Rough conditions for MA 500

We saw a few fish come to the scales including two white marlin, one blue marlin, and a big eye tuna! There is still some blue water in the Wilmington and east of the Baltimore. We’re also keeping an eye on an eddy to the south just south of the Norfolk that could provide some good fishing for the Norfolk and anyone to the south! The weather has made it hard to get good sat shots so we will continue to keep an eye on it, and rely mainly on reports for now. The Baltimore and Poormans seem like the ticket for Billfish and Mahi, withe the Wilmington being better for big eye and yellowfins. Will check back in once we have more data and reports to go off of. Good luck and tight lines to everyone fishing the MA500!

Wind building, tricky conditions for MA500

The bluest water is still hovering just east of the 100 line, now sitting right between the Baltimore and Wilmington. The blue water that was in the dump site and east of the Baltimore seems to have moved back east. The wind is building as this hurricane system passes by, it looks like its gonna stay calm inshore but will be building further offshore, then into next week the opposite is forecasted! It’s showing 20-30 mph south winds along the coast but light and variable winds once you get 30-40 miles out, we will have to keep a close eye on it and see what happens! Same for the water we will be keeping a close eye leading up to the Mid Atlantic 500, but as of now the place to be is still the Wilmington. Inshore the 20-30 fm lumps would be best to try Hot Dog, Hambone, Sausages, etc. few wahoo around, as well as some cobia! Tight Lines and we’ll check in tomorrow!

Big eyes in the Wilmington!

We set out yesterday on a for fun trip with the boys scouting for the Mid Atlantic 500 coming up, we waited till around noon to head out and went up north to the Wilmington in search of big eyes, we had heard they were around and the conditions looked proper as you saw in yesterdays report. As we were passing through the Hot Dog on our way we daw whales loaded up so we stopped and tried chunking for about an hour at the Hot Dog but no luck so we kept moving north and stuck to our game plan. We got to the Wilmington around 3-330 and immediately missed a marlin bite, then slowly picked away at a few skippys, but we had tons of good marks and the whales were all stacked up feeding, so around 530-6pm we pulled in the trolling gear and tried dropping some heavy jigs down on spinning rods, and to. our surprise Willie got tight 3 different times!!! Pulled the hook on all 3, knowing what we know now we are thinking they must of been big eyes and we just had to light of tackle to handle those beasts lol but after 45 mins of jigging, we went back to trolling for prime time. Patience was key, we trolled and trolled and waited and waited but soon as that sun went below the horizon about 8-815 BAM the big one we landed crashed on a daisy chain right behind the boat, then a second rod went off, and then a 3rd! The 3rd one missed the stinger but we were tight on two! Jamie and Willie got to work, Willie had his probably 50 feet from the boat when it decided to try and run one more time and a Sterling spreader bar failed and broke at a place where it def shouldn’t have, we were not happy about that to say the least but shit happens. After 20 mins Jamie was getting gassed (being his first tuna ever but he did great!) so I (Taylor) took over and 10-15 mins later we had it next to the boat and stuck a gaff in it! The one we landed was bigger than the one we lost and we only used about 17lbs of drag so there is no reason that bar should of broke the way it did, but we impressed ourselves getting the bigger fish to the boat in 30 mins! Hell of a night can’t wait to get out and do it again! There is also a nice band of blue water east of the Baltimore that’s holding mahi and billfish, and then the blue water we were fishing that stretches from the Spencer and goes down into the Wilmington and is slowly moving south. That water should stay in the Wilmington for at least another 2-4 days but we will be keeping a close eye on things as we get ready for the Mid Atlantic 500. Wilmington is def the place to be for tunas, Baltimore for mahi and billfish. Inshore guys, I’d try the Hot Dog, Parking Lot or Hambone, we saw lots of life t the Hot Dog and got a report of a wahoo caught trolling between Parking Lot and Hambone, there’s been quite a few wahoo around so that can be a fun fish to target for those fishing inside the 100 line! Good luck and tight lines y’all! Check back in tomorrow!

Blue water in Baltimore and Wilmington

We have been blessed with some great conditions the last few days with another good day coming tomorrow and even Friday still looks fishable in the morning! Shad Darts crew released a nice blue marlin, we also saw lots of mahi being caught and a few yellowfins but not much on the tuna side of things. Jeff and crew went out to the Washington for the evening and also found some mahi and had one bite they believe was a big eye that unfortunately missed the stinger when it crashed on the spreader bar and as quickly as it came tight, it was gone. We are thinking of fishing tomorrow and going further north, as you can see in the photo there is some good blue water in the Wilmington and the Baltimore so those both look like good options. Inshore the further lumps like the Hot Dog or Sausages would be good areas to work, boats are catching bonita and Spanish Macks at some of the closer lumps and wrecks. Let’s see what happens tomorrow tight lines!

Nice stretch of good conditions, mahi in poormans

If you fished today or happened to even look at the ocean you know it was lake Atlantic, practically a sheet of glass! I Taylor ran off with my 6 yr old son and uncle to Twin Wrecks to look for life, we’ve caught tuna there previous years specially by August, but not much happening. Beautiful day to be on the water and it was 72 degrees, but on a normal year it would be 74-76 no problem so still overall pretty cold. Jeff and his crew killed 6 yellowfins on Saturday evening in the Wilmington. Today there was a ton of mahi in the poormans along with a single white marlin as well. There is an eddy east of the Baltimore and poormans providing water for just about all the canyons, We like The Wilmington for guys fishing to the North and the Washington for guys fishing to south, but depending what your fishing for Poormans could be a good option too. We are primarily looking for tuna which is why we will most likely be fishing the Washington tomorrow but the Wilmington would also be a good option for tuna. Deep in the Baltimore and Poormans would be good for marlin and we got the report today of lots of mahi on a broken sea bouy and one white marlin. Either way conditions will be great, get out and fish, look for life, look for the birds, Jeff said the birds were going ape shit when they found the yellowfins so it can be a big help! Tight lines!

Storm has passed and conditions are good!

Last day of the 2024 WMO and the wind has laid out, the seas have calmed down, and boats are out fishing! Let’s see what comes to the scales here on the last day! I couldn’t wait to wake up and look at the sat shots this morning, but I was a little disappointed to see the water is still pretty unorganized out there. We still have the eddy that’s been up in the Wilmington area that is now pushing east back towards the gulf, however I believe there is plenty of good water still holding fish in and around Wilmington and Baltimore canyons, as far north as the Lindenkohl and Carteret. I guess I’ll have to wait to hear from Jeff and the crew, I believe they’re fishing in the Wilmington today so he will be able to tell me what the water looked like, and we’ll have a better idea for what this week holds once we can se tomorrows shots and data! Like I said at the moment unorganized and all over the place but Wilmington still looks like the best bet, maybe dumpsite east of Baltimore for billfish. Inshore looks very dismal, I don’t see any lumps that look like they’d be holding tuna, maybe if your in Cape May or DE Bay and can go to some of the northern lumps like the Lobster Claw (38° 50.425’ 73° 34.68’) or 40 Fm Fingers (just east of Lobster claw) good luck and tight lines!

The storm is here with 2 days left in who

Boats who have only used two of their three fishing days have today and tomorrow left to fish, and it is going to be rough! 17 boats fished today, I would assume mostly large sport fish boats, but it is a gamble which day will be rougher depending on what part of the ocean your in, sometimes its rougher deeper and other times its rougher in the shallower water inside the 100 line. We will see if boats bring anything to the scales today, we’re very curious to see what this storm system does to the water, hopefully mixes things up a bit and brings us some new water with lots of fish and other life in it! At the moment for anyone that may be fishing the Wilmington is still looking like the best bet as of now. Tight Lines.

Day 4 WMO rough conditions ahead

Day4 of the White Marlin open, we will see what boats bring in today, Billfisher just weighed a 76lb white marlin for 2nd place. the weather looks terrible for the next few days so I doubt anyone is fishing besides those competing in the WMO but we’re very curious to see how the storm shifts and mixes up the water! Most of the good water is still well to the north in the Wilmington canyon, we will see over the next few days if that changes…

Day 1 of White Marlin Open

200 boats are fishing day one of the 2024 White Marlin Open as the anglers are anticipating some foul weather later in the week. Looking at the currents and water, the best billfish action still looks to be between north east of the poormans and Baltimore as far north as outside the Spencer canyon. Those in search of Tuna are most likely in the Washington or Norfolk, but they could be in the Wilmington as well, there is still very blue water in the Wilmington! Good luck to all anglers in the tournament! We will be keeping a close eye on things as usual and specially surrounding the tournament as we are hoping team Bad Habit can have a good finish this year!! Tight Lines!

Spencer canyon is the move!

Man this year has been funky! We are still seeing water temps inshore as low as 67 degrees, and the inconsistent bite continues. We went out Thursday in search of some marlin, we went to the dump site east of the Baltimore and had a shot at two whites but couldn’t connect, a few boats did catch at the dumpsite including our members @shad_darts crew! (pictured above) They were the only other center console out there besides us, but for the number of boats that were out there pre fishing for the White Marlin Open, I’d say about 10 out of 40-50 boats caught fish, so it was pretty tough fishing. Couple boats found one or two small yellowfin, a few marlin releases here and there. Christine Marie did the best with 3 stud yellowfins, a marlin release and some mahi, those guys have been on fire this year! On Friday it seemed like the billfish bite improved with a lot more boats coming back with multiple marlin releases, boats also ran further to the north which definitely seems like the move right now. There is an eddy just east of the Spencer canyon that stretches from the Lindenkohl down to the Wilmington and I think that’s where a lot of the boats that released 6-10 white marlins were most likely fishing. As for the tuna its still hard to say, I’d recommend the Wilmington canyon if you want to run north, or the Washington canyon if you are looking to head south, unfortunately we have some rough weather and conditions on the way, it always seems to be a little rough for the White Marlin Open, but this year they extended the tournament to include Saturday as an extra fishing day so boats will now be able to fish 3 of 6 days! (normally 5 days) The Marlins for Mason tournament is going on this weekend so we will be watching to see how boats do , as well as keeping an eye on the water leading up to the WMO. Inshore lumps look dismal, mackerel, skippys, and bluefish are around as well as mahi if you can find a poly ball or something floating, but haven’t heard of any yellowfins caught on the inshore lumps since last week, if you do want to try an inshore lump I’d try Massey’s Canyon (38° 19.750’ 74° 26.500’) or 19 Fathom Lump (38° 30.000’ 74° 18.000’) and that area, as that still looks like the best water inside the 100 fathom line. Tight Lines!

Water is moving and changing fast

Man! What looked to be a promising eddy yesterday, has already seemed to fizzle out. The good news is there’s another large eddy to the north east headed our way as well as some left over water from the ones we showed yesterday. We are heading out this am and thinking of doing a little bill fishing, possibly headed to the Baltimore but will keep you updated about that! As of right now from what I’ve seen this morning our recommendation would be the Wilmington or the Baltimore, it has the most blue water and the most remaining water from those eddies, Poormans and Washington would be the second choice, less blue water but still looks plenty fishy. Inshore unfortunately is looking dismal however the mid shore lumps could still be holding life from Masseys to the Hotdog it’s worth a shot! Tight Lines, we’ll check in this evening and let you all know how we make out today!

Boats are pouring into town for WMO

It’s that time of summer! Where you start seeing all kinds of different boats from all over showing up here in Ocean City for the wordless richest Bill Fish tournament the White Marlin Open! As of right now Thursday and Friday morning look like good weather however the wind will build out of the south throughout the day and be 15-20 out of the south by 2-3pm. Just as predicted yesterday that eddy has condensed and landed smack dab over the Baltimore, which could make for some awesome fishing! It has actually sort of split into two eddies one in the Baltimore, and one just east of the Poormans, the one outside Poormans reaches the Washington as well so anglers will have some options this week and be able to spread out a bit. There’s still some very blue water in the Wilmington, as well as a nice piece of blue water in the Baltimore, Baltimore is now looking like the best option, with Wilmington and Poormans in a close second place. Inshore also looks like a good little piece of water right in front of OC, spots such as Massey’s Canyon (38° 19.750’ 74° 26.500’) or Chicken Bone (38° 14.200’ 74° 26.590’) should be holding life! Tight Lines and we will check in later this afternoon or tomorrow morning! We are thinking of doing some billftshing tomorrow so will keep you all posted on that as well! If we do go we’ll most likely go somewhere between the Washington and Baltimore!

New Eddy forming outside the Wilmington and Baltimore

Thank God the water is changing fast! Looks like the canyons could have some good fishing this week if the weather cooperates! The filament we spoke about last time up northeast of the Spencer has now moved south and broken off the gulf forming a large eddy spanning from the Wilmington to as far south as the north side of the Washington! It’s still pretty deep, east of the canyons but is getting close enough to provide some good fishing and should move in closer by the day! We will be keeping a close eye on the water throughout the week. The chlorophyll shot shows blue water in the Wilmington and Washington, and a blend of blue and green water in the Baltimore and Poormans. As of now the Wilmington is still looking like the best bet, Washington is also looking promising, but as this new eddy pushes east Baltimore and Poormans could quickly become the hot spot! For those looking to fish inshore inside the 100 line I would try the lumps to the north, Masseys, 19 fathom lump, elephant trunk etc. it looks like that’s where the current is taking the water. Tight Lines!

Beautiful weather for the last day of huh big fish

We had some beautiful weather today, but from the sounds of it was still tough fishing out there! Ro-Sham-Bo found a nice Blue Marlin in the Baltimore, there were also some White marlin released and weighed in, and a couple swordfish too! Lots of white marlin were caught today as well by private and charter boats who weren’t in the tournament, along with a couple blue marlin too. Bill Fisher released well over a dozen, and I saw a couple different boats with more than 8 flags. Unfortunately the inshore bite is still very spotty, we heard some bonita were caught at the bass grounds and a white marlin was also pulled off at the hot dog but that was all we heard from inshore. The Eddys we have been fishing have slowly fizzled out, there is still one east of the Baltimore but it appears to be getting sucked back into the Gulf Stream. There is a filament that looks like it could peel off the gulf stream and turn into a nice eddy up just north east of the Lindenkohl that will hopefully push south down into our canyons. There is some very blue good looking water up in the Wilmington and Spencer which currently looks like the best bet overall. There could be some left over fish hanging deep in the Baltimore, but as of now based off salinity and altimetry it looks like we may be in for a lull over the next few days (especially for tuna) but lets hope I am wrong! There is still a piece of good water about 10-15 miles south of the Norfolk in on the 100 line that could be worth exploring for those to the south, but the Wilmington is still gonna be the best bet overall. It’s the end of July so any canyon could have fish we predicting where the highest concentration of fish will be and where we’ll have the highest odds of getting bit! As far as inshore I’d still go with the mid range lumps Hot Dog, Hambone, Chicken Bone, Sausages etc. it looks like it should be holding fish and like I said earlier boats in the hot dog today saw a white marlin, whales, and had good marks but unfortunately just couldn’t get a bite, let’s hope some new good water pushes our way this week! It could change in the blink of an eye were staying optimistic! Tight Lines! Congrats to all the winners in the Huk Big Fish another awesome tournament in the books!

White Marlin in the Washington

it’s day two of the Huk Big Fish classic which means the last day for boats who started on Friday morning at 7am. The conditions seem very similar to yesterday with the Wilmington looking the best, however the Baltimore and Poormans are starting to look better and better. The Washington should have fish as well for at least another day or two but the water is definitely shifting by the minute! There’s still a push of salty water creating a nice salinity edge in the Norfolk however there isn’t any Bluewater or current so hard to say how much life would be there. We will see what boats bring fish to the scales today and where they caught them, and compare that with what we are seeing, and then update you all! Sunday is looking like another good fishing day recreational or for those in the tournament! Inshore guys the mid range lumps in front of OC and inshore of the Baltimore and Poormans still look best. Tight Lines!

Day one of the huk big fish classic

It’s day one of the annual Huk Big Fish classic, the boys already checked in and released a 50-60lb white marlin this morning, also heard from a boat that has boated 6 yellowfins this am! Unfortunately the Eddys we have been fishing have moved on, there is one left inshore almost smack dab in front of Ocean City about 15-25 miles inshore of poormans. Norfolk isn’t looking as good today to me, Washington to the Wilmington is where the bluest water is, there is current moving through the Washington, Poormans and Wilmington, the Baltimore looks decent out in the deeper water for billfish. From what I can see our recommendations for today/tomorrow would be Wilmington or Washington! (Areas circled in red are the areas with the most current and should be good fishing) For Inshore any of the mid range lumps out front look good, jackspot, chicken bone, twin wrecks, etc. Good luck to all anglers in the Big Fish, and tight lines to all! We’ll check back in later!

Rain & Blue Water in the Wilmington

Soon as I mentioned good weather, it turns around and is rainy and overcast all today, go figure! The weather is still looking decent for this weekend though as far as fishing goes. Looking over shots from today the water has shifted more than expected, there is some really blue water in the Wilmington, could be good for anything from big eyes to blue marlin, there’s a large eddy east of the Baltimore but the outer rings are passing through the mouth of the Wilmington, so with that really blue water I imagine there’s a decent amount of fish around too. We also can see the blue water that was in the Norfolk has pushed up into the Washington, and the eddy to the south is unfortunately getting sucked back towards the Gulf Stream, but is still plenty close enough to produce good fishing in the Washington and Norfolk. Remember blue water isn’t everything this time of year, and this funky year in general, we’ve had several reports of fish being caught in very green water, which is why we look at altimetry and salinity. Based off Salinity the areas that look best are the Wilmington canyon (particularly the north east corner of the canyon) and then the Southeast corner of the Norfolk canyon. I’m sure there is fish in almost every canyon the way it looks, the Washington would be 3rd on the list. I myself am very curious what the Wilmington is like right about now, but the Norfolk looks good too! Tight lines! We’ll see if anyone bring any fish to the dock today if they went out in the rain….

Finally a stretch of good weather!

Finally it appears like the weather is gonna cooperate this weekend! Thursday-Sunday is looking beautiful for anyone fishing this weekend or fishing in the Huk Big Fish classic this weekend! At the moment the Norfolk is still looking the best, but that eddy is moving north which means the fishing in the Washington could also be good! There’s another eddy pushed inshore for the inshore guys, anywhere in the deli looks good, Chicken Bone, Hambone, Sausages, even Hot Dog and Jackspot look like they should be holding life! Then another nice eddy about 15-20 miles east of the Baltimore that could be good for billfish. The eddy we were keeping an eye on to the north of the Wilmington fizzled out and changed directions but it could still be holding. Based off salinity the Norfolk still looks the best, with the Washington in a close second. The first picture to the left is showing altimetry, the middle photo is chlorophyll shot showing the band of blue water which is now covering almost every canyon in the mid-atlantic, then far right is Salinity, the areas I circled are the areas that look the best! Tight Lines! As always I will update this evening when I hear how boats who fished today did, and will def be keeping a close eye as we move towards the weekend!

Big eyes in the Norfolk & life inshore

It is so awesome using satellite imagery and other data to try and predict where this fish will be and then seeing people catch in that area, to me its the same feeling as taking someone to a pond and telling them where to cast and them getting bit, its the same thrill that keeps us all chasing fish and craving to hear what’s being caught. Yesterdays catch of big eyes confirmed my prediction of the Norfolk, and to be honest it looked too good for there not to be fish there! Then as well with the inshore bite it looked good up around Massey’s and to the north of there like 19 fathom lump and 12 fathom lump, and got conformation there was whales and dolphins and marked tuna but they couldn’t get a bite unfortunately. There is still a large band of blue water right over top of the Norfolk and also a band just east of Poormans, I haven’t heard much as far as reports from the Poormans. There could still be fish in the Washington as well even though it is mostly green water at this point from the looks of it. Lastly keeping an eye on a piece of blue water just north east of the Wilmington that is pushing its way south. As always depending if you're running from Indian River or Chincoteague may be the deciding factor choosing between the Norfolk and Wilmington. Overall the Norfolk looks the best with the blue water covering the entire canyon, and a nice salinity edge that lines up with the current and altimetery, like I said it just looks to good for there not to be fish there! Tight Lines we’ll check back in later tonight if anything changes!

Norfolk and Wilmington

Been looking at chlorophyll, sst shots, salinity, and altimetery and from what I can see the Norfolk canyon looks like it should be full of life, has all the ingredients from blue water and salinity edges to even some nice 1-2 degree temp breaks! It’s a far run for most of us but it could pay off for those willing to make the journey! The Wilmington is starting to look decent too and could produce tuna and billfish. If your trying to stay inshore there is a nice piece of water about 15-20 miles inside the Baltimore and Wilmington just to the north of Ocean City so any lumps in that area would be good areas to work. **6pm update!** Big Eyes and Yellowfin were caught today in the Norfolk!! I knew that water was looking prime!!!