of the canyons in 1000 fathoms, but the winds from Earl did push some blue water closer to shore with marlin reports in the 500 fathom range. The “Boss Hogg” had 11 releases for the week from offshore of the Baltimore Canyon. The “Knot Again” released 10 whites on an overnight trip 20 miles outside of the Baltimore.
• Not much tuna action, although the “Carol’s Teakettle” found a 75 lb. yellowfin in the Baltimore.
We are in the heart of the Atlantic hurricane season and so far it’s been a little busy. Fortunately, these storms have spared landfall in the Delmarva area, however we have not been fully spared from their offshore presence. Last week of course saw two pass east of our shores limiting anglers from getting to the canyons. Last week however, saw a reprieve with many days in a row with glass calm conditions with many boats heading out. Several even did two and three days on the rip returning with reports of double digit marlin releases. As for tuna, the bite remains slow and sharks are eating most of what gets hooked before it can be reeled in to the boat. Many captains are still targeting dolphin and tilefish as an offset to tuna. The tasty mahi are still in the canyons, but as Capt. BJ Pietryak reported in his articles this week, the aggressive bite inshore cooled over the week as the fish moved to deeper water.
All eyes are on Hurricane Lee for this weekend. It is expected to be offshore in earnest here by Friday with initial effects being felt on Thursday. As I write this on Monday, waves up 8 to 10 feet on the beaches are being forecasted with 15 second intervals. Perhaps good for surfers, but not so much for fishing!
Billfish
As we shared in last week’s edition, once the winds calmed we saw great marlin fishing on Sunday the 3rd. As we have seen for most of the summer, the ‘hot’ fishing days come and go much more quickly than in recent years. We used to see several day strings of action for both tuna and marlin, this summer it felt like we had single day events. Last week was no exception. While many still found some nice marlin like the “Billfisher”, who hit it hard on the 3rd releasing 6 blue marlin and 4 white marlin on their trip to south of the Norfolk Canyon, as the week progresses the count dropped to the low single digits. The “About Time” released a white and had a blue on for a bit until it jumped off while trolling naked ballyhoo just below the Poor Man’s Canyon. The “Charlie’s Plunder” out of Greenville, VA released an 80” white in the Washington Canyon that hit on a naked ballyhoo as well. That would have been a prize fish just a few weeks ago! They also caught a number of mahi and some jacks. The crew of the “Slaughterhouse” also had a good day with Pam Hess and Sharon Rittmeyer, releasing 4 white marlin caught on ballyhoo as they trolled in 500 fathoms between the Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons.
The two time White Marlin Open winner the “Fish Whistle” shared a Grand Slam they had last week. They fished in 300 fathoms of the Washington Canyon using ballyhoo and released 5 white marlin, 2 sailfish and a blue marlin in a single day! That boat and crew sure know how to raise billfish.
Anglers last week also shared when they released their first marlins. Andrew Davis from Chincoteague, VA released his first white that he caught in the Washington Canyon. 13 year old Dustin Liechling found his first white in the canyons using naked ballyhoo. His was 66” long and estimated at 60 lbs. Nice fish.
The weekend continued the action with the “Fish On” returning to Sunset Marina Sunday with 5 white marlin flags flying and two yellowfin in the box. The “Magic Moment” also returned to Sunset Marina from the Baltimore Canyon with a report of 3 whites released.
Tuna or Lack There of!
It is that time of year when most are targeting billfish in the canyons, however tuna often can hit on a marlin spread and others continue to target the meat fish. The “Sea Hunt” returned to Harbour Island with a chunky 68 lb. yellowfin tuna they caught in the Washington Canyon. It was hooked with a Cake Christy custom daisy chain and horse ballyhoo on the cold side of a temperature break. They were really quite fortunate to get it to the boat without a shark bite. Anglers Jamie Persels, Ed Fleming and Tony Gay got a 60 lb. yellowfin in the box from the 800 Square. Wes Veater also released his first white marlin on the trip.
The crazy story of the week had to go to angler Christopher Ford. He was fishing on the “The Clarkey” in the Washington Canyon trolling the Sea Wall of the Notch when they got hit by 3 bigeye tuna. Two broke off and the last one fought Chris for about 45 minutes. It was almost to the boat when the rod broke in half! He had to hand line the last 100 feet for 15 minutes. Christopher did share he was careful to use a marlin wrap on his hand so as to not be pulled overboard. There were several sharks circling the fish. Once to the scales it measured 64” and weighed 170.8 lbs.
Mahi on the Move and Broadbills in the Mix
The great dolphin bite continues in the canyons with captains reporting ample weed lines and flotsam to target. Boat limits of 54 are still being reported. As mentioned, they seem to have moved out of the inshore spots for deeper water. We will see if the winds and waves from Lee push them back in.
Several boats are running overnight trips this time of year. This gives them an advantage to night fish for swords. While some can be caught during the day with some even swimming on the surface, nighttime is the right time. The “All In” returned to the OC Fishing Center from their overnight with a swordfish. They caught it at night in the bigeye hole of the Washington Canyon, and they also released a white.
While most of the canyon tournaments have wrapped up, the fall offers several options for surf fishing events and the Broad Bill Bash for swords in October, so still a lot of fishing to be had!
That’s a wrap for this week, so until next time I will see you at the docks! §
