Wahoo and mahi among big hauls this week

Last week, we were talking about huge cobia being weighed in along the south Jersey coast.

This week, that talk has shifted to a couple of less rare species: wahoo and mahi.

Some of the speedy wahoo were a lot closer to 100 pounds than 50 pounds, so you know they are heavyweights. The mahi, or dolphin, as they were known back when before they became gentrified, were not of the giant economy size but they more than made up for that is sheer numbers. Even close to shore and especially around any kind of flotsam and jetsam, anglers will score big on the brightly colored fish. If you never have eaten mahi, or wahoo for that matter, give them a try. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Out in the real deep, last week’s 46th White Marlin Open garnered most of the attention. The largest white was taken by one of the boats running out of the Ocean City, Maryland headquarters. I’ll have more details on that in the Across The Bay section of the column.

Meanwhile the event attracted 404 boats and those aboard were angling for a record prize pot of over $6 million!

Two competitors walked away with $1.5 million, while the heaviest blue marlin made over $960,000 for the fortunate angler. The biggest tuna raked in over $935,000. The biggest shark earned $231,000 and the largest dolphin almost $75,000. Numbers like that make my head spin.

The next big offshore tournament, the 28th Annual MidAtlantic Billfish Tournament, also based in Cape May and Ocean City, Maryland, wrapped up too late to make this week’s deadline. I’ll have the final results next Sunday.

There were 148 boats entered this year and they all are looking for a big share of the $3.5 million pot. Some of the early results include a 67-pound white, a 29-pound wahoo and a 33-pound dolphin. No blue marlin were reported as of this writing. But, if any are caught they will be impressive since the minimum weight is 400-pounds.

On a slightly smaller tournament, but perhaps much more important, was the Ocean City Fishing Club’s 44th Annual Boys and Girls Surf Fishing Tournament. Contestants range in age from 8 to 16, many of whom have never fished before. One hundred fifteen youngsters took part and they caught 136 fish. Plenty of prizes were collected by the OCFC, so every entrant received a nice prize. But the highlight was the award of brand new bicycles to the boy and girl catching the heaviest fish. The bikes are donated by the Miller family in memory of Ralph Miller who was the tournament chairman for many years.

I don’t think I even have mentioned the old Delaware Bay hot spot, The Rips, this year. Not that long ago it was an area full of boats bumperto-bumper pulling in big striped bass. These days the action there is mainly blues, weakies and some stripers, but nothing like it used to be.

The surf continues holding record numbers of kingfish and the back bays, rivers and creeks are loaded with croakers, spot, perch and even sheepshead. Keeping them around are enormous schools of mullet. That is the dinner bell for a fish. I suppose you can snag mullet but a cast net is much more effective. If you never have tried a cast net start out with a small one. Some use the huge nets you are used to seeing in photos from the south seas, but leave those to the experts.

For the second week in a row I am saddened to report on the passing of one of south Jersey’s most accomplished surf anglers. Christine Pancoast was a long time fixture on the Brigantine beach and she was not one to keep hidden her fishing secrets. She also served as president of the Women’s Surf Fishing Club of New Jersey, a post she held for 14 years. The Brigantine beach will be a bit lonelier from now on.

ACROSS THE BAY

I noted the White Marlin Open at the beginning of the column. The top prize white was taken off the Delaware/ Maryland coast and was taken by Delaware resident Tommy Hinkle. It weighed 79.5-pounds and he probably needed an armor car to take home the loot. But, Tommy is no stranger to winning. He became the first angler in the 46 years of the contest to win it more than once.

Like New Jersey, the Delaware and Maryland waters are teeming with all sorts of fish. Inshore trollers are doing well on king and Spanish mackerel and bluefish. While many of the boats looking for flounder have been limiting out on the various reef sites. If the surf is your specialty, expect to pack the cooler with kingfish, spot and croakers. Small blues and shad are inhabiting the Indian River Inlet. If fishing from a pier is your preference, the one at Cape Henlopen State Park has been giving up spot and flounder, especially close to the pilings. You might lose some rigs but that seems to be where the fish are hiding.

In Delaware Bay the plentiful blues are easy to spot. They are betrayed by the flocks of birds following the schools. On the lower bay reefs you can expect croakers, kingfish, spot and trout. Flounder and trout also are being picked up at Miah Maull, Crossledge and Bowers Beach. There are small stripers holding on structure but they seem to be biting on shedder crab, a pretty expensive bait for a relatively small fish.