Article by Larry Budd
This Week Last Year
• The first longfin tuna of the year was reported on June 9th by Evan Winterbottom on the “PYY Fishing” in the southern Poor Man’s Canyon. The northern Baltimore was also a hot spot.
• The first wahoo of the season was reported by charter boat “Last Call”. The 79 pound fish was caught in the Poor Man’s Canyon
• Two new ‘heaviest fish’ reports for mako in both the Delaware and Maryland categories were made. The “Fine Line” reported a 330 lb. mako that took a bluefish in the Baltimore Canyon and Todd Middendorf caught a 330 lb. mako, also in the Baltimore Canyon as it was chasing a school of bigeye tuna.
The weather is still playing with us causing blow out days, especially on the weekends, and the last one was no exception putting most boats in the slips for Saturday. The good news however is that for those that could get out around the weather, the offshore action was strong and included the arrival of 3 ‘First Fish’ reports to the Coastal Fisherman! As with last week, the southern Poor Man’s Canyon was the hot spot with the northern Washington Canyon coming up next. Warmer waters up to the low 70’s are being found so we expect the bite will continue working its way north.
The big news of the week was the catch and release of the first white marlin. Always a watershed moment for the White Marlin Capital of the World, this annual event creates competition and excitement as anglers reach for the title and associated prize money. As warmer water was being reported further north and the yellowfin tuna bite had turned on, many predicted that last Sunday after the blow the day before would be the day. Several captains even called out on social media that they would be the one creating some nice comments and rebuttals! As has happened over the past few years, the first white was caught by anglers actually looking for tuna! Capt. Corbin Ensor on the “TUNAFOWL” took his crew to the Washington Canyon and set the spread for tuna in about 130 fathoms. The water was rough, but a little after 8:30AM they got a hard hit on a Flippy Floppy with the fish running out and taking almost 500 yards of line. The anglers shared with me that they thought they had a bigye on the line and were very excited! It was only after angler Brad Young got the white within eyesite did they know what they had. While I am sure catching the first white of the season is a title they will enjoy as well as the award monies, a small part of me thinks they would have liked a nice bigeye just as much!
Tuna would be the next highlight of the week, not because of a ‘first fish’, but because the yellowfins have arrived in quantity! It was Bill ‘Squidnation’ Pino that landed the first yellowfin back on May 28th, but last week we saw them in mass. It started with Capt. Mark Hoos on the “Marli”. He came to the dock last Friday with his limit of 18 yellowfin they caught behind the Rockpile. Capt. Jeremy Blunt had two back to back big yellowfin trips last Thursday and Friday coming into the Ocean City Fishing Center with 12 and 10 respectively, including a nice big 76 pounder on Friday. The “Pumpin’ Hard” found 9 yellowfin and a bigeye at the 800 Square. Sunday after the blow proved to be another great day with “Boss Hogg” finding 17 in the north Washington Canyon and the “Rhonda’s Osprey” bringing back 8 from the Baltimore Canyon. All week was not roses however, as last Thursday proved to be very difficult for tuna with only a few lucky boats connecting that day.
We did see the first dolphin of the season arrive last Thursday! As with several ‘First Fish’ titles, this one took some time to figure out. Our reports actually started on Friday when we snapped a picture of the crew on the “Marli” which had a nice 19 lb. gaffer dolphin. After posting what we thought was the first Mahi, we got additional reports of two other catches on Thursday! Our policy allows for first fish reporting with 48 hours so some of this is to be expected. After reaching out to the captains, it was angler Michael Seicke on the “Second Chance” that garnered the title catching the first of 4 mahi that day at 9:15AM. Ivan Miller caught a bull dolphin on the “Top Hook” on Thursday inside the Poor Man’s Canyon as well but did not have it weighed. While clearly the heaviest, without an official weight the current heaviest remains with the 19 pounder from the “Marli”. All were caught in the open interestingly, with some hooked near floating debris jumping off during the fight.
Lastly for offshore, we saw the first two swordfish of the season. The first came in with the crew of the “Reel Chaos” with Capt. Anthony Matarese. They found a 176 lb. sword while deep dropping in the Poor Man’s Canyon and the “Primary Search” with Capt. Austin Ensor raised theirs from 2000 feet in the Poor Man’s as well.
All indications are that this next week should be good until the next weekend blow hits, currently expected on Saturday.
Upcoming Tournaments:
- The first Tuna and Tiaras Ladies Tuna Tournament is June 18-19 with weigh ins at the Ocean City Fishing Center. Registration is open and there is tournament swag available. The Captain’s meeting will be the 17th.
- The following weekend of June 25-27 has two entirely different events occurring!
The 42nd Marlin Club Annual Small Boat Tournament is on June 26-27, details can be found on their website.
The 6th Annual Indian River Kids Catch All Tournament is June 25-27 and is always a fun time for families and kids. Check out their ad in this weeks paper for details.
Until next time, I’ll see you at the docks! §
