Article by Larry Jock
It’s a shame the wind blew over the weekend because it looked like everything was getting set-up for an incredible couple of days of fishing.
Marlin
On Wednesday, the “No Worries” out of Sunset Marina had the town buzzing with the first white marlin release of the season. Jon Henry hooked the white marlin on a skirted ballyhoo in 150 fathoms between the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons. Fortunately for the crew, the boat is a member of the Ocean City Marlin Club, so they are eligible for the club’s $5,000 award and another $5,000 from the Town of Ocean City.
Also on Wednesday, the “Prime Hook” out of Indian River recorded a white marlin release on the 320 line in the Baltimore Canyon.
Just as we were going to press on Monday, I received a report from Ocean City Marlin Club President, Franky Pettolina that an angler on the “Boss Hogg” released a blue marlin, estimated at 500 lbs while trolling in the Baltimore Canyon.
Tuna
Heading into the weekend, the yellowfin tuna bite had everyone excited. Friday was the best day we have seen all year with several boats returning to the dock with outstanding catches of yellowfins with a few mahi thrown in.
The bite centered in the Poor Man’s Canyon with action coming from anywhere between 70 and 250 fathoms. The “White Lightning” led the way with 24 yellowfins caught in 70 fathoms. Right behind was “Blood Money” with 20 yellowfins and the “Marli” with 18 yellowfins and 10 mahi caught in 70 to 100 fathoms. “Rhonda’s Osprey” returned with 15 yellowfins from 70 fathoms and the “Boss Hogg” ended their day with 14 yellowfins and a dozen mahi in the box.
Earlier in the week, the “Marli” had an 18 yellowfin day on Monday and a couple of other boats recorded catches of between 7 and 10 yellowfins and a few mahi, all in the Poor Man’s or Baltimore Canyons.
The great news is that the class of yellowfins we are seeing is far better than what we saw last year, when the catches were dominated by very small tuna. This year, it has not been uncommon to see catches of yellowfins where the majority are in the 50-60 lb. range.
We also saw some bigeye tuna arrive at the dock throughout the week from boats fishing closer to, and in the Washington Canyon. The “Playmate” ended their day with a bigeye in the box after trolling in between the Washington and Poor Man’s Canyons. On Thursday, the “Restless Lady” had a 228 pounder caught in the Washington Canyon and the “White Lightning” boated an 89 lb. eyeball. The following day, the “Playmate” captured a bigeye and “That’s Right” put a 225 pounder in the box. On Saturday, “That’s Right” landed another bigeye, this one weighing in at 210 lbs.
Longfins also showed up this weekend with the first recorded catch happening on Saturday when the “Second Chance” boated a 31 pounder. On Sunday, in unpleasant conditions, 3 longfins arrived at the dock. The “Restless Lady” caught a pair weighing 57 and 57.2 lbs. while trolling ballyhoo in 500 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon. Anglers on the “Reel Fantasy” also boated a nice bigeye, with theirs tipping the scale at 55 lbs., caught in 300 fathoms in the Poor Man’s.
Wahoo
The first wahoo of the year was caught on Monday by junior angler, Chase Cummings on the charter boat, “Moore Bills”. Chase caught the 59.9 lb. speedster in 250 fathoms in the Poor Man’s where Capt. Rob Skillman found water temperatures at 69-degrees. On Wednesday, the “Playmate” boxed a wahoo between the Washington and Poor Man’s Canyons.
Sharks
A few makos were released by anglers on overnight tuna fishing trips last week, but we did see a nice 164 lb. mako caught by Mike Bone on Saturday while fishing just west of the Chicken Bone. It’s no wonder why the mako was in the area with Mike reporting large schools of 7 to 10 lb. bluefish all around them.
Flounder
Overall, it was a pretty tough week for flounder fishing. Clean water was difficult to come by and the best bite was on the outside of the South Jetty where anglers on the “Ocean City Guide Service” put 4 in the box on Friday. When the water cleaned up, we did see nice catches coming in from the East Channel where the water temperature has now reached the low 70’s. The headboat, “Happy Hooker” has had some luck recently fishing north and south of the Rt. 50 Bridge close to the west side of the bay. We also saw a few good catches come from the bay behind Assateague Island
The largest flattie of the week was caught by Heather Macy on the charter boat, “Get Sum”. Heather caught a 24 1/2-inch, 6 lb. 4 oz. flounder right at the drawbridge opening of the Rt. 50 Bridge on Friday.
Those anglers who are looking to get away from the crowds will find the flounder bite on ocean bottom being very productive right now. If you want to make the trip, anglers are quietly pulling nice catches from the Old Grounds, but there are several closer wrecks where you could find your share of keepers. Your best bet is to join the Ocean City Reef Foundation to receive the maps of all their reefs. It will be the best $50 you ever spend!
Gulp! Alive artificial baits, particularly the Swimming Mullet, continue to dominate the action with live minnows, squid and shiners coming in right behind.
Sea Bass
Anglers are pecking away at sea bass on ocean structure with nice catches of knotheads weighing 3 lbs. and over were recorded last week, although limits have been tough to come by.
Weakfish
How great is it to see what looks like a comeback of weakfish in local waters? Could we be at the right spot in the 14-year cycle? Who knows, but it is nice to see more and more showing up each year.
Fishermen in the Delaware Bay have been whacking the weakies over the last few weeks with fish weighing up to 7 lbs. Closer to home, we see a few weakfish landed each week, and on Friday an angler on the “Get Sum” caught a small trout around the South Jetty.
Striped Bass
Anglers looking for light tackle action have been kept busy over the last month with snapper bluefish, shad and small stripers around the Rt. 50 Bridge and the South Jetty. On Thursday, we received a report from Matthew Sandy of good linesider action at night for anglers tossing surface plugs and bucktails near the South Jetty.
Upcoming Tournaments
There are 2 tournaments on the schedule this weekend. The M.S.S.A. Tuna-Ment will be held on June 20th, 21st and 22nd. Weigh-ins will be held locally at Sunset Marina and at Hook’em & Cook’em at the Indian River Marina. For more information, you can call 410-255-5535.
The Ocean City Marlin Club Small Boat Tournament will also be held at Sunset Marina on June 21st and 22nd. This tournament has both inshore and offshore divisions and is open to all boats 34-feet and under. For more information, please call the Ocean City Marlin Club at 410-213-1833.
See you at the scales!
