Article by Larry Jock
Finally, last week had the look and feel of an actual fishing season with multiple “first fish” arriving at local scales.
We have to start off with the charter boat, “Marli”. Many of us were worried that we may not see a mako shark hit the scales this season since the minimum size was increased to 83-inches, but on Wednesday, Capt. Mark Hoos had his anglers in 30 fathoms, south of the Marine Electric where angler Fred Weinhold hooked a 93-inch mako shark on a whole mackerel. Incredibly, Fred muscled in the big shark in less than 10 minutes. The fish ended up weighing 291 lbs. on the scale at Sunset Marina.
The following day, Capt. Mark continued his good fortune by putting his anglers onto the first bluefin tunas, first yellowfin tunas and first mahi of the season. All of the action was deep outside the Poor Man’s Canyon in 1,200 fathoms. The bluefins were caught in 65-degree water and the yellowfins were hooked in 68-degree water. The fish weren’t big, but they were the first.
On Saturday, the first thresher shark of the season arrived at Atlantic Tackle when the anglers fishing on the “Shallow End” weighed a 149 pounder caught by Don King on a whole bluefish at the 20 Fathom Fingers.
Also on Saturday, the first bigeye tuna of the season was caught on the “Wrecker” by Tanya Devine while fishing in 770 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon. The fish weighed 90 lbs. and was confirmed as a bigeye by local Maryland DNR biologist, Joe Spangler.
Outside of the many “first fish” we saw last weekend, we also had the first local tournament of the season, the Ocean City Marlin Club Memorial Day Tournament. Unfortunately, the bad weather forecast kept boats at a minimum, with 8 boats and 1 shore-based angler participating. The 2-day event turned into a 1-day tournament with everyone fishing on Saturday. Paul Lebling on the charter boat, “Spring Mix II” ended up taking first place honors with a 43.6 lb.
yellowfin. Rich Gardner on the “Husevo” won 2nd place with his 43.4 lb. yellowfin and the “Brenda Lou” weighed a 40 lb. yellowfin to finish in 3rd place. Anglers on the “Brenda Lou” had the best day of any boat in the tournament, returning with 6 yellowfins and a mahi from 700 fathoms in the Poor Man’s Canyon. No bluefish were caught in the tournament.
From Thursday through Saturday, we saw several boats return with catches of bluefins and yellowfins, mainly from 500 to 1,000 fathoms, in and outside the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons. Most of the bluefins fell in the 27 to 47-inch slot but we did see a couple of larger fish show up, including a 91 pounder caught on the “Tunafowl” from deep outside the Poor Man’s Canyon and a 100 pounder caught on the “Tunacious Too” in 400 fathoms in the Poor Man’s.
There were also a couple of mako sharks released on Friday by anglers fishing east of Massey’s Canyon. The guys used whole mackerels to fool the 61 and 70-inch makos in addition to 8 blue sharks. All were released.
Sea bass fishing last week seemed to be better for boats fishing out of Ocean City than those who traveled further to the north. The bite at the DelJerseyLand Reef slowed up late in the week and action at the “San Gil” wreck was tough. Anglers fishing on the headboats, “Judith M”, “Morning Star” and “Angler” in addition to the charter boat, “Fish Bound” returned with good catches of knotheads weighing up to 3 1/2 lbs. Clams and squid were the baits of choice.
In the surf, fishing continues to be tough, which is a shame because surf fishermen are some of the most persistent and dedicated anglers you could ever find. They are still pecking away at some black drum, a few stripers, bluefish, puffers and sharks, but so far, it has been another disappointing spring.
In the bay, fishing was slow but it is safe to say that it has less to do with availability of fish and a lot to do with all of the bad weather we have been having and it’s effect on water clarity. Many days last week, the water looked like chocolate milk. Tom Tatum was able to put some flatties in the cooler when he drifted the late day incoming tide and caught 3 keepers and 2 throwbacks in the Thorofare. All were hooked on Gulp and minnow combinations. The next day, Tom headed to the Thorofare again and fished the morning outgoing tide. He ended up with 2 more keepers and 2 throwbacks. His largest measured 20-inches. Also on Friday, the Barrick boys reported that they caught over 20 flounder in the Thorofare, ending up with 5 keepers ranging in size from 17 to 20-inches.
Those fishing around the Rt. 50 Bridge found some bluefish interested in their Roy Rigs or bucktails tipped with strips or Gulp artificial baits. We also saw a few small, keeper flounder caught in the East Channel near the Rt. 50 Bridge over the weekend.
Fishing in the bay behind Assateague near the duck blinds also produced a few keeper flounder last weekend for anglers drifting minnows or bucktails tipped with 4-inch white Gulp Swimming Mullets.
Upcoming Tournament
This weekend is the 22nd Annual Mako Mania Shark Tournament at Bahia Marina. This is a 3-day tournament on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with weigh-ins from 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM each day. We usually see some big thresher sharks arrive at the scale, making it exciting for spectators who can really get close to the action. The staff at Bahia Marina always puts on a good tournament, so if you get a chance, head on over.
Until next week, I’ll see you at the scales!
