Article by Larry Jock
The weekend fishing action in Ocean City was dominated by the 29th Annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament, with 78 boats competing for over $625,000 in award money.
Most of the boats ventured down to the Lumpy Bottom and 800/800 in search of bigeyes, bluefins and stringers of yellowfins. We also saw many boats head towards Massey’s Canyon where boats picked at good size bluefins leading up to the tournament.
On Friday, the first day of the event, the “Fish Tricks” was one of the final few boats to arrive at the scale and they threw a 156 lb. bigeye on the dock that held on to win 1st place in the Single Largest Tuna Division, worth over $216,000 in award money. They hooked the eyeball in 200 fathoms in the Washington Canyon on a skirted ballyhoo and fought the fish for 1 hour before getting it in the boat. Surprisingly, this was the only bigeye tuna weighed during the entire tournament.
Also on the first day, we saw J.L. Cropper’s 70 lb. bluefin tuna, caught at the Parking Lot, take the early lead in the Top Lady Angler Division. The rest of the day was dominated by bluefin tuna in the 70 to 78 lb. range coming in from the Lumpy Bottom.
The next boat to arrive was the “Top Dog” with a 252 lb. stringer of 5 yellowfins caught in 1,200 fathoms in the Norfolk. Their stringer put them into 1st place in the Heaviest Stringer Weight Division. Right behind them were the “White Lightning” with 244 lbs. and the Miss Annie with 238 lbs.
We didn’t see many dolphin hit the minimum weight of 20 lbs. throughout the tournament, but on Friday the “Liquid RX” had one that just made the minimum to take the lead in the Dolphin Division.
After 65 of the 78 boats fished on Day 1, the remaining two days were pretty evenly divided with 47 fishing on Saturday and the remaining 44 on Sunday.
Day 2 started out with a bang when the “No Slack” showed up with a 247 lb. stringer of 5 yellowfins caught in the Poor Man’s Canyon. Capt. Corey Kennington told me that they got their yellowfins in only 20 minutes and spent the rest of the day unsuccessfully trolling in Massey’s Canyon in search of a big bluefin. The rest of the second day was filled with yellowfins and bluefins coming in from mainly the Lumpy Bottom. That was until the “Foolish Pleasures” showed up with a catch of 7 yellowfins from around the 000’s. They went 4 for 4 and 3 for 3 on two passes and ended up with a stringer of 271 lbs. They also added a 23 lb. mahi to the catch, vaulting them into 1st place in the Dolphin Division, which is where they stayed. Right behind the “Foolish Pleasures” was the “Restless Lady” with a 229 lb. stringer of 5 yellowfins caught in the Washington Canyon. Their largest yellowfin weighed 54 lbs.
There were several boats positioned to make a move for the top spot in the Heaviest Stringer Division and one of those was the “Top Dog” who was coming off their 252 lb. day on Friday. Unfortunately, they were unable to find the tuna and didn’t gain any ground. The “Billfisher” arrived shortly behind the “Top Dog” after an excellent day of trolling around the 800/800. They had 8 keeper yellowfin that totalled 241 lbs., giving them a 2-day stringer of 364 lbs., good enough for 2nd place in the tournament.
Next at the scale was the “Lady Luck” with a 45 lb. wahoo, caught in the Baltimore Canyon, that took a temporary lead in the Wahoo Division. They spent a good part of the day fighting a very large bigeye that was eventually lost during the fight. “Boss Hogg” fished the Rockpile and arrived with a 187 lb. stringer that gave them 317 lbs. for their 2 days of fishing, but right behind them was the “Miss Annie” with a 170 lb. stringer of tuna that moved them permanently into 1st place with 408 lbs.
Anglers on the “Wrecker” had a good showing, weighing a 78 lb. bluefin on the first day of the tournament and adding another 78 pounder on the final day for Megan Kennedy, good enough to give her 1st place in Top Lady Angler Division.
Right when everyone thought the day might be over, the “Blue Runner” showed up with an 82 lb. bluefin tuna, caught at the Lumpy Bottom, that pushed them into 2nd place in the Single Largest Tuna Division.
The last boat of the tournament was the “M Kelijean E” with a nice 72 lb. bluefin, but more importantly, a 48 lb. wahoo that gave them the number one spot in Wahoo Division and a check for $5,040.
Overall, tuna fishing wasn’t as great as we have seen in past tournaments, but the action at the scales was exciting and with over $625,000 in winnings, a lot of happy anglers were seen leaving the Ocean City Fishing Center on Sunday.
Throughout the Tuna Tournament, we received reports of white marlin being caught and released in 100 to 200 fathoms from the 800/800 up to the Baltimore Canyon. A couple of blue marlin were also released, including one in the Baltimore Canyon by anglers on the “Lady Luck”.
As mentioned earlier, the days leading up to the tournament saw anglers having good luck chunking for tuna in Massey’s Canyon in addition to the Lumpy Bottom.
Inshore, headboats reported good sea bass fishing on several days with fish up to 4 lbs. Mixed in were catches good size flounder caught on cut bait, flounder belly and mahi belly. Ocean flounder fishing was tough due to a lack of current making drifting difficult.
In the bay, flounder fishing has been sporadic with fish caught around the South Jetty, in the East Channel, in the Thorofare and the Middle Channel, north of the Rt. 50 Bridge. Anglers fishing in the Middle Channel dealt with an incredible number of short flatties caught during the incoming tide.
The highlight of the week for those was the 27 1/2-inch, 9 lb. 13 oz. flounder caught by Jennifer Vojna while drifting between Martha’s Landing and the north tip of Assateague Island.
Upcoming Tournament
This weekend is the world famous Marlin Club Kids Classic. The tournament is Saturday and Sunday with junior anglers allowed to fish on one or both days. Weigh-ins will be at Sunset Marina from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM on Saturday and 3:00 Pm to 6:00 PM on Sunday. If you have never witnessed the weigh-ins at this tournament, they are really something to watch. Swing on by Sunset Marina and you will see a lot of smiling faces and some really nice catches.
See you at the scales!
