Article by Joey Marowski
Hello everyone and welcome back to another weekly offshore report. While part of me cant believe July has arrived, the other part of me is relieved to have made it through the worlds longest June, between traveling with the boat for the Big Rock and the consistent fishing and weather we have had at home. Hug your local charter captain/mate as the last few weeks have been full of ups and downs in tuna fishing but an unusually long stretch of calm weather has allowed us to fish almost every day without a blowday. The last few days have produced more of the same for the local fleet, with calm seas and variable fishing, finally starting to simmer down from the consistent box-fulls seen last week. As the water continues to warm up fish have spread to essentially all areas of the ocean. Reports have come in of yellowfins and bigeyes from the Wilmington to the Norfolk , from 500 fathoms in to 50 fathoms as well as catches of under ( 27-47”) bluefins and yellowfins on some of the inshore lumps. The bottom line is its time to get out and fish! While the concentrated bodies of fish have either dispersed or found themselves in a fish cart, this time of year allows boats to go almost anywhere and make a day out of it returning with a handful of fish. Getting away from the crowds is always recommended for better fishing, but even more so in slick calm conditions as high traffic pushes down both bait and fish as well as making it much harder to maneuver and work an area that’s producing bites. This upcoming holiday weekend will surely lead to both packed boat ramps and a crowded ocean. My advice would be to sneak away and try to find your own fish, the water is plenty warm enough for fish to be anywhere that is holding bait so anglers shouldn’t feel the need to stay glued to any singular area. The fleet out of Oregon inlet has been grinding away on a long stretch of calm weather themselves and continue to impress with catches of yellowfin, blackfin, mahi, billfish and tilefish. To our north, anglers are excited to see more of the insane tuna fishing that the last few seasons have offered. Boats on overnight trips are reporting catches of multiple bigeyes, yellowfin limits, and all of the bluefins you can handle. With fish above, below, and right on top of us; we can only hope that fishing continues into the summer as we await pushes of bluer water and pointy fish. I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend celebrating the Independence and formation of the greatest country on Earth. Remember to take safety and patience to an extra level this week with an increased number of boats on the water and possibility of impaired drivers. Uber saves lives.
