Article by Larry Jock
What a weekend of fishing! For those of you who were fortunate enough to be at the Talbot Street Pier this weekend to watch the weigh-ins of the Big Fish Classic, you know what an exciting tournament it was. We saw several blue marlin, swordfish, white marlin, bigeye tuna, dolphin and yellowfin tuna hit the scale. It was one after another of quality fish caught by some of the best captains and anglers in the world.
The tournament is broken up into a pair of 32-hour fishing windows. Anglers can either fish from 7:00 AM on Friday to 3:00 PM on Saturday or 7:00 AM on Saturday to 3:00 PM on Sunday. Most chose to fish Saturday into Sunday this year.
You can see the photos of a lot of the catches throughout this issue of the Coastal Fisherman, but some of the notable ones were:
•”Pumpin’ Hard” caught their 455 lb. blue marlin while trolling back to the spot where they had just caught a 114 lb. swordfish.
• “Hubris” weighed a 345 lb. blue marlin caught above the Spencer.
•”Primary Search” released 11 white marlin, going 8 for 10 on Friday and 3 for 3 on Saturday.
•”No Limits” weighed a 112.5 lb. yellowfin tuna that they caught on a dink bait in 500 fathoms in the Baltimore.
•”Katherine Anne” caught a 123.5 lb. swordfish on a Hogy artificial bait.
•”Petey’s Pride” weighed an 82 lb. swordfish caught in the Wilmington Canyon.
•”MJ’s” weighed a 438 lb. blue marlin that they hooked above the Spencer Canyon at 4:00 PM on Saturday.
•”Chaser” caught a pair of cookie cutter bigeyes in 1,000 fathoms outside the Spencer that weighed 122.5 and 123.5 lbs.
•”Whiskey Kilo” had an incredible tournament, releasing a sailfish and 10 white marlin in addition to weighing a 258 lb. swordfish, a 69 lb. white marlin, and an 85.5 lb. yellowfin after fishing in the Poor Man’s.
•”Gret’s Three J’s” released 12 white marlin and 2 blue marlin in the Washington.
•”Restless Lady II” weighed a 193.5 lb. bigeye tuna that had to be disqualified because a shark bit a chunk out of it.
•”FFMD” caught a 188 lb. bigeye tuna while trolling in the Wilmington Canyon.
•The “Rebel” out of Virginia Beach weighed 2 swordfish (117.5 & 294.5 lbs.) in addition to releasing a third. All of their action was in 200 fathoms in the Norfolk Canyon.
•”Seaflame” released 14 white marlin, going 5 for 10 on on Saturday and 9 for 11 on Sunday in the Poor Man’s Canyon.
Most of the white marlin were hooked in the Poor Man’s Canyon, but we did see some come from the northeast corner of the Wilmington and others from around the Rockpile. Blue marlins were caught in the Washington and Wilmington Canyons.
So you can see what an incredible tournament it turned out to be and I probably left out a catch or two. Congratulations to all of the participants and also the organizers who ran a great event. There is no doubt this tournament will continue to grow.
Dolphin
This was definitely the best week I have seen in several years for quality dolphin. Several over 30 lbs. arrived back at the scale and none were bigger than the 74 pounder caught on Sunday by Jerry Wright of Cambridge, MD. Jerry set a new Maryland state record with the big bull that he hooked while trolling a naked ballyhoo in 300 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon. This broke a record that has stood for 34 years when Kim Lawson caught a 67.5 pounder “53 miles off the Ocean City coast”. Congratulations to Jerry and the entire “Layin’ Lines” crew for this incredible catch!
Flounder
So far this season, it would be tough to say that flounder fishing hasn’t been good. Right now, anglers are dealing with a lot of short flounder in the bay, but good size ones are still taking Gulp and Z-Man artificial baits in addition to minnows and live spot.
As always, the key has been finding clean water and last week was no exception. When the tide started rolling in and brought with it clean water the bite turned on, especially in the Ocean City Inlet and at the north end of bay behind Assateague. We also saw some nice catches come in from the deeper holes in the East and West Channels.
Unfortunately, flounder fishing in the ocean continues to be tough. Captains and anglers have had to work extremely hard to get their limit of keepers. One Captain told me that to catch 18 keepers he has to hit 18 spots. Probably a slight exaggeration, but I’ve heard similar comments from other captains.
Bluefish
Anglers continue to find good numbers of bluefish hanging around the pilings of the Rt. 50 Bridge looking for anything flashy heading their way. Fish are a good size with some in the 32 to 34-inch range. There are usually a few stripers mixed in with the choppers.
Sea Bass
The sea bass bite has continued to be very inconsistent. Anglers are marking big schools on their sounders, but just can’t get them to eat. I know some folks who have even dropped GoPro cameras down to see what the fish are doing and found them very lethargic. The water down deep is cold, so until it turns over we might not see the kind of knothead action we like to see.
Cobia
It’s kind of funny how the cobia bite has become some sort of secret cult-like event as they have been quietly caught all along coast from Little Gull Shoal up to Indian River over the last couple of weeks. The top spot has been Great Gull Shoal where anglers have had good luck catching cobia on eels and bucktails. Also look for them of the coast of Bethany Beach, DE.
Mackerel
It’s been a good year for anglers catching both Spanish and king mackerel. Spanish mackerel have been caught at Fenwick Shoal and Little Gull Shoal. Some have even ventured into the Ocean City Inlet.
King mackerel have been caught at the Bass Grounds, the Jackspot and points in-between by anglers trolling spoons.
Upcoming Tournaments
This weekend is the Ocean City Marlin Club Ladies Tournament. Anglers can fish either on Friday or Saturday with weigh-ins at Sunset Marina from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.
We also have the 12th Annual Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce Flounder Tournament at Pines Point Marina. Last year, 160 anglers participated and they usually have a good turnout. Weigh-ins are from 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM.
Finally, on Monday is the big kahuna... the 46th Annual White Marlin Open held at Harbour Island from Monday through Friday. Weigh-ins start at 4:00 PM and typically end at 9:15 PM. Last year, the winner walked away with a check for $2,584,260 and it looks like this years event may be even larger.
Until next week, I’ll see you at the scales!
