T.C. Dean and Steve Helmick pulled these bluefish from the surf. (Submitted photo)
The White Marlin Open kicked off Monday with a 790-pound blue marlin brought to the scales in Ocean City, Md.
It was a little controversial at the beginning because the tail was detached from the fish. The crew had to hang the fish off the back of the boat.
She probably weighed about a thousand pounds and this was a smaller center console boat.
They had the tail with them and after some struggling managed to get the fish on the pier.
She measured 115 inches without the tail, which is long enough to qualify.
Later that night, it was added to the leader board,
Congratulations to angler Jim Conway on the Get Reel with a catch of a lifetime. The fish is worth $150,000.
As of right now the first place white marlin is $2.4 million dollars at 76.5 pounds. It was caught by Phil Heasley aboard the Kallianassa.
There is still a lot of excitement at the scales each day.
There is still time for anglers to bring in that winning catch, which may have changed by the time this is published.
Getting bows out
All the hunters are getting ready for bow season.
I know my buddies are all itching to go, counting the days until Sept. 1. They keep looking at old pictures, and going over their gear for the umpteenth time.
It will happen soon enough boys, everyone keeps seeing a lot of deer all over the place. Now the question is do you want to put on all that gear in this heat and battle the chiggers and ticks. Most will say absolutely.
Floundering
The flounder fishing around the inland bays has been the worst ever this year, but at least the year isn’t over yet. The Delaware Bay action is decent and the offshore action is much better at the Old Grounds. Charters and head boats are doing well filling the boxes.
The croaker action finally picked up and you can catch as far up as Woodland Beach. They are all small but there have been a few keepers. The action farther south is much better for larger fish. Hopefully the bigger fish will move farther up the bay or grow up faster.
Diamond State Custom Tackle top and bottom rigs are perfect for the hard heads and othersmall fish like spot, striped bass, white perch, and weakies. The sharp hooks really grab fish. Fishbites bloodworm formula is all you need for a good day catching croaker. Especially if you want to avoid the mess of squid or real bloodworms, but they are working well also.
The Mispillion River has white perch, small seabass, flounder, croaker, and short striped bass all over the inlet jetties and near the boat ramps at Cedar Creek Marina.
The fishing is better early morning and evenings mostly for the fact it is so hot during the day for anglers. Brutal heat do not make for a fun day, stay hydrated and in the shade. Soon fall fishing will start happening when it cools off.
Bowers beach is still decent for flounder around the Murderkill River Inlet and the beaches. There are decent croaker and short striped bass around there as well. Mostly fishing the jetty area and edge of the river and bulkheads. Bunker chunks will catch sharks,rays, and big catfish. Bloodworms for the smaller fish on top and bottom rigs. Flounder is easiest to set rigs out with minnows and wait, but jigging for them will catch more.
Crabbing has been excellent all over the Delaware Bay, tidal creeks and tributaries, and the inland bays down south. People have not been without fat jimmies all summer, and it ain’t over yet.
Second summer nears
It is time for back to school sales and Route 1 is gridlock traffic on the weekends. Soon the point will open in Cape Henlopen and we will have more beach to fish. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your summer and for some of us second summer is just around the corner.
Rich King’s column appears Thursdays in the Delaware State News.