Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• The waters offshore remained cold after the big Nor’easter and the warm water eddies seemed to be pushing further east instead of turning toward shore. The Outer Banks had reported no tuna yet despite a good mahi bite. Not a good sign for Delmarva.
• Sea bass season opened on a foggy Sunday that limited the number of boats that headed out. Many that did reported catching their limits of the tasty fish and not having to deal with many undersized fish.
• Surf anglers across the coast found an abundance of bluefish in the suds very quickly after the storm passed.
I was in bright and early last Monday this week to work on this week’s report as I spent the weekend at my youngest son’s college graduation! Chef Christine and I could not be more proud of our son Derek and his achievements at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Astrophysics. We are looking forward to having him back home where he can be seen guarding the beach this summer with the South Bethany Patrol!
While we had a great weekend away, the story here and offshore was quite different! After a couple of promising weekends with some early tuna and mahi reports, Mother Nature decided it would be better to keep anglers ashore to celebrate versus fishing! A combo of rain and high winds kept most boats at their docks. Avid angler Walter Moore tried a run in the Ocean City Bay despite the 15-20 knot winds and had the place to himself!
This week should see some near shore action as sea bass season opened last Monday and the weather forecast for the next 10 days looks fair. As for the canyons, a quick look Monday at RipCharts shows mid 60° waters are still about 110 to 120+ miles out behind the Poor Man’s, Washington and Norfolk Canyons. The Rutgers Coastal Ocean Observation Labs Sea Surface maps however shows some mid 60°+ eddies around the 100 fathom line in the Washington and Norfolk Canyons. Most captains I spoke with are planning their first trip for June, but are keeping their eyes on the temp charts for potential trial runs!
At least for now there is a lot of action on flounder, rockfish and drum. The Winter/Spring Tog season ended last Sunday and while the bite slowed, several boats still caught some nice fish with several in the double digits. You can see more about the inshore and nearshore actions in our Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Fishing Reports.
On a final housekeeping note - the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Striped Bass Board took emergency action at their last meeting to reduce the limit or ‘slot’ for coastal rockfish. This was done based on concern for the stock and long term interest of the fishery, especially after heavy recreational catches were reported in 2022. The new regulation for the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass reduces the recreational keeper limit to fish between 28” - 31” from the previous 28” - 35”. These limits however need to be set at the state level and the ASMFC has given the states until July 2nd to enact this limit. Maryland enacted this change effective May 16th. As of this writing Delaware and Virginia have yet to enact. For now, Delaware’s slot remains 28”-35”. Virginia’s Coastal Striped Bass season opened May 16th and it is not expected that the Commonwealth will be able to enact the new limits until July 1st. So until then they remain 28”-36”.
That’s it for this week, until next timew I will see you at the docks. §
Upcoming Tournaments
• The Lewes Harbour Marina will hold the Joe Morris Memorial Canal Flounder Tournament on May 19th. This event raises awareness for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. For more info check Facebook or call (302) 645-6227.
• Old Inlet Bait & Tackle and the Delaware Fisherwomen will again be hosting the Cast for a Cure Surf Fishing Tournament on May 20th. This event benefits the Tunnell Cancer Center Special Needs Fund. More at OldInlet.com.
• The first offshore contest of 2023 is scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-28. The 14th Annual Franky Pettolina Memorial Day Tournament is sponsored by the Ocean City Marlin Club. Weigh ins will be at Sunset Marina’s Tournament Scales from 4:30-7:00pm each day. More at OCMarlinClub.com.
