“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…)
July 15, 2009
You never know what you’re gonna get.
June 23, 2009
Mako and more
I’m sitting here at the computer this evening, looking out the window… And all I can think about is fishing! It is beautiful outside. A soft blanket of clouds is blocking out the sun, and a slight breeze is blowing in from the South, not too much, but just enough. Tonight is a new moon, and I can almost smell the fish.
With the strong pull of the moon, tides will be extreme tonight—something predatory fish like. If I were fishing the bridge, tonight (or the next few nights) could be some of the best this season. We haven’t seen many weakfish the past few years, but if there are still a few left I would not be surprised at all to see a few of them slip into the inlet this evening and ride the flood tide up to the bridge. At the bridge they’ll set up to feed on the river of baitfish, crabs, and other tasty morsels brought to them by the ebb. Hopefully some of our local bridge rats will pick off a few of those tiderunners the next couple of nights.
Still, this is supposed to be a fishing report, so what use is talking about what could happen. let’s talk some more about what already did happen — and there is plenty talk about.
Probably the most noteworthy catch in Ocean City this week, was the monster mako shark taken this past Saturday. The mako was caught on Terry Layton’s boat Nontypical by angler Jim Hughes of Ocean City during the 29th annual Ocean City Shark Tournament . The Monster topped the scales at 876 pounds… a potential new state record! As some of you know Terry has been on a roll winning the Mako Mania Tournament this year plus also catching the first white marlin of the year. So a big kudos to Terry and his anglers.
(more…)
June 10, 2009
Sheepshead, Stripers, Flatties and more!
The fishing this week in Ocean City is starting to improve daily with the Route 50 Bridge producing keeper Stripers at night. The Oceanic Pier has a hot bite of Blues and Shad , 2nd to 4th street bulk head is giving anglers, Tog, Trigger Fish, and keeper Flounder. The South and North Jetties are bending rods with Sheepshead, Tog, and Stripers in the 40” plus range. The East channel, Harbor Island , and the Airport are giving Flounder fishermen nice limits of keepers. Offshore anglers are experiencing one of the best Shark seasons we’ve seen in years, plus Blue Fin and Yellow Fin are starting to make their appearance at most marina cleaning stations. (more…)