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Overall, bad weather kept anglers at the dock for a good part of the week, but those that were able to venture out over the weekend found good size sharks and a load of tuna.
Sharks
As you saw on the cover, the Mako Mania Shark Tournament was held over the weekend and it was one of the best in recent memory. On the first day, the big news was the 576.5 lb. thresher shark caught by Dave Nolan on the “Runnin’ Late”. This was a big fish and remarkably it was caught from a 23-foot Grady White, so it had to be towed back to Bahia Marina. It set the mark pretty high in the winner-take-all Thresher Division, so it was no surprise that it was the only thresher weighed in the tournament. The fish was caught on a whole mackerel in 20 fathoms at the Fingers.
The second day of the tournament slowed with only 12 of the 35 boats fishing in some sloppy seas. The “Jade II” did land a 213.0 lb. mako on a strip of tuna and held on to win 2nd place in the Mako Division.
The final day saw quite a few leaderboard changes in both the mako and bluefish divisions.
“Keep Er Wet” found a 280.9 lb. mako near the Sausages to take 1st place in the Mako Division. They also caught a 13.3 lb. bluefish while trolling a hoochie between the Fingers and the Jackspot. This fish was good enough to win 1st place in the Bluefish Division.
Thresher Division leader, “Runnin’ Late”, saw lightning strike twice when they boated a 194.4 lb. mako to win 3rd place in the Mako Division. This fish was caught on a bluefish chunk in Massey’s Canyon.
Outside of the tournament, we didn’t see many other sharks caught throughout the week since bad weather kept shark fishermen at the dock.
Tuna & Dolphin
The yellowfin bite we have been seeing moved from the Baltimore Canyon down to the Poor Man’s Canyon where, on Sunday, offshore anglers really got into big numbers of yellowfins with a few dolphin mixed in.
Early in the week, the “Reel Addiction” went on an overnight trip in less than desirable sea conditions and caught 7 yellowfins and 9 dolphin south of the Baltimore Canyon.
On Saturday, the “Sea Slammer” started the weekend off right with 10 yellowfins and 2 dolphin caught in 65 fathoms in the Poor Man’s.
Sunday is when we really saw the tuna action explode. The “Reelentless” continued their assault on yellowfins, catching 18 in the Poor Man’s Canyon. The “Lady J” ended up with 15 yellowfins in the box after trolling in 66-degree water in the Poor Man’s. “Reel Country”, with Capt. D.J. Churchill at the helm, had a good day, landing 13 yellowfins in 50 fathoms inside the Poor Man’s. Anglers on the “All In” also smoked the yellowfins pretty good, returning with 11 in the box along with a dolphin and a 103 lb. mako shark.
White Marlin
On Sunday, the “Reel Chaos” released a white marlin while trolling south of the Baltimore Canyon. I believe this is the first white marlin released by a Marlin Club member, so they would win the $5,000 annual award.
Sea Bass
Anglers fishing on inshore wrecks and reefs continue to find good sea bass fishing while using clams and squid for bait. The throwback ratio is still running high with most anglers able to manage keepers in the low teens.
We haven’t seen anyone crack the 5 lb. barrier.
Tautog
With most inshore boats looking for sea bass, we don’t see as many tautog arriving at the dock as earlier in the year.
The best catch of the week was Dayan Worrell’s 18 pounder caught on an ocean wreck on Friday. Dayan hooked the 30.5-inch blackfish on a chunk of clam.
Striped Bass
Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen an influx of small-to-medium size stripers in our Inlet, especially around the South Jetty.
Anglers working the point with spec rigs and small jigs have been able to catch a load of fish.
The King unveiled his “Septor” rig and was rewarded on many nights with catches of upwards of 50 linesiders. The “Septor” rig is nothing more than a spec rig set up with green, bullet headed, “glass minnow” jigs he purchased at All Tackle in West Ocean City. Letting the jig work its way through the water column seems to be the trick and green has been the best color.
Larger stripers are being caught around the Rt. 50 Bridge by anglers pitching live bait near the pilings.
Flounder
Flounder fishing continued to be slow, except on Sunday when the water in the bay started to clear up and anglers were able to catch quite a few right in the Inlet.
Big Bird Cropper had a heckuva day on Sunday, landing a bunch of flatties while drifting a 3/4 oz. jig head tipped with a white Gulp! Swimming Mullet.
Bluefish
Finally, we are seeing some good size choppers being caught. In the Mako Mania Shark Tournament, Lauren Stinchcomb boated a 13.3 pounder while trolling a hoochie between the Fingers and the Jackspot. A couple of other bluefish over 11 lbs. were caught by anglers at the Fingers and Sausages.
Earlier on Sunday, junior angler Alex Grapes had to be exhausted after catching 16 choppers at the south end of the Fingers. Alex’s heaviest bluefish weighed 11 lbs. 12 oz.
Smaller bluefish continue to be caught around the Rt. 50 Bridge and in the Inlet.
Upcoming Tournaments
Locally, we have an off weekend, but some local offshore boats will be heading to Cape May, NJ for the 32nd Annual South Jersey Shark Tournament starting on June 8th, and down to Morehead City, NC for the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament beginning on June 11th.
The next local tournament is the Ocean City Shark Tournament held at the Ocean City Fishing Center from June 14th to the 16th.
See you at the scales!
