Abundance of white marlin means great fishing
Remember in last weeks column I mentioned that on Wednesday the wind started blowing from the southwest? Well, that wind has been hanging around with annoying regularity. It did help keep the shore area temperatures cooler than inland but it didmake fishing a bit of a chore.
The big news this week is a huge explosion of white marlin in the canyons. Veteran offshore anglers are saying it is some of the best white fishing they have seen in years. And, there is no canyon that is standing out above the others. Check out the results of the Ocean City, Maryland white marlin tournament in the Across the Bay segment of the column to see some astounding numbers.
Since the marlin action has been so hot most deep water boats have been concentrating on them and there has been a drop-off in the number of tuna and mahi being caught in recent days. However, there have been signs that the big eye tuna are beginning to show up.
The summer flounder fishing has been impacted by the winds. For most of the summer the artificial reefs north of Wildwood have not produced well. But, perhaps that is starting to change. The Ocean City reef is booming on some days, then the next you are hard-pressed to find a flattie. On those days when the bite is on the fish are very big. A number of themhave come in at 7-to-10-pounds.
You do not have to head for the reefs, however. The back bays continue to house scads of flounder, probably being kept inside by enormous amounts of bait in the water. You are almost guaranteed plenty of action, but just do not expect limit catches. The throw back to keeper ratio still is high.
There is more good news for those of you who like staying close to chore. The various fishing piers and the beaches have been the places to go for great catches of kingfish, and at time even weakfish. The weakies are small with very few hitting the magic 13-inch size. But, even if you do get a legal one you probably should throw it back because you can keep only one fish.
Along with the kingies, spike blues and weakies in the surf you now can expect to find some spot and porgies and plenty of skates.
How about Pottstown’s Don Mace. Don’s boat is in the shop for repairs so he has been fishing the sand in Great Egg Inlet just east of the north end Ocean City bridge. He spotted a flock of working birds and thought they were working over a school of bluefish. He threw out a Hopkins and immediately foul hooked a small weakfish. He switched over to a smaller bucktail tipped with a Gulp! and kept catching the weakies, at least a dozen. He told me he had a similar experience the week before while fishing from his boat in Corson’s Inlet.
Among the 85 youngsters fishing in the Ocean City Fishing Club’s 41st Annual Boys and Girls Surf Fishing Tournament was 14 year old Maddi Koury of Birchrunville. She was escorted by her granddad, Russ Shallcross of Pottstown. It was Russ’ job to put the nasty little bloodworms on Maddi’s hook. Most of the 66 fish caught were kings, with a few flounder thrown in. The top catching boy and girl each received a new bicycle for their efforts. The OC Fishing Club is over 100 years old and is considered the oldest fishing club in the country.
One of the offshore biggies begins today. That is the 25th Mid-Atlantic running through the 26th out of the Canyon Club in Cape May and the Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland. If that white marlin bite keeps up we should see some prodigious numbers caught, although the vast majority are released.
In one way all our southwest winds have been a blessing because they keep the bugs at bay. However, when the wind stops the gnats, greenheads, strawberry flies and black flies have been making up for lost time. Whatever you do be sure to pack plenty of insect repellent.
ACROSS THE BAY
I noted earlier that the 43rdWhiteMarlinOpen in OceanCity had some fantastic numbers. Agrand total of 1,358 were put into the log and all but 24 were released. With a payout of $2,818,660 for the largest fish you can see why the event attracted 329 boats from all up and down the coast. That big top prize was won by an angler from Florida.
Most anywhere you decide to fish in Delaware or Maryland you should be successful. Indian River Inlet has been good for keeper flounder early in the day, especially around the VFW slough. The Pier is the place to visit for spot, croakers, blowfish and sheepshead. The beaches are giving up loads of blues, kingfish, pompano, croakers and sharks. The Wall seems to be the spot for taug.
The Old Grounds, Site 11 and the various other reefs andwrecks have beengood for flounder, triggerfish and enormous amounts of skates.