Article by Larry Jock
This Week Last Year
•Tuna bite was in 100 fathoms in the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons.
•A 185 lb. bluefin was caught 20 miles straight out from the Ocean City Inlet.
•Several white marlin and a couple of blue marlin were released in the Baltimore and Poor Man’s.
•Clean water produced good flounder fishing in the bay.
•Larger flounder coming in off reefs and wrecks.
•First croaker of the year was caught in the Thorofare.
•A few weakfish were caught around the South Jetty.
•Anglers on the “Get Sum” caught 2 cobia in the Ocean City Inlet.
•Around the bridges are loaded with snapper blues.
•Sheepshead caught at North and South Jetties.
Let’s start out this weeks report with a big congratulations to the team on the local boat, “Top Dog” who won the 61st Annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. Angler Todd Dickerson caught the tournament record 914 lb. blue marlin on the final day of the event to win $793,188 in award money. With Capt. Ryan Knapp at the helm, Todd fought the monster for over 5 hours, but the work wasn’t done. They needed another 90 minutes to get the 15-footer partially into the 60-foot boat. It had to be one of the most exciting endings in tournament history with 1 blue marlin boated and 5 being battled, including the “Top Gun”, when the final day ended. Again, congratulations to Capt. Ryan, Todd and the entire “Top Dog” team for their very impressive win.
Tuna
Last week we saw some exceptional yellowfin tuna action. It started in the Baltimore Canyon and progressively moved south with bites over the weekend coming from the Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons and points in between. Early in the week we saw several boats return with upper-teen catches and it remained steady through Thursday. Friday was a blowout and the tuna bite was decent on Saturday and very slow on Sunday. There was also a very noticeable decrease in the average size of the yellowfins caught over the weekend, with most fish in the 25 to 30 lb. range.
Bluefins popped up in Massey’s Canyon and other close-by locations, between 20 and 35 fathoms, with fish hitting the dock weighing up to 88 lbs.
The highlight of the week was the 237 lb. bigeye tuna caught on Tuesday by anglers Bill Pino and Bill Keller aboard the “Blood Money”. The fish was hooked on a skirted ballyhoo in 200 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon in 68-degree water. It took the two Bill’s over 100 minutes to get the 71-incher to the boat.
Swordfish
We saw 3 swordfish caught this weekend. Matt Crim and James Coats were the first to arrive on Sunday with an 87 pounder caught in 1,700 feet outside the Washington Canyon. Also on Sunday, anglers on the “Quick Draw” boated a 78 pounder while deep dropping in 1,200 feet in the Washington Canyon. Finally, on Monday morning anglers fishing on “That’s Right” returned from an overnight trip with a 147 lb. swordfish and 4 bigeyes after fishing north of the Chicken Bone. They hooked the swordfish at 2:00 in the morning.
Sharks
Anglers dealt with sharks all week attacking their yellowfin tunas in the canyons and reports from boats overnighting in the Washington had some releasing several mako sharks. It was still a great surprise to see the “Reel Tight” arrive back at Sunset Marina on Sunday with a 486 pounder they caught on a chunk of swordfish in 100 fathoms below the Washington Canyon. Amazingly, it took angler John Dudley only 10 minutes to get the big shark to the boat.
On Saturday, we also saw a mako weighing 111 lbs. (gutted) come in on the “Hall Pass” after they hooked the 79-incher on a Stretch lure around the 800/800.
Sea Bass
The mid-to-late June sea bass bite is historically tough and it wasn’t easy pickings last week either. However, we did see some nice catches come in from anglers fishing on local headboats, even though windy conditions did not make life easy. We still haven’t seen one over 5 lbs. this season and the clock is ticking.
Striped Bass
There was a quiet, but good striper bite last week around the South Jetty with mainly small, undersized fish keeping anglers busy while using light tackle. A few keepers were pulled out of the rocks as well.
Flounder
Anglers really had to work hard for their keepers last week. It wasn’t like you could stay in one location all day and return with your limit. Fish were caught in the East Channel, the West Channel, the Inlet and the north end of the bay behind Assateague. You really had to be flexible to put keepers in the cooler.
The best flounder bite right now is the improved action we are seeing on ocean reefs and wrecks. It’s a far trip out of Ocean City, but anglers up in Delaware are seeing good bites and nice size fish on spots around the Old Grounds and at Sites 10 and 11. Now is a good time to sign-up for membership to the Ocean City Reef Foundation so you can get their reef charts. Many of their reefs are prime flounder spots, not just for fishing right now but also throughout the season.
Anglers are having the best results by using white Gulp Swimming Mullets for bait, but the old tried and true minnow and squid combination is working well also.
Sheepshead
We are still seeing a few sheepshead caught around the South Jetty. On Saturday, Don Lordon caught one while using sand fleas for bait.
In the Surf
Small bluefish and kingfish are being caught in the surf from Assateague up into Fenwick Island. Anything will work for bluefish and the kingfish seem to like Fishbites.
Upcoming Tournament
The only local tournament on the schedule is the inaugural Fish N Paddle Saltwater Slam for those who like to fish from kayaks and stand up paddleboards. The tournament is Saturday and Sunday with weigh-ins at Atlantic Tackle. For more information call 443-783-7410.
Until next week, I’ll see you at the scales!
