Article by Larry Budd
2024 is officially in the books, and for many fishermen that is a good thing! While every year has its ups and downs, 2024 will most likely be remembered (or hopefully forgotten) for all the windy days and for one of the worst years for yellowfin tuna in recent memory!
Despite the challenges there were a lot of great fish and fish stories last year. Some new state records were set, our local tournaments saw big money payouts and some amazing fish, and our inshore and nearshore fisheries were as active as ever.
The end of 2024 is also bittersweet as it sees the departure of our long-time graphic artist Tom Jock. Tom joined the Coastal Fisherman in 2014 to work with his brother & long time Coastal Fisherman publisher Larry Jock. Tom has been instrumental in the development and operation of the paper and was a critical element to my success after taking over after Larry’s untimely passing. It is bittersweet as I wish him well in his retirement, but I for one will miss him in the office!
So now, let’s spend a little time down Memory Lane revisiting the highs and lows of 2024 in a week by week review. The following summarizes our Offshore, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia reports week by week. Each issue date is highlighted in bold.
May 1, 2024
Our season opener issue featured a lot of the bluefish blitz off the beach that hit during the last week of April. Most of the spring had seen blustery weather so it was good to see some fishable days with a decent bite. By this week we were getting reports of keeper flounder in the Ocean City Bays, including the seasons first. Paul Musser earned that title on April 7th with a 17.5” flounder he caught in the Thorofare at a depth of 17’ with water temps in the low 50°s. Most of our reports for this week in OC were in the Thorofare. The first flounder for Delaware was also reported by Curt Reurter. He was fishing for stripers in the Lewes Canal when he reeled in his keeper.
Out on the sands up and down the coast, the news was dominated by a big bluefish run with some of the largest fish we have seen in years. They were even in the lower Ocean City Bay. Ivanna Harshman graced our cover with a 30.5” gator bluefish she caught at Stinky Beach just south on the west side of the Rt. 50 Bridge.
The annual migration of black drum up the coast to the Delaware Bay was underway. Anglers not targeting bluefish in the surf were reeling in smaller drum in the 10 to 50 pound range. These arrived earlier than the larger true breeders. The first black drum of the season is usually caught before we publish in early May, and 2024 was no exception. Chris Taylor reported the first of the season on March 31st, caught off of Assateague Island.
The suds were also yielding over slot stripers with many over 40”.
The canyons were still cold, unseasonably actually. A few intrepid captains known for their early season tuna catches made some runs out with no joy reported. The inshore wrecks however were giving anglers a consistent if not a little slow tog bite.
For larger flounder, the coastal bays and creeks of the Eastern Shore of Virginia was the place to be. The bigger fish were being caught on the falling tides in relatively shallow water of less than 15’.
This was also a big week for Duffie Boatworks as the new Hull #3, the 79’ “Reel Joy” rolled out of the factory for the final time.
May 8, 2024
Tog catching machine Anthony Emerick from Hackettstown, NJ was on the cover of this edition with a 14 lb. blackfish he caught while aboard the charter boat “Fish Bound” in April. Anthony also holds the title for First Tautog caught in our area for a blackfish he caught on January 8th, also aboard the “Fish Bound”! His was not the only double digit fish for the week.
The big blues were still running hard in the bays and the surf with many limit catches reported including some drum and stripers in the mix.
Those walking the sands of Assateague Island found a rare site, the 6’ skeleton of an atlantic sturgeon. Many consider this fish to be a living fossil as they can be traced back 85 million years. It is unusual to see them as they spend their lives in deeper water.
Warmer weather was welcomed by most, even though it did arrive with a lot of rain. At least it warmed the back bays and helped anglers find more keeper sized flounder. We also had the report of the first weakie of the season. Jim Hitchens caught a 4.6 lb. weakfish in the Delaware Bay on May 2nd starting what has been one of the best weakfish years in a long time.
Offshore waters remained unseasonably cool for our canyons. That combined with a wet and windy spring saw many boats behind on their winter & spring maintenance. Many boats were still on the hard with several projects yet to be completed. A couple with their boats in the water, like the “Full Service”, contemplated running north to the waters off New Jersey as they were experiencing a major trophy bluefin run. This week saw so many giants (>73”) caught there that it filled the Trophy Sub Quota and closed it as of May 2nd!
May 15, 2024
The temperatures this week were on a roller coaster ride rising up to the mid 80°s and then slamming down to the mid 50°s! That was probably more of an issue for the anglers than the fish. This week was all about action off the beaches. Big bluefish were entertaining anglers up and down the coast. In a testament to the action, the Old Inlet Bait & Tackle Surf Fishing Tournament saw 61 blues weighed in as contenders. Black drum were there too. Not as large as prior weeks but that was a benefit, as the smaller drum in the mid 20” range are better for eating than the jumbos. The big drums had migrated to the breeding grounds of the Delaware Bay to the delight of many anglers targeting these giants. On the Virginia sands, red drum were abundant as well.
We saw a strong finish to the winter/spring tog season with some double digit blackfish hitting the scales before the season closed on the 15th. A couple other species however were moving in to pick up the action. We had a report of the first sheepshead catch of the season. Joe McNeal was fishing on the “Chasin’ Tides” when he hooked an 11 pound convict at an ocean structure. A few more were reported before the week’s end.
Anyone looking for a nice bluefish or juvenile striper could work our two main inlets and find the fish were more than happy to cooperate. The Oceanic Fishing Pier at the Ocean City Inlet reported a lot of action and keepers from their docks. The deeper channels in the Indian River Bay and behind the airport in Ocean City were also hot spots for keeper flounder.
Some of our regular flounder killers like Danny Cox of West OC put their talents to the test and fished the Capt. Zed’s Annual Flounder Fishing Tournament in Wachapreague, VA. Danny caught his limit of four with the heaviest at just over 6 lbs. That one held on to take 3rd Place overall for the event.
The wild wind that was driving the wild weather kept the canyons too rough and too cool for most of the week. That gave captains time to prep for the opening of sea bass season on the day of this publication.
May 22, 2024
Weather continued to be our adversary as we hit mid May and made a mess of sea bass opening day. Our first catch reports from opening day were in this issue and it definitely lacked the energy, and big activity of prior years as the howling winds, high seas and pummeling rain kept most boats at the docks. The weekend provided a bit of a respite with sloppy but fishable weather. The “Judith M” confronted the rough seas and found the bass to be picky. Their anglers were able to get a few keepers for the dinner plate, but not the limit catches we are sure they were looking for. The official First Knothead of the year was reeled in aboard the “Angler”. Appropriately or coincidentally it was ‘Sea Bass’ Bob Houser that put the first keeper of the season that he caught on a jig over the rail.
With the rough seas and wind many anglers opted to stay in the back bays and target flounder, blues and rockfish. Most keeper flounder were from the bay behind Assateague Island, the Thorofare, the Indian River Inlet or the Lewes Canal. The Canal was a bit of a hot spot as the Lewes Harbor Marina held their Canal Flounder Tournament over the weekend. Despite the gray skies, the turnout was the biggest ever. Lots of flatfish hit the scales, but it was Freddy Wilkerson that dominated the leader board with his 5.69 lb. fish from the Canal earning the top payout of $9,000.
The run of specks continued with big ones in the Tangier Sound and good sized keepers from the Lewes Canal and DE Bay. The surf was the place for large stripers. Smaller blues were in the suds as well with larger ones being caught off the Cape Henlopen Pier.
The weather and cold water reports kept most out of the canyons. One boat known for early season trips though saw a small eddy of warmer water and suited up for a run. The “Full Service” is no stranger to First Fish accolades. In 2023 they caught the first bigeye of the season. For 2024 it would be the First Yellowfin! After a 65 mile run east of the Washington Canyon in mostly 40° water, they found a temperature break with clear water and temps up to 68.5°. Shortly after lines in, they got a double hookup getting one in the boat. While an early bite is promising, it was their only one for the day.
May 29, 2024
Sea bass, flounder and bluefish dominated the news as we closed out May. The weather this week was milder allowing more anglers to get out and target sea bass. We finally started to see the big knotheads and some limit catches, so we put Tom Lane on our cover with a 27.5” sea bass he had caught on the headboat “Morning Star”.
A full moon was also helping the striper bite at the inlets in the evening hours and big flounder were just about everywhere. Doug Brissey set a new Heaviest Flounder of the season to date with a 7.1 lb. flatfish caught at an ocean structure.
Anglers on the sands continued to land big bluefish. The Kinneys of South Bethany pulled a couple of big blues from the surf behind their house. Scott landed a gator at 33” and Sue pinned a 21” chopper. They were kind enough to donate the big one to Chef Christine to make her Bluefish with a Tomato Cream Sauce recipe that was in the issue!
The action in the canyons was mainly golden and blueline tilefish. A few tuna were found east of the southern canyons, but not many made the long run to deep water for limited catches.
Several white marlin sightings were reported coming up in tuna spreads. None got hooked, but it certainly put some excitement in the air for who would land the first of the season!
June 5, 2024
After a wet and windy May, the first week of June was a ray of sunshine offering nicer days and calms seas. Likewise, the fishing also turned a corner, especially in the canyons.
After weeks of relatively little to share in the Offshore Report, this week saw the reports of 4 pelagic First Fish including the iconic first white marlin. That honor and $5,000 prize from the Town of Ocean City went to Jake Emche. He was aboard the “Fish On” trolling for tuna about 20 miles east of the Baltimore Canyon. About mid-day on Saturday, the crew heard the pin pop on the long rigger and they knew there was a white in the spread. Jake grabbed a ballyhoo with a circle hook and maneuvered it into the spread and they did indeed have ‘fish on’!
The tuna pattern continued from the week before with mostly limited catches. Most who caught fish were finding 1 or 2 mostly smaller yellowfins. There were however some really notable and First Fish catches. On Friday we heard from the “MARLI” that they had a bluefin in the box (got to love Starlink). They were in the Poor Mans Canyon working a patch of warmer water when Andrew Link hooked the 60” tuna marking the First Bluefin Tuna of the year. They also caught several yellowfins. Anglers on the “Canyon Crew” were there too and they landed a 143 lb. bigeye tuna, the First Bigeye of the season.
While yellowfin remained elusive, a couple nice hauls were found. The “Boss Hogg” brought 10 back from south of the Poor Mans to their slip at Sunset Marina. Capt. Brian Porter acknowledged a little luck was involved as they ran across a school and hooked up 5 at one time.
The first offshore tournament of 2024 was held, the 2nd Annual Battle for the Buckle sponsored by Pure Lure. This unique event is associated with the PBR bull riding event held that week and offered cash prizes and custom belt buckle trophies! 20 boats entered the event creating a $75,000 purse. Given the limited tuna action to date, the crew of the “Relentless” decided to focus on swordfish to win the Heaviest Fish Calcutta. It was the right strategy as the 125 lb. took the top spot in that calcutta and the tournament’s top prize of $31K. The Heaviest Stringer buckle went to the crew on the charter boat “Talkin’ Trash”.
Lots of keeper flounder were being caught at B Buoy, Site 11 and the Old Grounds. The sea bass however remained spotty as they had been so far in the season.
Big stripers and bluefish were being caught at the Inlets and in the Ocean City Bays. Big Bird Cropper boated a personal best 55” rock at the Ocean City Inlet.
Up north in the Delaware Bay, big black drum over 50” were common. We also saw a number of reports of weakfish from the bay including a 29” and 7.26 lb. one Jim Hitchens caught.
Action in the surf was strong up and down the coast with big stripers and black drum. The southern stretches of Assateague had reds.
June 12, 2024
We had an uncommon catch on the cover this week, a thresher shark. It had been a while for us at the Coastal Fisherman since we had seen one, and several years for Hook’em & Cook’em at the Indian River Marina where it was weighed. While quite common several years ago we suspect several things may be contributing factors. First off, you can’t keep most sharks these days as the prohibited list continues to grow. The mako was banned last year and the oceanic whitetip has been added. The creel limit is one per trip and there seems to be a public perception that all shark fishing is bad despite a healthy fishery for some species. That last one probably causes anglers not to submit photos. Either way, the thresher caught by Paul Plummer aboard the “Salty Hooker” at B Buoy was a beauty. It measured 80” and pulled the scale down to 250.6 lbs.
Despite the nice thresher catch, it was hard to believe we were in week 7 of our 2024 season with poor offshore action. We heard that less than a dozen tuna were caught all week. Best we got was from the “Bill Slayer” who managed 3 bigeyes from outside the Baltimore Canyon. The tilefish bite remained steady with numerous limit catches of blueline and goldens. 100 fathoms seemed to be the best depth.
The nearshore bite remained slow at the wrecks and reefs. Deep water at the Jack Spot and DelJersey offered a little more action. Fishing off the beach was transitioning to a summer mode with less drum and stripers and more kingfish, skates and sharks. Notable from the sands was the report of the first keeper cobia for Maryland. Chuck Guerra landed the keeper using bunker off the beach in Ocean City.
Inshore the news was better. Both inlets were alive with baitfish attracting stripers and bluefish. The bay was still offering more keeper flounder as it continued to warm.
Bahia Marina held its Blues for DU Bluefish Tournament that replaced Mako Mania after the ban. The scales were active with lots of snappers. Not surprisingly, Big Bird Cropper took the top spot with a 12 lb. blue from the Rt. 50 Bridge.
June 19, 2024
All in all it was a great week for fishing. Keeper flounder were abundant in the bays and nearshore reefs & wrecks. Smaller bluefish were in the Inlets and Delaware Bay, and the surf was a great place to get some panfish and the occasional cobia.
The primary inshore catch this week was flounder. With the warming air temperatures in the 85° – 90° range warming the waters, the flatfish were getting more active. The Thorofare in Ocean City was the hot spot as was the Lewes Canal in Delaware. However, keepers were being found across the bays. Nearshore was hopping as well. Anglers were finding their limit of catches with many reports coming from A & B Buoy, the Great Eastern and Jack Spot.
The sea bass bite remained slow, but those willing to put in the work did find some keepers in the mix. Smaller bluefish and stripers kept crews busy at both Atlantic Inlets as well as the Rt. 50 Bridge and in the DE Bay.
Our waters on the southern parts of Assateague Island saw lots of kingfish and big red drum action. David Moore was there with Keith Stanley. The pair landed 8 reds including a 50 incher for David. They also shared there was nonstop kingfish action.
There were reports from the lower shores of Virginia of tarpon. Capt. David Burt of Easy Wind Kayak Fishing shared a great picture of a tarpon he caught from his kayak.
The canyons were busy too. Despite the poor tuna bite, 64 boats and 300 anglers signed up for the 4th Annual Tuna & Tiaras Ladies Tuna Tournament, a record turnout. Lots of tuna were hung on the scales at the Ocean City Fishing Center with the majority being big bluefins and bigeyes. The first bluefin tuna in the Tournaments history came in on Day 1. The “Restless Lady” was fishing inshore and snagged a 141 lb. blue. That one took 1st Place in the Single Tuna Split calcutta. The “Loaded Up” also brought in a bluefin tuna that day. They were in 700 fathoms east of the Poor Mans Canyon. The 65” tuna weighed 160.5 lbs. securing the top spot for Single Tuna WTA, Small Boat WTA and the Rt. 113 Boat Sales Outboard Jackpot.
While fewer boats fished the 2nd day of the event, they did mess up the leaderboard. Most notable was the catch from the new for 2024 “Primary Search”. The crew of mostly first-time offshore fisherwomen got covered up by 5 bigeyes right after putting lines in! Amazingly they got all of them in the boat. A great feat, especially for new anglers. The 5 eyeballs weighed 508.5 lb. taking 1st Place in the Stringer WTA, and they're heaviest at 113.5 lbs. held onto 2nd Place in the Single Tuna Split.
Anglers outside of the tournament were finding some tuna to get on ice, but most were reported as part of a lone multiple hook up for the day. It was frustrating, as many captains shared they were seeing tuna busting the surface but just not biting in volume. Bigeyes and bluefins were common with a few yellow birds as well. Deep water east of the canyons were again the place to be.
The billfish action was decent with a couple of firsts being set. The “Talkin’ Trash” caught the first white marlin of the season by a member of the OC Marlin Club. In addition to bragging rights, that fish earned the crew $5,000. We also saw the first blue marlin of the season from the “Elizabeth Ann”. Owner Tom Healy took the title for the blue marlin he caught and released in the NE corner of the Poor Mans Canyon. That one hit on a pink Joe Shute lure and took 45 minutes to leader.
June 26, 2024
This was our Fourth of July issue, sporting the red, white and blue Coastal Fisherman logo on the cover! It also felt like summer had arrived in full force with stifling heat and a persistent south wind. Not the best weather for the canyons, but that did not keep the boats at the dock. For tuna, the Washington Canyon was the hot spot. The “Bad Habit” was there and caught their 4-person limit of 12 yellowfin tuna, a rare catch for 2024. They reported great success with their purple 353 Custom Tackle Spreader Bar. The “Full Service” was on the cover with 4 big yellows they found in 1000 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon. The largest was an allison weighing 161 lbs., the heaviest of the season so far and setting a pretty high bar.
Several large bigeyes were also landed. The “Magic Moment” took her first trip of the season and trolled in 300 fathoms between the Poor Mans Canyon and the Rockpile. They were just about to call it a day when they hooked up a double at 4:30PM. The scales were closed at Sunset Marina by the time they returned, but the larger of the two was estimated at over 200 lbs. Tony Nicholas on the “Rumor Has It” also caught a big eyeball in the Washington Canyon on a Joe Shute. That one was weighed, and at 229 lbs., it was the heaviest of the season at the time.
This week also saw our first reports of longfin tuna. Mark Steiner on the “Don’t Ask” rolled up to Hook’em & Cook’em at the Indian River Marina with a 38 pounder from the Baltimore. The “Reel Naughty” and the “Gret’s Three J’s” also let us know they had boated longfins as well.
Billfish reports remained thin as they had been so far for the year. A couple notable catches however were reported. Young 10 year old Mary Gessler won the top spot for Billfish in the Indian River Kid’s Catch All after releasing a white marlin outside of the Baltimore Canyon. The “Boss Hogg” caught the first blue marlin of the season by an Ocean City Marlin Club member earning that title and $2,500. The “Reel Fast” reported a swordfish from the Washington.
The hot weather was also warming the inshore waters and back bays, improving both the number of keeper flounder and sea bass catches. Those fishing the inshore wrecks and reefs did have to contend with ribbonfish. There were also reports of windowpane flounder being caught. A unique fish for our area but becoming a bit more common.
Big bluefish and smaller stripers were ample around the Rt. 50 Bridge. Anglers working the surf continued to land black drum and bluefish. Kingfish and spot were plentiful with Assateague anglers also finding red drum.
Cobia were dominating the southern waters of Virginia. Delaware anglers were also finding the man in the brown suit in the surf.
July 3rd, 2024
The wind was front and center again for the week before the 4th of July. There were still a couple days that were manageable in the canyons, with this week being one of the better ones for yellowfin. There were numerous yellow birds hitting the dock including a monster 150 pounder from the “Ro Sham Bo”. Deep water up to 1000 fathoms was a constant theme with waters in the mid 70°s. Bigger fish were coming from the Wilmington and Baltimore Canyons, however, boats in the Poor Mans and Washington Canyons were catching larger numbers of fish. The “Pumpin’ Hard” braved the sportier weekend weather making 2 trips, and were rewarded with catches of 5 and then 7 yellowfins. Those were in shallower water of 80 fathoms in the Poor Mans.
Closer to shore saw some interesting catches. Jack Legates found a thresher shark tangled in one of his gill nets deep in the west Rehoboth Bay! It was a big one, with a tail almost 9 feet tall. Greg Miller was shark fishing from the sands on Assateague Island near the trail head for the Life of the Dunes trail parking lot. He put some tuna belly out about 200 yards and hooked a tiger shark estimated at 150 lbs.
Water temps inshore and the bays were steadily rising as the heat of summer started to build. That slowed the sea bass bite a bit, but also ushered in the arrival of ribbonfish along with redfish and triggerfish.
The nearshore wrecks and reefs were the best place for quality fish despite the cross winds and currents. Flounder were being caught on everything from bucktails to basic flounder rigs with deeper water providing the best action. Even deeper sites were the place to be to target sea bass. While slow, some nice knotheads were hitting the coolers.
The bays and inlets were alive with all sorts of activity. Larger flounder, sea trout and sheepshead were in the inlets as well as the main backwater canals. Stripers were active at the inlets with several slot keepers.
Down south the Chesapeake Bay was the savior of the Eastern Shore fisherman. Redfish and puppy drum were the main actors in the hot summer saga. The lower bay was a hot spot for cobia. Sight casting in 12-15 feet of water from the CBBT to Tangier were most productive.
July 10, 2024
An early and poor forecast for the weekend put many plans on hold, including the Ocean City Marlin Club’s annual Canyon Kick Off. Fortunately, or unfortunately the weather was better than expected. Additionally, and eddy had moved in from the Gulf Stream bringing bait rich warmer water to offshore of the Baltimore Canyon to the northern part of the Poor Mans. Billfish, yellowfins and some bigeye were being caught. The hot bite however was white marlin. It started the Wednesday before the weekend with a report from the private boat “Sea Hag” reporting 8 releases. The weekend was the “Fish On” release of 9 whites over 2 days. The “Christine Marie” spent Saturday in the Baltimore Canyon and went 8 for 13. As Sunday arrived however, the rich water had dissipated as did the bite.
The bigeye bite picked up as well and was a good omen for the upcoming Ocean City Tuna Tournament. The Baltimore Canyon was also the hot spot that week with both yellowfin and bigeye tuna getting put on ice. Smaller mahi were in the mix.
Weather again cooled the inshore reefs & wrecks putting a chill on the bite. The wind and storms had also made the water very dirty to the point where one angler called it chocolate in color.
The bays and inlets were once again the savior for the inshore action this week. The Thorofare in Ocean City was the place to be for keeper flounder, and the Rt. 50 Bridge continued to be the place for big blues and weakfish.
Anglers at the Outer Wall in Lewes were finding sheepshead, triggerfish and tog. The lower Chesapeake was still warm with spec and redfish offering some summertime sport.
July 17, 2024
Summer was in full swing with hot and sticky days during the day, stormy evenings and cooler overnight temps leading to dense fog in the mornings. A stormy weekend forecast had also put pressure on participation in the 37th Annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament. As the first big money tournament of the season, the OCTT is considered a bell weather for the upcoming season. Despite the forecast 51 boats registered with half the fleet fishing both Friday and Saturday and the bulk on the last day, Sunday, due to the improved forecast.
Day 1 saw a number of big bluefin tuna hit the scales at the Ocean City Fishing Center. The charter boat “Shorebilly” kicked things off waiting at the scales when they opened. They put a 168 lb. bluefin on the dock and held the title for Single Largest Tuna through day 2, but slipped to 2nd Place on the last day when the charter boat “Wrecker” brought in a bigeye. That eyeball came from the Washington Canyon and was their only bigeye for the day. It weighed 191.5 lbs. and easily took the top spot for the event. It also earned the tourney’s top prize payout of just over $198K.
The Heaviest Stringer Division got off to a slow start with mainly medium sized yellowfins being caught. The crew of the “Shotski” saw the opportunity on day 3 and focused their efforts on bigeye tuna. The strategy paid off. They were fishing in the corner of the Wilmington Canyon when they ran across a school of bigeyes and got 4 on at once. They managed to get 3 in the box and only losing the 4th right by the boat. That trio weighed 412.5 lbs. securing 1st Place in the division and the second largest payout of just under $172K.
The “Reel Naughty” also stuck to the golden rule to always weigh your fish. They had caught a mahi northeast of the Hot Dog that they thought would meet the tournament minimum of 20 lbs. At 28 lbs. it did qualify and was the only one during the event that did! That fish earned a cool 20 grand!
A new Heaviest Bigeye of the season for Delaware was set by the “Rusty Reel” with a 212 lb. eyeball from the Baltimore. Capt. Dale Lisi of the charter boat “Foolish Pleasures” caught a personal best yellowfin for his long career. His anglers landed a 57” and 107 lb. yellowfin tuna at The Wrench near the Hambone.
The billfish bite had cooled since the big 4th of July weekend run and had settled back into the pattern of single or low single digit catches. One of the more notable catches came from the “Sea Hag’. They were fishing the Baltimore Canyon when they got an unusual triple hookup, 2 bigeye tuna and a white marlin. They got all three to the boat and managed another white as well as a blue marlin for the day.
The first wahoo of the season was reported as well, filling out our First Fish chart for 2024. Greg Stansky was in the Poor Mans on the 17th and landed a 37.9 lb. speedster to lock the title. “Team Harvey” also made the wahoo news with a 67 pounder they caught while practicing marlin fishing for the upcoming JJ Quest for the Ring Tournament. That one was hooked in the corner of the mouth on a marlin rig.
The nearshore lumps and humps were still making anglers work for their keepers. The “Judith M” took an 8 hour sea bass trip to get to deeper water and were rewarded with some decent sized keeper knotheads. Closer in, the keeper flounder catch had improved, but were mixed in with many shorts.
Sheepshead were showing up at the Inlets and the Delaware Icebreakers, and speckled trout were a treat for anglers in the bays. The surf was active with the usual kingfish and spot that time of year as well as big redfish adding to the excitement.
July 24, 2024
The seemingly ever present south and west winds last year prevailed this week keeping the nearshore waters very cold, some 20° degrees below normal. The wind pushes water to the right as opposed to in the same direction, so a south wind pushes water east. The water around the Marine Electric seemed to hold the warmest water and was producing the best albeit few catches. John Bruning bucked the trend while fishing at an ocean structure with “Bad Wind” charters. He landed a personal best 28 ¼” flounder that weighed 8.84 lbs.
Fortunately, the back bays were teaming with keeper sized flounder and weakfish. In Ocean City, the Inlet and the Thorofare were the place to be for keepers. The Indian River Inlet was also a good spot as were some of the deeper spots inside the bay in ~20 feet of water.
Big bluefish and stripers were still biting at the Rt. 50 Bridge and Indian River Inlet.
Two tournaments were also in the news. The Ocean City Marlin Club held their 20th Annual Kid’s Classic. Always a favorite in Ocean City, these young anglers covered the bays and inshore sites to catch fish in 15 different divisions. These included offshore species, however, the weather did seem to limit the number of boats heading to the canyons. Some notable winners were the “Partnership” with their 1.5 lb. stringer of spot, the “Hix Hooker” with an impressive 18.5 lb. mackerel, the “Don’t’ Tell Carrie” with a 9.3 lb. bonita and the “Reel Chaos” releasing 5 white marlin.
The other tourney was the 4th Annual Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring based in Atlantic City. For 2024 the event added Sunset Marina as a weigh station expanding their reach to include more boats. The Ring of Honor champion was the “Krazy Salts” who released 14 white marlin and one blue over the 5 day event. “Team Harvey”, who marked Fisherman’s Marina as their seasonal home port took the top spot for blue marlin with a 649 pounder they caught in the Toms Canyon. That one earned the second largest payout of just over $173K.
Closer to home, tuna was still the primary catch, especially bigeye. The record for Heaviest Bigeye of the season changed hands several times this week, even changing on the same day. Lots of over 200 lb. eyeba
