Article by Larry Jock
On my way to the office this weekend, I made my customary drive through the parking lots at our two West Ocean City marinas and the public boat ramp. Not only were the marina parking lots busting at the seams, but I have never ever seen so many trucks and trailers in the commercial harbor lot. It was incredible and a great site to see, especially after the slow start we had this season due to nasty weather.
First off, major congratulations to the Ocean City Marlin Club for holding their largest tournament ever, last weekends Canyon Kick Off. There were 77 boats competing for $105,730 in prize money. Both are Marlin Club records!
As we head into the dog days of summer, it looks like it could be shaping up to be a good one. The tuna bite is good, marlin are showing up in better numbers, flounder are starting to snap on ocean structure and anglers drifting in the bay are finding flatties in several spots behind Ocean City and Assateague Island. If you don’t have a trip booked, now is a good time to flip through the Coastal Fisherman and give one of the charter boats a call.
Billfish
If you look at the number of marlin caught last week, you would never think that we were in the final week of June. The bite was very good, particularly for boats that were trolling in less than 100 fathoms between the Washington and Norfolk Canyons. In the Canyon Kick Off, we saw quite a few boats with multiple releases, especially on Saturday. The “Nontypical” released 4 white marlin and a blue marlin on Saturday while trolling 10 miles south of the Washington Canyon. The charter boat, “Fish On” also had 4 white marlin releases between the Washington and the Norfolk Canyons. Water temps in the canyons were HOT... with most captains finding it hovering around 81-degrees!
On Sunday, the bite slowed down, but Capt. Rob Skillman made the decision to move away from the fleet that was heading towards the Norfolk and fished outside the 461 Bump where his “Moore Bills” anglers released 5 white marlin and a blue marlin in absolutely beautiful, blue water.
Tuna & Dolphin
The yellowfin bite over the weekend was good, just not as good as what we have been seeing lately. Early in the week, the bite was hot between the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons and we also saw a few coming in from the Wilmington Canyon as well. The bite moved south into the weekend with boats heading down to between the Washington and the Norfolk Canyons. One thing that has stayed consistent has been the size of the yellowfins being caught. Most of the fish we have seen lately have continued to fall in the 35 lb. to 45 lb. range.
We did see a few bigeyes caught last week from boats fishing in the Washington Canyon.
For a couple of weeks now, boats returning from tuna fishing have also had small dolphin in the box, but last week we saw a few big ones caught as well. On Sunday, Evan Winterbottom on the “PYY Marine” muscled in a 39.6 pounder caught on an overnight trip in 150 fathoms in the Washington. Another big one was the 37.2 pounder caught on Saturday in the Canyon Kick Off by Ben Barwick on the “Marlin Gale”. Ben’s mahi was hooked near the 800/800. Also on Saturday, anglers on the “Chaos” were fishing near the Hot Dog and boated a pair weighing 28 and 29 lbs.
Sharks
There were several mako sharks released last week by anglers fishing for tuna in the Baltimore, Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons.
Wahoo
With water temperatures up into the low 80’s, how much longer will it be until we see our first wahoo of the season. Last year, it was caught on July 2nd at the Sausages.
Flounder
Usually when the temperature is HOT, the key to finding keeper flatties is finding the clean, cooler water in the bay and that is certainly the case right now. Capt. Nick Clemente on the charter boat, “Get Sum” had several really good trips last week but had to search all over the bay to find the fish. When he found the right water with the right drift, the flounder were snapping. Water temperature in the bay has been as high as 83-degrees at the end of the outgoing tide, so hitting the tight at the right time has been key. Capt. Nick said he likes to find spots where the water temperature is below 75-degrees.
As far as baits are concerned, white Gulp Swimming Mullet has dominated the action this year, but minnows aren’t that far behind and belly strips are always a favorite for flounder pounders.
Bluefish
After hearing about big choppers being found along the 30 fathom line the week before last, I thought we might see some big bluefish come in last week from around the Hambone, but no such luck.
On Sunday, some bluefish were caught outside the South Jetty and small ones are still wandering around the pilings of the Rt. 50 Bridge.
Sheepshead
Capt. Dave Caffrey on the charter boat, “On the Run” had the sheepshead dialed in around the South Jetty with his anglers using crabs and sand fleas for bait. Adding a little split shot to your line will give you just enough weight to get your baits below the surface and close to the rocks where sheepshead like to hang.
Capt. Dave has been picking at sheepshead for a couple of weeks now, but last week he had a few exceptional trips. On Thursday, his anglers returned with 4 sheepshead in the box, including one over 10 lbs., after fishing around the South Jetty and on Friday morning his group had 5 sheepshead and a black drum. On Saturday, Dave’s angler, Daniel Case boated a 26 1/2-incher that tipped the scale at 13 lbs.
Triggerfish
We saw more triggerfish
caught this past weekend than at any time so far this season. Fish were caught at Kelly’s Reef and a big haul of 25 fish were caught on an artificial reef 10 miles from the Ocean City Inlet. Further south, triggers are usually found at Winter Quarter Shoal for anglers fishing with small hooks tipped with cut bait.
Striped Bass
I heard that anglers are quietly catching small stripers at night along the rocks in the West Channel, south of the OC Fishing Center entrance. A few keepers have also been caught on sand fleas around the South Jetty.
Red Drum
Capt. Nick Clemente on the “Ivy Sea” and Capt. Bill Kelly headed out to the Bass Grounds on Saturday, looking for some flounder when they both hooked big red drum on bucktails tipped with Gulp. Their reds measured 45 and 55-inches.
Upcoming Tournament
The next one on the schedule is the famous Ocean City Tuna Tournament on July 13th, 14th and 15th. Anglers can fish 2 of 3 days with weigh-ins at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
Until next week, I’ll see you at the scales!