Article by Larry Jock
Mother Nature made it tough for anglers last week with bad weather keeping boats at the dock right up until Thursday and even after that, it wasn’t exactly ideal.
The highlight of the weekend was the Big Fish Classic with 67 boats competing for over $462,000 in prize money. With 65 of the 67 boats choosing to fish in the Saturday/Sunday 32-hour window, you knew that the action at the scales was going to be exciting on Sunday, but we had no idea how awesome it would turn out to be. Spectators were blessed with seeing 3 blue marlin, 3 swordfish, a white marlin, big bluefins, good size yellowfins and dolphin arrive throughout the weigh-in. There is no doubt this tournament will be around for a long time and the folks at the Talbot Street Pier are doing a great job running the event.
Tuna & Dolphin
It was a slow week for tuna fishing when compared to what we were seeing prior to the recent blow and most of the action late in the week and into the weekend was inshore in Massey’s Canyon and around the 12 Fathom Lump where bluefins were found mixed in with yellowfins. Some larger yellowfins were caught further up the line in the Spencer and Wilmington Canyons in addition to a few scattered deep outside the Washington.
Bigeye tuna have been scarce this season but anglers on the “Michael Joe” caught a 120.5 pounder in the Carteret Canyon, right on the fence for the Big Fish Classic.
Billfish
Blue marlin stole the show at the Big Fish Classic. “Bent Tent” arrived with a 379.5 pounder caught in 1,500 fathoms behind the Wilmington Canyon. The “Underdog” showed up with a 354.5 lb. blue marlin from 1,200 fathoms behind the Washington and the big winner, “Reel Tight” brought their 404.5 pounder to the scale after catching it in 1,200 fathoms in the Spencer.
We also saw a few swordfish show up as well when the “Primary Search” brought in a 188 pounder from 650 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon. The “Katherine Anne” had a 197.5 pounder caught in 200 fathoms in the Norfolk Canyon where the “Backlash” boated a 180 lb. sword.
Wahoo
During the weekend tournament, a few wahoo were brought to the scale. A 51.5 pounder was caught on the “Tail to Tale” in the Wilmington Canyon and a couple of smaller ones came in from the Norfolk and Washington Canyons.
Outside of the tournament, four young anglers headed to Massey’s Canyon late in the week where they caught a 71 lb. wahoo and a couple of mahi. We also saw a 63 pounder caught on Friday by Jeff Geary while fishing in Massey’s Canyon.
Sheepshead
The sheepshead bite around the South Jetty quieted down a bit from the flurry seen 3 to 4 weeks ago, but action picked-up over the weekend, especially on Sunday for anglers soaking sand fleas.
Triggerfish
The triggerfish bite this year has been very good on ocean reefs and wrecks. The structure around Fenwick Shoal, Russell’s Reef, Winter Quarter Shoal, the Bass Grounds and the Jackspot have all produced catches of triggers for anglers fishing with Fishbite bloodworms and cut bait.
Speaking of the Jackspot, the charter boat “Over-Board” headed out there when the weather got better on Thursday and found Spanish mackerel, bluefish, bonitas, false albacore tuna and mahi interested in what was being offered. A nice mix of fish for Capt. Dustin’s anglers!
Flounder
Although last week wasn’t one of the better flounder fishing weeks we have had this season, overall the season has been a good one. Unfortunately, last week the nasty weather we experienced created dirty water conditions, always undesirable for catching flatties. Although we are still seeing fish caught in the bay behind Assateague Island, the better bite has shifted to the East Channel, the Thorofare and behind Harbour Island.
Based upon what I have been seeing, if I had to hit one spot in search of a keeper flounder it would have to be in the East Channel, just north of the Rt. 50 Bridge where the old Concrete Plant used to be. Another good spot is just on the other side of the bridge, but you really need a trolling motor to keep you in the kill zone. Fishing with live spot will usually produce the bigger fish but white Gulp Swimming Mullets have been the top producer so far this season.
Although it was tough to get out there last week due to rough sea conditions, flounder fishing on ocean structure is starting to heat up. The Old Grounds off Delaware is always a great place for flounder fishing, but it’s a hike (20 miles) from the Ocean City Inlet. Closer to shore, any Ocean City Reef Foundation site should give you a shot at catching your limit of flatties, so spending the $50 to join the organization is money well spent. Capt. Monty, as president of the Reef Foundation, has done nothing short of a spectacular job increasing the number of sites for local anglers to target flounder, sea bass, triggerfish, spadefish and many other reef dwelling species.
In the Surf
Surfcasters are in the typical summer doldrums with kingfish, flounder, a few snapper bluefish, sharks and rays filling out the line-up card on most days.
Cobia
With warm water temperatures, I would have expected to have seen more cobia than we have so far this season, but a couple were caught last week. One was caught a mile off the coast of Indian River and I heard of at least one other caught on Little Gull Shoal.
Upcoming Tournaments
We are now entering the crazy streak for tournaments. It’s really a marathon disguised as a series of sprints.
This weekend is the Ocean City Marlin Club Ladies Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Weigh-ins for this event will be held at Sunset Marina from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.
Monday is the first day of the Big Kahuna... the White White Marlin Open at Harbour Island. As most everyone knows, this tournament runs from Monday through Friday with weigh-ins each night from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. If you have never experienced the White Marlin Open, it is one for the bucket list. It’s always an exiting scene at the scale and how many people can say that they saw a fish that was worth over $1,000,000?
Until next week, I’ll see you at the scales!
