About this time every year, I start looking forward to fall. In fact, these past few days have got me down right excited. Air temperatures have dropped into the low 60s the past couple of nights, and the early morning air has had a nice crisp chill to it. It won’t be long till I’m donning my thermal underwear, sporting my Helly Hanson’s, and heading out to the south jetty in chase of some serious rockfish. Fall is almost here—I love this time of year!
In spite of the storms and the relatively high surf conditions, this past week has provided to some great fishing around Ocean City. Flounder fisherman did especially well this week. Late summer and early fall is often the best time for anglers to get into the largest flounder of the season, and this year has proven to be no exception. Summer flounder are very aggressive predators and are happy to pounce on just about any type of local baitfish that crosses their path. Lucky for them, there has been a ton of baitfish around lately. In fact, all I have had to do for my charters is throw my cast net from the dock near my boat slip. My bait well has been full with little peanut bunker and finger mullet within minutes.
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There is something special about being out on the beach at night, especially in the middle of the summer. The heat of the day fades into the coolness of the night and the beauty of the starlit sky coupled with the sound of the crashing waves washes away the worries of the previous day. I do a lot of fishing from my boat, but every now and then it is refreshing to get out on the beach at night. It’s a place where there are no worries about charters, no noisy outboard motors, no competitive anglers—it’s just me, the surf, the sand, and if I’m lucky a couple fish, too.
We are blessed here in Delmarva with a lot of beaches that are open to surf fishing. From Cape Henlopen in the North to Chincoteague in the South, and the many miles in between, there are countless opportunities for anglers to enjoy fishing from the sand. If you are a newbie to surf fishing, summer is a great time to get out there and try your hand at it. This time of the year there is typically a lot of different types of fish in the surf, and some of them are very good eating. Kingfish (sea mullet) for example are one of my favorites, and are a favorite of many others as well. They will readily take small baits like squid, bloodworms, and even Fishbites. Croakers, spot, small bluefish, and even flounder are common catches in the surf this time of the year as well. Surf fishing isn’t for everybody, but if you have never tried it I suggest you get out there and see what it’s all about. Who knows, you might discover a new passion.
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One of the many responsibilities that comes along with being a charter captain, is taking the large amount of time that is required to maintain your boat. In my case, there are many times, even when I am not fishing, that you will find me at my boat slip—checking on the boat, prepping gear, organizing, etc… so that when it comes time to fish everything goes smoothly. Even though I usually associate my slip with work, most of the time I do enjoy being there. In fact, sometimes it can seem like a safe haven for me—like a home away from home.
As much as I enjoy my boat slip, and as much as it seems like home to me, you might be shocked to find out that I am not the only one living there. All you need to do is take one peak over the gunnels of my boat and you will see schools of baitfish that also call my slip home. In fact, the past three weeks I have been watching four different schools of baby (peanut) bunker grow bigger and bigger by the day. Like a proud papa, when the time comes I will almost be sad to see them go. Right now though, my peanut bunker are not alone in my slip either, there are many silversides (shiners) hanging out in there with them. And even better, you might be happy to note that just this past week I noticed some small finger mullet beginning to show up as well. This is a good sign, and is an indicator that—in spite of the heat—fall is not too far away.
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Joe Cavanaugh caught and released his first striper
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Dan Okerman and his brother Joe Cavanaugh from N.Y. caught these 2 small sharks
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Doctor Jack Mclean of O.C. caught and released this Striper
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Tyrone Manley Sr. & Tyrone Jr. & Tyrelle Manley & Jaden Manley & Alonzo Henderson from York Pa. with some nice keeper flounder
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Ethan Hoffman from Chicago, with mate Ben Mummford showing off his first flounder
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John and Dawn James from Baltimore with a nice Flounder
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John James from Baltimore with a nice 22″ keeper
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Brad Sparks, from Fostoria, Ohio caught this small shark on light tackle with Capt. Skip
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Lindsey Hoffman from Chicago posing with mate Ben Mummford with her first flounder
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Josh Hoffman from Chicago with his first flounder
If I had to choose only one word to describe Ocean City this past week, it would be “HOT!” Up until now, we have been lucky enough to have had cooler than normal temperatures, but that surly was not the case this week. The air conditioners were cranking around OC, and people were heading to the water to keep cool.
Fortunately for us, the air is not the only thing that has been smoldering; the fishing has been pretty darn hot as well. This past week concluded another “White Marlin Open” and the results were spectacular. An outstanding 93 pound white marlin took top prize, and a huge “grander” blue marlin took center stage and captured a new state record. The White Marlin Open always brings a lot of excitement to Ocean City, and this year was no different. In fact, with the extraordinary size of this year’s fish, the 2009 tournament has to go down as one of the best in the recent past.
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Steve Sass caught a 3.82 lb. 22 inch flounder on the Bay Bee drifting from 9th Street to Harbor Island
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Tom Osborn caught a 21 ¼ inch 3 lb 7 oz sea bass 8 miles off Ocean City
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Joan Putt hooked up with a 7 lb 5 oz 25 7/8 flounder by boat in front of Stinky Beach
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Joseph Rankin from Joppa, Md. with a 19 1/2″ flounder caught off the rt. 50 bridge
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Ashleigh Forrer, of Duncannon, Pa. caught her first flounder fishing with Skip’s Charters
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Colton Forrer, of Duncannon, Pa. caught his first flounder on Skip’s Charters
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Jeff Forrer, of Duncannon, Pa. with a flounder caught in the east channel
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Dalton Forrer, of Duncannon Pa. Caught his first flounder with Capt Skip Maguire
Most days 5:00 AM comes pretty early, but today was different. My alarm went off, and I was up with a snap. This morning was the opening of Ocean City’s most prestigious fishing tournament—the “White Marlin Open.” Every year a huge crowd of onlookers gathers along the inlet sea wall in the predawn darkness. Fishing fans of all ages are present, with people watching, cheering, and sending best wishes to their favorite boats and crews as they pass through the inlet and head out to their chosen fishing grounds. For three days anglers will be competing for top honors, and a grand prize that could be worth well over a million dollars.
We are very lucky in Ocean City to have a thriving tournament schedule for anglers and captains to compete in each year. Starting in late May, our season begins with the “Mako Mania” shark tournament, and the competition continues all summer long with anglers targeting many different species of fish, until the season ending inshore rockfish tournaments in November. There is something special about tournament fishing—with the excitement the competition brings to our local fishing community—not to mention the prestige and sometimes hansom earnings that anglers and crews can win here in Ocean City.
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“I need a cup of coffee…” I thought as I continued down Coastal Highway. It was 2:30 am, and I had just spent four hours on Indian River Inlet’s north jetty. My back was a little bit stiff, and my pride was running a little bit low from the skunking I had just taken. It wasn’t a total skunking however, I had a chance. As the tide was just about slack, I had a very nice hit on my live eel. I was fishing it weightless and reeling very slowly when the fish hit violently. In my surprise, I reacted too quickly and pulled the eel from the fish’s mouth. Five minutes later, the guy to my left caught a nice 38 incher. I shook my head—sometimes that’s just how it goes. (more…)
“Just one more drift…” I kept telling myself. “Why not?” I put my outboards in gear and headed back up current. Before I knew it, we reached the head of our drift, dropped baits in the water, and before long two rods were bent over with fish. I looked at my first mate and smiled, we had two happy anglers on board with another pair of flounder headed to the deck. After a couple moments of unhooking and picture taking, we dropped the flatties back in the water and watched them dive down to the depths. The charter probably should have been over, but it was time to head back up current for “just one more drift.”
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“Mama always said life is like a box of chocolates…” some famous words, spoken by one of my all time favorite movie characters—Forest Gump. “You never know what you’re gonna get.” Though Forest was without a doubt a very successful shrimp boat captain, chances are his profound statement was never intended to be applied to fishing. However, in my experience (and I’m sure many of yours as well) his words are definitely applicable to the world of fishing in general, as well as specifically here in Ocean City.
Those of you who have been around Delmarva for a while now, know that fishing is never boring here. Most saltwater fish are migratory, and our location along the coast puts us in a unique place to intercept many coldwater and warm water species. Summer gets very interesting as temperatures warm—fish move and begin to mix. As Forest would say, “You never know what you’re gonna get.” (more…)
This past week I was fortunate enough to spend a little time going through some old photographs that I hadn’t looked at in years. I was rummaging through my office, when I came upon on an old picture album that had some hunting and fishing photos from my youth. Once I got past the initial shock and awe of how much better looking I was back then, the wave of nostalgia finally hit me and I began to reminisce about some of my past experiences in the outdoors.
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