Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• After several weekends of nice weather and decent offshore action, Mother Nature decided to keep anglers on shore or in the bay with high winds and driving rain.
• This issue last year saw the opening of sea bass season and who would earn the highly anticipated First Fish recognition. The charter boat “Bet Sea” was back to the docks midday with a two man limit. After a slow start on some wrecks, they moved 7 miles out to the Fingers to fill the box. Michael DePalma, Sr. snagged the spot for First Fish.
• The Fenwick Island based “Top Dog” boated a 527.8 lb. blue marlin while fishing in the Hatteras Village Open.
Another week and very limited fishing news off our coasts! Hard to believe as we slide into the third week of May. As I check water temps I see a similar forecast from last. Waters in the southern and eastern canyons in the mid to upper 50°s and no visible eddies on the forecast at Rip Charts at least. While the Rutgers Coastal Ocean Observation Labs Sea Surface Maps don’t provide a forecast, their current temp picture does align with Rip Charts. Looks like this year we will be looking at late May to early June to start to fill our First Fish categories for offshore fare. If you are a captain looking at your first trips of the year, share with us your thoughts on social media or to [email protected].
Fortunately for our anglers, what we are lacking in the canyons has been offset by the action off the beach, in the bays and a strong finish to the tog season. This issue is full of great catches from up and down the coast of large stripers, big black drum and bluefish. We also got a report of the first sheepshead of the season, a real trophy at 11 lbs. Congrats to Joe McNeal for that one! The end of season tog anglers have been reporting a decent sea bass bite in the mix. Lots of smalls, but a couple nice sized knotheads were found. Good sign for the opening of the season this week.
Some real big flounder are being found in the seaside bays of the eastern shore of Virginia like the ones JT and Sarah caught in the picture below. Anglers are also finding keepers in the Thorofare in Ocean City and the Lewes Canal. The latter is good news for the Lewes Harbour Marina as they host their annual Canal Flounder Tournament this Friday. The weather looks good and there is already close to 100 people signed up. The same is true for the Cast for a Cure Surf Fishing Tournament on Saturday. They may see a little rain, but mild temps.
Good luck to all anglers. Check out the other upcoming events in the block to the right, or our tournament listings! §
Upcoming Tournaments
• The Lewes Harbour Marina will hold it’s
Canal Flounder Tournament on May 17th starting at 7 AM. For more info check Facebook or call (302) 645-6227.
• Old Inlet Bait & Tackle hosts their Cast for a Cure Team Surf Fishing Tournament on May 18th. More info on Facebook or call 302-227-7974.
• The Battle for the Buckle offshore tournament returns for it’s second season from May 31st-June 2nd in association with the PBR Challenger Series Rodeo Event. More at pbroceancity.com.
