by The most unusual party boat fishery is going on this month off Ocean City, Maryland , where Capt. Monty Hawkins is catching 200-pound class bluefin tuna from his Morning Star with consistency. His latest trip was in in rougher than expected conditions this week.
“Only had three clients on this short notice open boat trip. They were three of my favorite anglers though – off we went.
Played a hunch; looked further south. Found life and saw a few tuna on my screens but no bites.
Kept paddling.
Back where we had em yesterday worked.
First one bit a Shelly and came across the rail in just 8 minutes. Forty nine inches but not the heart of some.
Exhilerating when headed for London; our second fish dumped a lot of line on the strike; had bitten a wayback to begin with so perhaps 400+ yards of line out! After several rounds of anglers it took 43 minutes.”
That long rod may be good for working the tuna at boatside, but must be a killer on anglers. West Coast party boat tuna fishermen long ago found that short stand-up rods put the mechanical advantage in the human’s favor rather than the tuna’s.
Don’t expect to earn IGFA recognition as a giant bluefin angler for a catch on the Morning Star as the rod is shared during the fight, but this is a unique opportunity to experience the feel of fighting the strongest fish in the seas. Hawkins is adding trips as weather permits.
The Sho-Nuf started its winter striped bass release fishery out of Cape Charles, Virginia yesterday in unpredicted rough conditions which produced only one trolled striper — though it was a 56-pounder!
Vinny D’Anton did nothing in the northern N.J. surf this morning, and says most of the regulars are giving up on the usual run of small stripers to conclude the year.
The NY/NJ Bight forecast is for southwest winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 20 in the afternoon. Morning rain is possible.
Tight Lines 
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