Post by freedomrules3 on Jul 20, 2005 14:17:59 GMT -5
Some years it seems like Ocean City slows down temporarily after the 4th of July weekend. This year is no different–the boardwalk seems less crowded, ever elusive parking spaces magically appear, and our register sings less frequently at the shop. Nevertheless, even with a slower than normal business-week, there has been plenty of action on the local fishing front here in Ocean City. We have seen a lot of very nice striped bass coming through our shop, along with one big sea trout, and a mixed bag of flounder, bluefish, and some nice-sized sea bass from local party boats. We continue to hear reports of croaker, kingfish, and spot in the surf; and reports from offshore boats continue to remain positive. Even with the holiday weekend rush now over, our fishing season is going strong and a lot of nice fish remain to be caught here in Ocean City, MD.
Our biggest story continues to be the presence of good numbers of large rockfish in our area. Lucky anglers have been catching them from both Ocean City and Indian River Inlet, and are using everything from live and rigged eels, to soft plastic shad lures, plugs, and live spot to fool the hefty fish. Regardless of what the fish are biting, we have weighed in a bunch of them this past week. Starting on the morning of July 6th, Andy Palmer of Cumberland, MD came knocking at our door to weigh in a couple of nice fish that he caught the previous night on the Rt. 50 bridge. Andy had a 31 inch bluefish that weighed 9 lbs. 6oz. and a 28 inch rock that weighed 8 lbs. 2oz. Later in the day, we had a visit from Gary Redcay of Ocean City. Gary had a very nice-sized striper that he caught in the Ocean City Inlet on cutbait. His fish measured 38 inches and weighed 17 lbs. 10oz. Two days later, we had another visit from Gary, who stopped by to weigh a couple of fish that he and his nephew, Jason Redcay, caught the previous night. The first fish was a 39 inch 24 lb. striper that Jason caught using a live spot, and the other fish was a beautiful 33 inch 8 lb. 3oz trout that was caught by Gary, who was also using a live spot.
Gary was not the only person to land good-sized fish this past week. On July 8th, Adam Nichol weighed a very nice rockfish that he caught in the Ocean City Inlet on a live spot. Adam’s fish measured 36 inches and tipped the scales at 14 lbs. 11oz. Also on July 8th, our employee, Toby Jones, stopped to weigh in a couple of beauties that he landed the previous night from Indian River Inlet. His fish measured 38 and 40 inches and weighed 17 lbs. 6oz. and 20 lbs. 13oz. respectively. Kevin Westley of Ocean Pines, continued the hot streak by weighing another beauty the following day, July 9th. Kevin’s fish measured 41 inches, weighed 21 lbs., and was caught at Indian River Inlet on a Chesapeake Bay Lure. On July 10th, Devon Fernandez of Reston, VA stopped by to represent the Ocean City Inlet, with two nice stripers he caught the previous night. The largest of his two fish weighed in at 13lbs. 10oz. Last but not least, are fishing buddies Nick Santarelli and Riley Hicks of Ocean City. The duo came by the shop on July 11th to weigh in a mixed bag of fish that they caught from the Inlet. Included in their creel were two nice tautog–the largest weighing 3 lbs. 3oz.–and one good-sized rockfish. The rockfish weighed 10lbs. 14oz., and was caught on a live spot, while the tog were both caught on green crabs.
Moving on from the hot striper bite, many anglers had some trouble catching local flounder this past week. If there is any excuse for the flounders’ absence, I think it should be attributed to the dirty water that was brought on by the monsoon rains on Friday. Still, even with the poor conditions and slow fishing, some flounder were caught. We had one very special catch brought by the shop on July 7th. Russell Hornberger of Kinzers, PA stopped to weigh in a doormat flounder, that he caught from the Ocean City Inlet. Russell’s fish measured 26 ½ inches and weighed 8 lbs. 3oz. It was caught on his first cast with a Got-cha plug. Most people generally use bait like squid and minnows when fishing for flounder, but we can all learn from Russell’s catch that sometimes it pays off to switch things up and try something new when all else has failed.
To help make up for the slow inshore floundering, local party boats have been seeing some decent action at offshore wrecks. Numerous times this week people have come into the shop having caught good numbers of sea bass, along with a couple of flounder mixed in as a bonus. On July 5th Nick Hall and Curt Center of Newark, DE stopped by the shop after spending the day on the “Angler” party boat. Nick and Curt both landed some nice sea bass weighing over 2 lbs. along with a couple of flounder–the largest flattie weighing in at 3 lbs. 2oz. On July 6th, Paul Miller from Orwigsburg, PA stopped to pay us a visit. Paul had a 22 inch 3 lb. 10oz sea bass that he caught while fishing with the “Ocean Princess.”
Along with the steady bottom fishing, our offshore fishing grounds continue to produce good catches of tuna and other pelagic species for lucky anglers. Our employee Toby Jones has been “moon-lighting” as a mate with “Capt. Tom” sportfishing out of Old Town Marina. Toby reports good catches on numerous trips with Capt. Tom this past week. He says that bluefin tuna have been hitting in good numbers, and the boat has come back with good catches of tuna, king mackerel and bluefish as well as some happy customers.
Captains Dustin Lorah and Fred Phillips reported a successful trip this week, on July 11th, while fishing onboard Capt. Fred’s boat the “Virginia.” The captains fished with Frank Snyder Jr., Bill Hart, Rabe Williams, and Rick Snyder, of Perry County, PA. Upon returning to the dock, the group had a nice 60 lb. bluefin to show for their efforts. Boats have been saying that the size of the bluefin continue to grow larger offshore–a lot of fun for anglers and some very good eating as well.
At Skip’s we book both offshore and inshore charters. If you are interested in battling a hard-to-tame tuna, or tangling with a chunky rockfish or doormat flounder, give us a call at (410) 430-5436 or stop by the shop for more information.
Our summer season is in full swing here in Ocean City. Every week is different, but one thing remains the same–some good fish are always being caught somewhere. So get out there and fish. Who knows? Maybe I will be writing about you next week.
Our biggest story continues to be the presence of good numbers of large rockfish in our area. Lucky anglers have been catching them from both Ocean City and Indian River Inlet, and are using everything from live and rigged eels, to soft plastic shad lures, plugs, and live spot to fool the hefty fish. Regardless of what the fish are biting, we have weighed in a bunch of them this past week. Starting on the morning of July 6th, Andy Palmer of Cumberland, MD came knocking at our door to weigh in a couple of nice fish that he caught the previous night on the Rt. 50 bridge. Andy had a 31 inch bluefish that weighed 9 lbs. 6oz. and a 28 inch rock that weighed 8 lbs. 2oz. Later in the day, we had a visit from Gary Redcay of Ocean City. Gary had a very nice-sized striper that he caught in the Ocean City Inlet on cutbait. His fish measured 38 inches and weighed 17 lbs. 10oz. Two days later, we had another visit from Gary, who stopped by to weigh a couple of fish that he and his nephew, Jason Redcay, caught the previous night. The first fish was a 39 inch 24 lb. striper that Jason caught using a live spot, and the other fish was a beautiful 33 inch 8 lb. 3oz trout that was caught by Gary, who was also using a live spot.
Gary was not the only person to land good-sized fish this past week. On July 8th, Adam Nichol weighed a very nice rockfish that he caught in the Ocean City Inlet on a live spot. Adam’s fish measured 36 inches and tipped the scales at 14 lbs. 11oz. Also on July 8th, our employee, Toby Jones, stopped to weigh in a couple of beauties that he landed the previous night from Indian River Inlet. His fish measured 38 and 40 inches and weighed 17 lbs. 6oz. and 20 lbs. 13oz. respectively. Kevin Westley of Ocean Pines, continued the hot streak by weighing another beauty the following day, July 9th. Kevin’s fish measured 41 inches, weighed 21 lbs., and was caught at Indian River Inlet on a Chesapeake Bay Lure. On July 10th, Devon Fernandez of Reston, VA stopped by to represent the Ocean City Inlet, with two nice stripers he caught the previous night. The largest of his two fish weighed in at 13lbs. 10oz. Last but not least, are fishing buddies Nick Santarelli and Riley Hicks of Ocean City. The duo came by the shop on July 11th to weigh in a mixed bag of fish that they caught from the Inlet. Included in their creel were two nice tautog–the largest weighing 3 lbs. 3oz.–and one good-sized rockfish. The rockfish weighed 10lbs. 14oz., and was caught on a live spot, while the tog were both caught on green crabs.
Moving on from the hot striper bite, many anglers had some trouble catching local flounder this past week. If there is any excuse for the flounders’ absence, I think it should be attributed to the dirty water that was brought on by the monsoon rains on Friday. Still, even with the poor conditions and slow fishing, some flounder were caught. We had one very special catch brought by the shop on July 7th. Russell Hornberger of Kinzers, PA stopped to weigh in a doormat flounder, that he caught from the Ocean City Inlet. Russell’s fish measured 26 ½ inches and weighed 8 lbs. 3oz. It was caught on his first cast with a Got-cha plug. Most people generally use bait like squid and minnows when fishing for flounder, but we can all learn from Russell’s catch that sometimes it pays off to switch things up and try something new when all else has failed.
To help make up for the slow inshore floundering, local party boats have been seeing some decent action at offshore wrecks. Numerous times this week people have come into the shop having caught good numbers of sea bass, along with a couple of flounder mixed in as a bonus. On July 5th Nick Hall and Curt Center of Newark, DE stopped by the shop after spending the day on the “Angler” party boat. Nick and Curt both landed some nice sea bass weighing over 2 lbs. along with a couple of flounder–the largest flattie weighing in at 3 lbs. 2oz. On July 6th, Paul Miller from Orwigsburg, PA stopped to pay us a visit. Paul had a 22 inch 3 lb. 10oz sea bass that he caught while fishing with the “Ocean Princess.”
Along with the steady bottom fishing, our offshore fishing grounds continue to produce good catches of tuna and other pelagic species for lucky anglers. Our employee Toby Jones has been “moon-lighting” as a mate with “Capt. Tom” sportfishing out of Old Town Marina. Toby reports good catches on numerous trips with Capt. Tom this past week. He says that bluefin tuna have been hitting in good numbers, and the boat has come back with good catches of tuna, king mackerel and bluefish as well as some happy customers.
Captains Dustin Lorah and Fred Phillips reported a successful trip this week, on July 11th, while fishing onboard Capt. Fred’s boat the “Virginia.” The captains fished with Frank Snyder Jr., Bill Hart, Rabe Williams, and Rick Snyder, of Perry County, PA. Upon returning to the dock, the group had a nice 60 lb. bluefin to show for their efforts. Boats have been saying that the size of the bluefin continue to grow larger offshore–a lot of fun for anglers and some very good eating as well.
At Skip’s we book both offshore and inshore charters. If you are interested in battling a hard-to-tame tuna, or tangling with a chunky rockfish or doormat flounder, give us a call at (410) 430-5436 or stop by the shop for more information.
Our summer season is in full swing here in Ocean City. Every week is different, but one thing remains the same–some good fish are always being caught somewhere. So get out there and fish. Who knows? Maybe I will be writing about you next week.
