Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
•The flounder fishing was strong in the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal.
•Rockfish were running off the beaches as were drums with citation fish being caught.
•Weather was an issue with strong winds and a tropical system passing off shore.
•The “Wrecker” landed a 74” swordfish on May 14th.
•First mako of the year was brought in by the “Finatic”, 84” female weighing 165 lbs.
•Dylan Wiley reported the first yellowfin tuna from the Washington Canyon.
While the story for last week remains a strong flounder bite and good action for sea bass and rockfish, the warmer waters in the canyons are slowly moving toward us! Some boats are making the trip south to find the tips of these warm water areas with good success. For example, we had our second bluefin tuna report for the season from Capt. JT DiGuglielmo on the “Gringo Loco” out of Lewes, DE. They ran down to the Washington Canyon and boated a 31 lb. and 36 inch bluefin caught on a Joe Shute lure. This was the first fish reported from Delaware!
Shark fishing is also on the rise and much closer for some. Our cover this week is a nice thresher shark caught by the “MAKO me CRAZY” out of the Pines Point Marina in Berlin, MD. Patrick Snell Jr., with his dad Capt. Patrick Snell Sr. from Ellicott City were working the Twin Wrecks in 60° water when they connected with an 81”, 267 lb. thresher using whole mackerel for bait. This was a big event for us as we did not record or see a thresher shark catch for the entire season in 2020!
Our very own Mark Sampson on the “Fish Finder” also did well last week. He had one trip last Friday where they caught and released 4 mako sharks in the Fingers using sea bass for bait in 61° water. They ranged from an estimated 75 to 200 pounds. Three of these were also fitted with satellite SPOT tag transmitters and the forth with a conventional shark tag. These satellite devices will enable researchers and the public to track their movements over the next 1-2 years. On the next day Saturday they also released a blue shark, another mako caught by Trent White. They were also surprised to catch and release their first tiger shark for the season. The water was only 62° and is typically too cool for tigers. Last week you will also remember that Capt. Mark Malamphy on the “Finatic” released a dusky shark.
All this shark action and the cover being pictured at Bahia Marina and Fish Tales in Ocean City is perfect since the 25th Annual Mako Mania Tournament is just around the corner on June 4 - 6 at the marina!
The charter boat “Ro Sham Bo” with Capt. Willie Zimmerman gave us all a nice surprise on Sunday when he returned to the Ocean City Fishing Center with a boat load of fish! Not waiting for the warmer water to come to us, he went to them during a 36 hours trip south starting in the Norfolk Canyon. There he found a patch of 70° water and within an hour they hooked up with a blue marlin that hit a Fish Down Sea Tuna Flare. This one was estimated at over 500 lbs., but got off. They hooked into another blue that ate their 18” Sterling Sidetracker before it got loose! Things turned after that when they went 2 for 3 on white marlin, also caught on the Tuna Flare. Then they moved to the Washington Canyon for the night and released a blue shark, 2 duskys and boated a 72” male mako with 61 sea bass and 32 tilefish!
Upcoming Tournaments
- Next weekend is the first Franky Pettolina Memorial Day Tournament and the 12th installment of this venerable event. Fishing will be 1 of 2 days on Saturday or Sunday and you do not need to be a member of the club to participate. Weigh-ins are 3-6PM at Sunset Marina.
- The next weekend is the afore mentioned 25th Annual Mako Mania Tournament at Bahia Marina. This event was canceled last year due to the pandemic so there is a lot of excitement building. Weigh-ins will be held at Bahia Marina from 3:30-7:30pm.
- Also on the radar is a new tournament, Tuna & Tiaras Ladies Tuna Tournament on June 18 & 19 being held at the Ocean City Fishing Center. This is the first NOAA registered ladies’ tournament with tuna as the primary catch!
Until next time I will see you around and at the scales for the Franky Pettolina Memorial Day Tourney! §
