Article by Larry Jock
If this past winter and spring is any indication of how fishing will pan out this season, just throw out your old log books because nothing will be the same. Thanks to the exceptionally warm winter we experienced, it looks to me like everything may be a couple of weeks to a month earlier than we have seen in the past. This should make thing very interesting.
Bluefin Tuna / Sharks
For the second year in a row, the first bluefin tuna of the season was caught by Mike Sears on the “Wrangler”. Mike caught his fish on Monday, April 29th, three days earlier than last year when he landed one on May 1st in the Washington Canyon. Capt. Craig Mercier took his crew 70 miles offshore to 500 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon (200 line) where he said there were all the bluefin tuna you wanted to catch. After catching their one bluefin, the crew switched over to shark fishing where they released 2 blue sharks during the trip.
Striped Bass
Prior to the last week in January, the striped bass bite was mediocre with the majority of fish cruising down the 10-mile line. Most anglers, including myself, pulled their boats thinking that the season was over, which, based on history, it was. However, that was not the case by a long shot. Big schools of fish started to appear inside the 3-mile line and the bite was on. Anglers who wanted to jig didn’t have much success but those on the troll really tore them up. Bites started just south of the Sliver (Assateague Bridge) and slowly moved north up past the Indian River Inlet. Fish were feeding on enormous schools of bunker so those trolling mojos, parachutes, umbrella rigs and Stretch Imitators did very well. The bite finally settled down around mid-March and the weather since then has prevented anglers from getting out into the ocean on a lot of days, but when you could get out, stripers were still there to be found.
As with every spring run, the linesiders seem to hug the beach during their northern migration more so than in the fall. This sets up excellent fishing in early to mid-May for surfcasters fishing off Assateague Island and the beaches of Ocean City and southern Delaware. Anglers are pecking away at stripers in the surf, but the hot and heavy action hasn’t started up yet. If we use history as a guide, then it should heat up very soon.
With water temperatures in the bay hovering around the mid 50’s to low 60’s, anglers tossing bucktails and Slug-Go’s or trolling swim shads on light tackle have been able to catch striped bass around the bridges and the South Jetty.
Tautog
The big news so far this year goes back to January 11th, when Charlie Donohue from Philadelphia, PA boated a 23 lb. tautog that set a new Maryland state record. The 33-inch male blackfish was caught aboard the “Morning Star” on a green crab at an artificial reef. This wasn’t the only big tautog caught by an angler on the “Morning Star” this past winter/spring. Capt. Monty had several fish over 19 lbs. with a couple of anglers being inducted into the “20 lb. Club”.
Lately, with the minimum size increasing from 14-inches to 16-inches, tautog fishing on ocean reefs and wrecks has seen some days when the fish were flying over the rail and other days when anglers had to really work for a keeper. Green and white crabs were the ticket.
In the bay, tautog fishing has been better than expected. The increased minimum size had most worried that they would hardly see a keeper caught this year, but the bite has been good off the 4th Street Bulkhead, around the South Jetty and at the rocks off Martha’s Landing in the West Channel.
Right now, tautog regulations stand at:
01/01/12 to 05/15/12
16” minimum
4 fish per person
05/16/12 to 10/31/12
16” minimum
2 fish per person
11/01/12 to 11/14/12
16” minimum
4 fish per person
11/15/12 to 12/31/12
SEASON CLOSED
However, state and federal fishery representatives are working on the possibility of extending the tautog season so that it will only close from 11/26/12 to 12/31/12. Obviously, nothing is guaranteed but it’s good to know that they are looking at it.
Sea Bass
Right now, the sea bass season is closed. If you listen real hard, you can hear local head boat captain’s heads exploding since most are convinced that the regulations are based on poor data. The season is scheduled to open on May 22nd, but I heard that the fishery management folks are trying to get it opened on May 19th. Check this column or the Breaking News section at www.coastalfisherman.net for updates.
Anglers on ocean wrecks and reefs have been releasing some large sea bass. One angler told me that they ventured out to the Great Eastern Reef a little over a week ago and were releasing knotheads up to 20-inches. Capt. Monty on the “Morning Star” reported releasing sea bass up to 17-inches during a recent trip.
Flounder
The big news is the MD Fisheries Service reducing the minimum size for flounder this year from 18-inches to 17-inches. You know what that means? We’ll all catch 16.5-inch flatties. Doesn’t it always seem to be that way?
However, it doesn’t look like that will be the case because quite a few flounder have already been caught since the season opened on April 14th. Since then, it has been tough to find a good stretch of days when the weather was good enough to fish.
Local charter boats, “Get Sum”, “Lucky Break” and “Ocean City Guide Service” have all returned from trips with good catches in the box.
The hot spot has definitely been up in the Thorofare and on the flats, north of the Thorofare. In the Thorofare, anglers drifting between the yellow house on the tip of Captain’s Hill to around the corner of the channel have landed good size flounder. Boats trolling over the flats have also produced good numbers.
The hot bait is the Gulp! Alive Swimming Mullet in white, chartreuse or pink. Pink tends to do well in the spring but after that, white becomes the top producer.
Let’s hope for some good weather so anglers can hit the water in search of their favorite catch. We are off to a pretty good start.
Tight lines!
