Article by Larry Jock
Just in time for the Memorial Day weekend, we finally had some nice weather and the action was fast and furious at the docks in Ocean City.
There were several “First Fish” caught last week, but when it comes to excitement, nothing seemed to come close to the yellowfin tuna bite. All you need to do is look through the pages of this issue and you will see some amazing catches. Most of the action took place in 500 to 700 fathoms between the Washington and Norfolk Canyons. Many boats experienced multiple hook-ups throughout the day and the “Talkin Trash” even had 13 yellowfins on at two different times.
When the week started, the best bite was down closer to the Norfolk Canyon, but progressively moved north as the week went on. The size of the yellowfins has stayed pretty consistent with most coming in between 35 and 45 lbs.
Mahi weighing up to 25 lbs. were mixed in with the yellowfins and bigger fish showed up later in the week.
We also saw the first white marlin release of the season on Friday when Andy Urban on the “In the Black” released one in 800 fathoms between the Washington and Norfolk Canyons. The fish hit a green machine only 15 minutes after their lines hit the water. On Sunday, we also saw white marlin releases from anglers on the “Bella” and the “Talkin Trash”.
Capt. Brian Porter on the charter boat, “Boss Hogg” was very excited on Saturday when he took his family and the boat owner’s family out for a fun day of fishing and in addition to yellowfins, they ended up releasing the first blue marlin of the season after hooking it on a green skirted ballyhoo in the Norfolk Canyon.
A rare catch was made on Friday when Pat McCloskey and Jason Stokes caught and released a sailfish in the Norfolk Canyon.
We also saw the first bigeye tuna of the season hit the dock on Thursday when the charter boat, “Marli” returned with a 76.2 pounder caught in 72-degree water between the Washington and Norfolk Canyons. A couple of other eyeballs were hooked between the canyons over the long weekend. On Friday, the “Game Over” had an 86 pounder in 400 fathoms. The “Reel Tight” boated a 130 pounder in 500 fathoms on Saturday and the “Restless Lady” caught a 174 pounder during an overnight trip to 500 fathoms.
Just in time for this weeks Mako Mania Shark tournament, makos were abundant in the Washington and Norfolk Canyons where tuna fisherman had difficulty keeping them off their hooked yellowfins. On Thursday, Brandon Manley caught a 193 lb. mako at the Twin Wrecks on a bluefish fillet and on Sunday, the “Keep Er Wet” returned from an overnighter between the Washington and Norfolk Canyons with a 198 lb. mako fooled with a whole bluefish.
These were just the larger makos caught during the week and doesn’t count the several 100 to 125 lb. makos weighed throughout the week.
Threshers also popped up when on Saturday, Chris Pino caught a 247 lb. thresher at the Fingers and Greg Measley caught a 323.8 pounder on the northwest side of the Fingers.
Sea bass fishing on ocean structure was excellent early in the week, but seemed to slow as the week went on. Fish up to 3 lbs. 8 oz. were caught on squid and clams.
Flounder fishing was slow in the bay but started showing up for anglers fishing from headboats on ocean structure. On Thursday, Thomas Jones caught a 5 lb. 8 oz. flattie while dropping a bucktail on an artificial reef.
In the surf, large stripers measuring over 40-inches continued to be caught by anglers on Assateague Island and the beaches in north Ocean City. Surfcasters also found a few black drum and plenty of kingfish and skates.
In addition to the surf, good size stripers were also caught around the South Jetty. The bite was especially good early in the week for anglers fishing with peeler crabs, bucktails tipped with curly tails or 6-inch Storm lures.
Speaking of striped bass, we received good news from the MD DNR. Effective June 1st, anglers will be able to keep 2 striped bass, in any combination of 28 to 38-inches or 44-inches and above. It should be noted that this is slightly different than Delaware’s regulations where the smaller slot goes from 28 to 37-inches. Special thanks to Mike Luisi for getting this change pushed through.
Upcoming Tournament
This weekend is the Mako Mania Shark Tournament at Bahia Marina. The tournament will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday with weigh-ins at 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. You can really get close to the action at Bahia Marina and the food is good, so it is a great combination to have a great time.
See you at the scales!
