Article by Larry Jock
Well, buckle in because it was one heckuva week of fishing in Ocean City.
White Marlin
On Tuesday, June 8th (right after last week’s Coastal Fisherman went to press), the crew on the “Bimini” returned with the first white marlin release of the year, 2 days earlier than the first white released last year. The fish was hooked in 1,100 fathoms between the Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons on a trolled, skirted ballyhoo by local angler Eric Van Orden. The “Bimini” crew not only receives the glory of catching the first white marlin, but they are also $10,000 richer, receiving $5,000 from both the Town of Ocean City and the Ocean City Marlin Club for their catch. Congratulations to the “Bimini” crew!
Blue Marlin
On the same day as the white marlin release, the crew on the “Stress Reel-ief” returned to Fisherman’s Marina with the first blue marlin release of the season. Angler Scott Brooks hooked the blue marlin on a naked ballyhoo in 1,100 fathoms outside the 461 Lump. The “Stress Reel-ief” crew will receive $2,500 for their catch, courtesy of the Ocean City Marlin Club.
Four blue marlin were hooked that day, with two busting off. The other blue marlin was released by Jeff Lessin on the “Legasea”. The big blue, estimated at 250 lbs., was hooked on a skirted ballyhoo, southwest of the Washington Canyon in 600 fathoms.
Dolphin
We didn’t see many dolphin this past week, but we did see the first, caught by anglers on the “Lucky Duck II”. The mahi-mahi were caught on June 8th in 1,000 fathoms between the Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons.
Yellowfin Tuna
The catches that had everyone buzzing this week were the yellowfin tuna that arrived at the dock on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was a beautiful sight, with most of the yellowfins ranging from 35 to 46 lbs.
On Friday, the crew on the “Darlin” returned with 6 yellowfins in the box. Two were caught near the 461 Lump and the other four were hooked on Squidnation lures near the 865 line in 100 fathoms.
Right behind the “Darlin” was the “Always Late” with 5 yellowfins. Capt. Larry Richardson said that he started deep outside the Washington Canyon, but had no luck, so he moved inside to 100 fathoms and hooked-up.
“That’s Right” was fishing in the same area and returned with 8 yellowfins.
On Saturday, the “Marli” stole the show with 13 yellowfins caught in 100 fathoms between the 820 and 870 lines, just north of the Washington Canyon in 68-degree water. Capt. Brian Porter reported having 8 fish hit at one time, and thanks to Mates Rick Tshudy and Mike Runk, 7 made it into the boat.
Also on Saturday, the “Full Service” had 3 yellowfins, “Tide Up” landed 6 yellowfins and the “Brenda Lou” also returned with 6 yellowfins, caught in 500 fathoms just above the 461 Lump.
On Sunday, “That’s Right” ended up with 3 yellowfins in the box. Capt. John reported that the yellowfins were acting strange and he attributed it to the number of large makos spotted in the area. John said that they had a yellowfin tuna hooked to a spreader bar, and just when it was beside the boat, a mako shark, estimated at 400 lbs., came up and ate both the yellowfin and the spreader bar. The crew thought the mako was going to come flying in the boat. Pretty scary!
Bluefins & Bigeyes
Surprisingly, we still aren’t seeing bluefins caught in any numbers. A few small ones were caught around the Fingers and up in Massey’s Canyon.
On Sunday evening, the dock at Sunset Marina came alive when the “Marli” arrived with a 211 lb. bigeye tuna, a yellowfin and a dolphin. The bigeye measured 64-inches and hit a spreader bar near the 850 line in 130 fathoms. Capt. Brian reported water temperatures around 68.5-degrees.
This week, the National Marine Fisheries Service adjusted the bluefin regulations. Recreational anglers can only keep one bluefin tuna per trip/per day, measuring between 27” to less than 59”. Headboats and charter boats can keep one bluefin measuring 27” to less than 47” and one bluefin 47” to 59”. These changes should make this year’s Tuna Tournament pretty interesting.
Sharks
We saw a lot of mako sharks caught over the weekend, especially on Saturday. Most were caught around the Sausages/Hot Dog/Hambone area but a few were also caught near the Parking Lot and the Marine Electric.
The largest mako we saw this week was a 200 pounder caught on the “Osprey” in 67.5-degree water, east of the Hot Dog. Whole mackerel or bluefish fillets seemed to be the ticket to hooking up a chopper.
A few thresher sharks hit the scales this week courtesy of the “Reel Naughty”. On separate days, the crews brought a 159 pounder to the scale that was caught near the Delaware Light and a 268 pounder they hooked near the Marine Electric.
Striped Bass
Stripers were the star of the show for bay anglers this week. We have seen an excellent bite around the South Jetty over the last couple of weeks. The vast majority of fish are small, in the 18 to 26-inch range, but the action is fast and furious.
“Skip’s Charter & Guide Service” had 30 throwbacks on Thursday and 36 on Friday. On Saturday, they returned with a couple of keepers and reported a bunch of “shorts”.
Live bait, preferably spot, is the bait of choice, but anglers tossing bucktails tipped with white curly tails and Gotcha plugs were also having good success.
The incoming tide worked well for most anglers who cruised up to the tip of the South Jetty and casted right into the rocks.
Flounder
It looks like a whole new batch of flounder found their way into our bay last week, but unfortunately, the vast majority of them are too small to keep.
The trips that really highlight our current flounder activity occurred on Friday when the “Bay Bee” returned from their morning trip with 3 keepers and 73 throwbacks. Their afternoon trip produced 2 keepers and 46 throwbacks. That’s what you call action!
On Sunday, Hunter Dortenzo really stole the show when he returned with a 9 lb. 11 oz. flounder that he caught on a bull minnow while fishing near the Rt. 50 Bridge.
Most of the action is happening in the East Channel near the Rt. 50 Bridge, at the mouth of the Commercial Harbor and in the south bay near the airport.
Overall, most of the throwbacks are in the 17.5 to 18-inch range and most of the keepers we are seeing measure between 20 and 22-inches.
In the Surf
Surf action was dominated by sharks, a few stripers and some kingfish (whiting) caught from the surf in North Ocean City.
Tournaments
This weekend is the 30th Annual Ocean City Shark Tournament. With the number of sharks being caught, and the large makos spotted near the Washington Canyon, it could make for a very exciting tournament for both anglers and spectators. Big fish, big crowds and big payouts. What more could you ask for?
I’ll see you at the scales!
