Article by Larry Budd
Looks like summer has finally arrived in full force, just in time for the 4th of July! The week that was saw stifling heat persistent south winds. Not the best conditions for the canyons, but still, captains got out on the deep blue (and we mean deep!) and had some great catches, while others struggled. Tuna was the hot bite for the week with several large hauls of yellowfins as well as some very heavy fish. We saw new seasonal records for bigeye and yellowfin. The first couple longfins of the season were reported, with one also setting a seasonal record.
There were only a handful of billfish reports with a couple notable ones and some decent sized mahi were in the mix. We also saw three tournaments over the weekend, with two of them having offshore components, so lots to share!
For anglers targeting tuna, it seems it was the best of times and the worst of times. Many went out to find one or two bites or no bites. Still, others had banners days. The middle to end of last week seemed to have offered better days as the wind made the weekend sporty. One of our early reports came from the charter boat “Boss Hogg”. They were returning from trolling east of the Poor Mans Canyon in 1000 fathoms when I got a call they were headed back to Sunset Marina with 13 yellowfins. They were pretty chunky too once they laid them on the dock. The crew on the “Bad Habit” had two good trips. The first to the Washington Canyon in 200 fathoms where they caught their limit of 12 yellows by 10:45 AM. The captain shared that group seemed to like the purple 353 Custom Tackle spreader bar and naked ballyhoo. Their second one was back to the Washington in deep water where they reeled in a 56” and 120 lb. allison tuna. The charter boat “Spring Mix II” based at the Ocean City Fishing Center also reported a couple good trips. They too were east of the Washington and had 5 yellowfins from one trip and 7 on another. Clearly, the Washington was the hot spot for the week, but not the only place.
The ”Magic Moment” took her first trip of the season and saw a very slow start, but ended the day with a bang. They were in 300 fathoms between the Poor Mans Canyon and the Rockpile when at about 4:30 PM they got a double bigeye hookup on a diving plug and a blue marlin lure. By the time they got back to Sunset Marina, the scales were closed, but Capt. Jim Bugg estimated the larger of the two would have been over 200 lbs. The charter boat “Oppor-Tuna-Ty” was also in the Poor Mans and put 2 yellowfins and a mahi in the box.
Two notable catches both set Heaviest of the season records. The first was a new record for bigeye tuna. Angler Tony Nicholas was fishing on the “Rumor Has It” in the Washington Canyon when he hooked a big eyeball on a red Joe Schute rigged with a ballyhoo. It took 2.5 hours to get the 229 lb. fish to the boat setting the season record, and it was the first bigeye caught by the boat! The “Full Service” is no stranger to setting records for both First Fish and Heaviest, so it was not really a surprise when I got a call from Capt. Jim Barbey as his son Capt. Brendan Barbey was headed back to Sunset Marina with something big. They spent the day in 1000 fathoms of water outside the Baltimore Canyon. They caught four yellowfins, with 2 large ones. The largest was a 161 lb. allison tuna that easily set the Heaviest of the Season record and will be a hard one to beat.
The longfins have arrived. We had three reports last week, the first from “Don’t Ask”. They hit the scales at Hook’em & Cook’em at the Indian River Marina on June 18th with a 38 pounder from the Baltimore Canyon. Congrats to angler Mark Steiner for the 1st of the Season and the current Heaviest. Last Friday, Capt. Tony Bauer on the “Reel Naughty” reported a longfin caught by Amber Miller from his charter to the Wilmington Canyon. It was their only tuna bite for the day and the first longfin for a Maryland based boat. Capt. John Griffith on the “Gret’s Three J’s” gave me a ring on Saturday with another longfin catch.
While still slow, we did get several releases reported. Capts. Brian Porter and Alex Beane are having another great year so far with tuna, but they also scored the First Blue Marlin Release for an Ocean City Marlin Club boat. That title also comes with a $2,500 prize. Congratulations are in order for 10 year old Mary Gessler who won the top spot for Billfish in the Indian River Marina’s Kid’s Catch All Tournament over the weekend. She was fishing on the “Boys Toy” outside the Baltimore Canyon where she released a white marlin that hit on a naked ballyhoo. The weather was rough out there too making the catch even more remarkable. Another junior angler with a marlin release was 13 year old Jordan Coston from Jacksonville, FL. He was on the charter boat “Grande Pez” with Capts. Pat Svehla and Ryan Freese in 500 fathoms of the Poor Mans Canyon. The marlin, his first, was big. It would have been worth big money if he caught it in August! The charter boat “Wrecker” found luck a little closer to home. They released a white marlin in only 100 fathoms at the Baltimore Canyon. One other billfish to share was from the “Reel Fast”. They put an 80.4 lb swordfish they caught in the Washington Canyon using squid.
We are seeing more mahi reported, all caught on the troll. While we got a couple captains that shared they saw some weedlines, but reported they did not see any life around them. Several gaffers came back to the docks and Ken Currey from Myrtle Beach, SC just missed by half a pound tying the record for Heaviest of the season with a 30 lb. dolphin he caught on the “Terra-Jessica” on a skirted ballyhoo in the Baltimore Canyon.
The weather for the upcoming week looks windy offshore with only a couple fishable days, but as they say it is early! The upcoming weekend is also the last one without a tournament until the end of August, so buckle up and get ready for tournament season! Keep track on what’s next in our upcoming tournament listing.
So until next week, I will see you at the docks, and as always, share with us what you are catching! §
Upcoming Tournaments
• The MidAtlantic Cup Blue Marlin Tournament will be held on July 4th and is the largest open boundary tournament. More at southjerseytournaments.com/midatlantic-cup
• The Ocean City Marlin Club hosts its 42st Canyon Kick Off Tournament on July 5, 6 & 7. This is a fish 2 of 3 day event with weigh ins at Sunset Marina from 5:00 – 7:30 PM each day. You do not have be a member to fish this event. Details at ocmarlinclub.com/tournaments
• The world’s largest tuna tournament returns to the Ocean City Fishing Center on July 12-14. The 37th Ocean City Tuna Tournament promises more action and big money payouts. Purses over the past 2 years have exceeded $1M. Scales will be open at the Fishing Center from 4-8PM on Friday & Saturday and 4-7:00 PM on Sunday.
