Article by Larry Jock
What started out as the worst week a fisherman could ever imagine ended up with some fantastic fishing on Saturday and Sunday.
The wind really blew during the week, keeping all inshore and offshore anglers at the dock. Bay fishermen were able to get some time on the water and were rewarded with some quality catches.
Finally, on Saturday the sea conditions were much better than the weatherman predicted and a load of boats were able to head offshore, most hoping that the good white marlin bite that was happening prior to the bad weather would continue, and it did! The surprise of the weekend was the arrival of the yellowfin tuna. Yes, I said yellowfin tuna, and when I say they arrived, they did so in big numbers, but more on that later.
Here’s an example of how good the white marlin bite was over the weekend. On Saturday, the following white marlin releases were recorded in the Labor Day White Marlin Tournament:
Cyntinory - 9
Phat Mann - 8
Current Affair - 5
Pumpin’ Hard 66 - 4
Par Five - 3
Fish Whistle - 3
Other Boats - 16
And this was just from the boats in the tournament. Other boats not fishing in the tournament did just as well.
As the yellowfin head south, the bite on Saturday centered in 50-75 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon and Wilmington Canyons. On Sunday, the bite continued in the Baltimore and Wilmington Canyons, although some boats that ventured south to the Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons did very well also. The “Fish Bonz” released 6 white marlin in the Washington Canyon and the “That’s Right” released five at the Rockpile.
Could this be shaping up to be another September of fantastic white marlin fishing off the coast of Delmarva? If it does, book your charter now!
Yellowfin Tuna
Another reason to get a group together and book a charter boat is that the yellowfin tuna bite over the weekend was great! The bite on Saturday was scattered along the 30 fathom line between the Hot Dog and to just north of the Elephant Trunk. The “Gerri Lynn” loaded the boat with 18 yellowfins, followed closely by “The Zipper” with 14 yellowfins.
On Sunday, the bite continued moving south, with most finding luck closer to the area around the Hot Dog. The “Press Time” threw 20 yellowfins on the dock after trolling ballyhoo and spreader bars at the Hot Dog. Anglers on the “That’s Right” caught 18 yellowfins a little further north. The “Clear Shot” was the first to arrive at the Hot Dog on Sunday and caught 10.
Keep an eye on the fishing report on www. coastalfisherman.net. If this bite stays strong, you will definitely want to get a hold of a charter boat to take you out for the day. If you have never gone on a tuna trip before, it can be quite memorable. You can also check out the Charter Boat Directory on www.coastalfisherman.net to help you with choosing a charter boat for your trip.
Wahoo
A few wahoo hit the scales, just in time for this week’s Wahoo Rodeo and Flounder Round-up Tournament. On Sunday, the “Bali-Who” weighed a 23 pounder in the Labor Day Tournament and a private boat weighed a 58 pounder they caught at the Hot Dog. The largest one we have seen so far this year was an 80.4 pounder caught by an Indian River boat in the Baltimore Canyon. A few other boats reported getting bitten off by speedsters while marlin and tuna fishing.
Dolphin
Some nice size dolphin were caught over the weekend, primarily in the Baltimore Canyon where anglers found water temperatures hovering around 77 degrees. On Saturday, the “Instigator” caught 13 dolphin with the largest tipping the scales at 21 lbs. Also on Saturday, the “Press Time” threw 16 dolphin on the dock after trolling ballyhoo in the Baltimore Canyon.
Flounder
Surprisingly, the flounder bite was pretty good this week in spite of all the wind and rain. The class of fish are definitely getting larger with good bites continuing to be made in the East Channel. We also saw a good bite by multiple anglers fishing in the deeper holes just south of the Commercial Harbor, right along the houses. The bottom drops off to over 15 feet in this area and we saw multiple fish over 4 lbs. caught by anglers drifting spot, peanut bunker and Gulp! artificial baits.
The bad weather kept anglers off the ocean reefs and wrecks for most of the week, but those that ventured out to Russell’s Reef, the Bass Grounds and other wrecks and reefs were rewarded with big flounder, triggerfish and sea bass. We even had one spearfisherman nail a good size cobia at Fenwick Shoals. Look for that picture in next week’s Coastal Fisherman.
This weekend there are 3 tournaments. The Wahoo Rodeo and Flounder Round-up (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) and the M.S.S.A. Beach-N-Boat Tournament (Saturday & Sunday) will be held at Sunset Marina. The Flounder Pounder on Sunday will be held at Bahia Marina. Should be a busy weekend.
See you at the scales.
