Article by Larry Jock
Bad weather kept offshore anglers at the dock on the majority of days last week and those drifting in the bay were able to get in some additional time in search of the elusive keeper flounder.
It wasn’t until Thursday that few boats were able to head to the canyons, but they were rewarded with swordfish, yellowfin tuna and some white and blue marlin releases in the Poor Man’s Canyon. The real action took place the following day and into Saturday morning when boats fished the first 32-hour window of the Huk Big Fish Classic. The vast majority of boats headed to between the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyon where captains found water temperatures hovering around the 73-degree mark. Most boats stayed in 80 to 100 fathoms but a few ventured deeper outside the Baltimore to 1,200 fathoms where water temps got up into the low 80’s.
One of the boats that had good results in the deep was the charter boat, “No Quarter” who ended up the big money winner in the tournament. They ended up with a 128.5 lb. blue shark, 4 yellowfins up to 83 lbs., an 18 lb. dolphin and a 50.5 lb. white marlin, caught by Bobby Fletcher that made the minimum length but missed the minimum weight requirement. Their 4 heaviest fish won 1st place for heaviest stringer and their top yellowfin and dolphin both won their respective divisions.
With 22 of the 34 boats weighing fish on Saturday at the Talbot Street Pier scale, there were several catches worth mentioning. The heaviest fish caught in the tournament was a 145.5 lb. blue shark boated on the “Restless Lady” in 100 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon.
Mike Zorzi on the “Always Something” caught the heaviest billfish in the tournament when he boated an 86 lb. swordfish in the Baltimore Canyon.
Top honors in the Billfish Release Division went to the “Sea Note” with Capt. Benjy Stansky at the wheel. They ended their 32-hours in the Poor Man’s with 8 white marlin releases and a blue marlin release.
We saw several nice wahoo arrive at the weigh-in, including an 88.5 pounder that is now the heaviest wahoo caught in Ocean City this season. The speedster was hooked on the “MJ’s” while trolling a plug in the Poor Man’s Canyon.
Overall, a blue shark winning the Heaviest Fish Division wasn’t the sexiest outcome, but nobody could argue that the big yellowfins and wahoo, along with the number of white marlin weighed, didn’t provide some exciting action at the scale. Hats off to the Lewis Family, Brian Roberts, Sean Welsh and the staff at the Talbot Street Pier for pulling off a first class event.
Another notable catch last week came on Monday, right after last weeks Coastal Fisherman went to the press when Mike Matarese, mate on the charter boat, “Reel Chaos” muscled in an 80 lb. wahoo while trolling a naked ballyhoo in 55 fathoms in the Poor Man’s. The anglers had a heckuva trip with a white marlin release and a blue marlin release added to the mix.
Inshore, boats are still heading to ocean reefs and wrecks in search of big flounder, but unfortunately the bite has been hit-or-miss. Early in the week, the Frankford boys ventured out to the Bass Grounds and caught their limit of flatties measuring up to 24-inches. With the Old Grounds getting most of the attention lately, the Bass Grounds has been quietly producing some nice catches for area anglers fishing with belly meat, shiners and Gulp Swimming Mullets.
In the bay, the star of the show last week had to be sheepshead with several nice fish caught around the South Jetty by anglers soaking live sand fleas. The charter boat, “Lucky Break” has been racking up some impressive catches with fish over 13 lbs. hitting the deck. Kurt Howell and Jamie List also had a nice catch last Friday when they ended up with 5 in the box, weighing up to 8 lbs. 3 oz. (see following page).
Anglers fishing around the South Jetty and in the Ocean City Inlet also tangled with a few red drum last week. Dave Leizear caught one at each spot on Roy Rigs and Gulp artificial baits. John Parker caught a 25-incher in the East Channel on a Gulp artificial bait.
After last years fantastic cobia season, enthusiasm was high heading into the late summer months, but unfortunately the bite never materialized. However, a bright spot last week was a 50-incher caught on Saturday by an angler fishing just off the coast of Indian River. Last season, a number of cobia were seen cruising the surface around Little Gull Shoal and down by Winter Quarter Shoal, so keep an eye out and maybe you will spot one. Here’s a tip I received from the famous Capt. Bruce McGuigan years ago and the tactic was actually employed by the current DE record holder. Since cobia are notoriously curious, Capt. Bruce said that when you arrive at your spot, rev your motors a couple of times. You will be surprised at the cobia that will come up to the boat investigating the noise, giving you an opportunity to toss it a bucktail. Seems crazy, but Capt. Bruce and the current record holder both swear it works.
Elsewhere in the bay, dirty water conditions are making flounder fishing tough, but a few nice fish were pulled out of the East Channel over the weekend. The winner of the Bahia Marina Flounder Pounder caught theirs on a live mullet near the Coast Guard Station. Another good catch, outside the tournament, came from Stephen Wagner who hooked a 24-incher by the Rt. 50 Bridge on a white Gulp Swimming Mullet.
With the MSSA Mid-Atlantic Flounder Tournament on Saturday and Sunday, I hope to see a lot of folks at the scales!
