Big Fish Classic at Ocean City, MD

The Big Fish Classic has 69 boats fishing for a purse of $746,000 out of Ocean City , Maryland. With the offshore forecast for Monday looking good, most boaters are expected to start their overnighters tomorrow.

Capt. Dave DeGennaro will be running open with his Hi Flier from Barnegat to the 20-mile tuna spot from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow and Monday. A big bluefin tuna was lost after a two-hour fight on Tuesday, but Matt Dlugosz of Berkeley Hts., NJ. boated a 45-inch. 30-pound cobia. Call Dave at 732 330-5674 for reservations.

The forecast is for north winds at 10 knots before going northeast 5-10 in the afternoon.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports:

Recent hot temperatures show it is mid-summer in Beach Haven, making a fishing trip on the water aboard one of the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association a cooling activity.

Add in the excitement of fishing and the chance to bring home a fresh fish dinner, it becomes a winning situation all the way around. Summer flounder fishing continues to dominate the inshore fishing scene with more yellowfin tuna showing up in the canyons.

The party boat “Miss Beach Haven” has been scoring well on both fluke and black sea bass with the best action at the Little Egg Reef. Although most trips have seen crowds, they advise there are seats available for future trips.

Captain Gary Dugan on the “Irish Jig” reported tough fishing on a recent trip but his hard-working group managed black sea bass, a 21-inch fluke, and a big cownose ray caught by Derrick along  with numerous released fish.

Captain Connor Smilon of “FishHawk Charters” had a 2-hour afternoon trip with returning clients Krystal and Rob that turned into a 3-hour trip due to constant action. They finished with over twenty short fish and two keeper fluke to 21-inches.”

Sean Worrell boated an amberjack of about 40 pounds today while fishing a live threadfin herring from Bob Correll’s new Sea Vee 32 out of Hutchinson Island, Florida along with Luis Gonzalez and me.