Article by Larry Budd
The story for last week was definitely about flounder and rockfish. A few warmer days with clear water on the outgoing tide created great opportunities for those that got out for flounder. Rockfish from the surf, inlets and even the bulkhead by the Cambria Hotel were giving up nice keepers. Tog fishing on the near shore was also productive, but anglers and captains needed to be ready to move and work for these catches. The sea bass season also opens May 15th. Limits remain the same as 2020, 12.5” minimum and 15/day/person. As always, check out the details in the Ocean City and Delaware reports to plan you next trip!
The energy is building everywhere, you can feel summer trying to come to life. The offshore battlewagons are starting to fill up the empty slips in the marinas with crews working to get those last minute prep items complete. Some are still waiting on crews to make trips and all are watching for weather. It won’t be long now before the offshore action really picks up!
Posting activity on line is also picking up as the offshore faithful check the water temps to see how close they are to us! Over the last week we have heard of only a few boats heading truly offshore to the canyons. With cold water still prevalent across the closer area, most that went out ran around 90 miles to the south of the Norfolk to try their luck. Last Friday saw a couple of boats do just that.
The big offshore news from last week was from the private boat “Hot Lick”. They made the long run south and landed their limit of bluefin tuna that they caught in 1000 fathoms on their widetrackers and Joe Shute lures. They‘re on our cover with the catch and earned our “First Fish” for 2021 for bluefin! Several other boats like the private boat “Black Magic” out of Ocean City made reports of connecting with giant bluefins in the same area but none were boated. Capt. Robert Remo of the “Black Magic”was able to get the crew onto a 75 lb. mako shark that was released as well as returning with a nice batch of deep water black belly rose fish. Capt. Mark Malamphy on the charter boat “Finatic” also made a run offshore for mako from the Ocean City Fishing Center, there is interest in getting out there!
Our online posting of the first bluefins did raise question on catch regulations. As a quick administrative update, NOAA modified the federal regulations for bluefin tuna on May 2nd. This was after our first issue went to the printer, so please replace that copy if you pulled it for your boat! The current changes apply and differ for recreational anglers, charter boats and headboats. We have updated our regulation posting on page 16, however the basics are that recreational angler are limited at the vessel level to two fish between 27” - 47” per day, one fish between 47” and 73”/day, and only 1 fish over 73” per year. Charter boat and headboat details can be found in our updated chart.
Upcoming Offshore Tournaments
With more and more tournaments being added, there are lots of options to check out!
The Ocean City Marlin Club has renamed their Memorial Day Tournament in honor of Franky Pettolina. The 12th annual event is May 29th and 30th (fishing 1 of 2 days) with weigh-ins at Sunset Marina. The tournament has both bluefish and tuna calcuttas, opening it up to both inshore and offshore anglers. You do not have to be a Marlin Club member to participate.
The Bahia Marina Mako Mania Tournament is also just around the cworner on June 4th - 6th. After a pause last year due to the pandemic, we are excited to see this one back on the schedule.
Check out our tournament schedule in the paper or online at CoastalFisherman.net and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest info! §
