2020 OCMC Canyon Kick Off Results

By Scott Lenox

Posted on July 5th, 2020

Ocean City Tuna Tournament this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Details in the above video.

We finished the 4th of July holiday weekend just like we started it, with beautiful weather and reely good fishing.

I usually don’t fish when the bay is as crowded as it was this weekend, but the flounder fishing has been so good I couldn’t pass it up. My wife Kristen and I set out in flat calm conditions and caught the end of the incoming tide and stayed an hour into the outgoing and we had a great day with the flounder. We used the Fish in OC Deadly Double in chartreuse with salmon red and white Gulp and had 8 throwbacks and two keepers. I had a 17 1/2″ fish, but Kristen edged me out with a fat 18 1/2″er that won our fish pool so I had to make dinner. Another awesome day on the water!

Today was the third and final day of the Ocean City Marlin Club Canyon Kick Off Tournament and it was another good one for both anglers and crew. There were lots of billfish caught today which shook things up and in the end there was some reely good money paid out. Thanks to Amanda Shick for the updates and the pics. Results will be “offishal” tomorrow evening.

Anyone interested in purchasing high resolution photos from the tournament can email [email protected].

The crew of Reel Chaos with Captain Anthony Matarese Jr. had an awesome day of offshore fishing today. The crew hit the dock with at Sunset Marina with a BIG yellowfin tuna and a swordfish that tipped out at over 270 pounds.

Captain Joe Drosey of Rhonda’s Osprey had a good day for his crew trolling up three good sized yellowfin tunas.

Tom “Two Time White Marlin Open Champion” Hinkle, Mike Horning, Gary Hutton and Greg Hutton had a nice trip offshore today on board the private boat Fish Whistle with Captain Charlie Horning where they put three yellowfin tuna and a nice mahi in the boat.

Sea bass fishing was a little hit or miss for Captain Chris Mizurak and the crew of the Angler today. Thankfully the flounder made up for it and the crew put some good fish in the cooler up to 4 pounds.

Captain Victor Bunting and the Ocean Princess are running two 1/2 day trips most days now and they are having good luck with sea bass and flounder.

Captain Monty Hawkins of the Morning Star is loving the calm weather and the good fishing lately.

If everyday were this calm, there wouldn’t be a fish left in the sea..
Day started flat calm; stayed that way until 1:30ish when our typical afternoon southerlies picked up ..such an awesome day. We dropped 2 pyramids and held course for deeper water. Along the way I spotted a leatherback sea turtle & some large fish on my sounder – I’d say a school of jumbo dernedifino for sure.
Lots of folks are truly enjoying reefs built in just the last few years—last 30 years as well.
MD has no state marine reef program. Monies we raise and reef we build through the OC Reef Foundation is all there’s going to be ( ocreefs.org ) ..at least until NOAA figures out there’s one heck of a habitat restoration that needs tending to. Gosh Sakes, with an ocean of potential management’s running fishers’ faith into the dirt by using MRIP recreational catch estimates that couldn’t possibly be true. I’ve an idea Covid is going to seriously mess with those estimates.
Ah well; sea bass bite was strange this day. Once figured out, I was able to put my clients to work—& keep a greater shearwater’s interest with some not-so-easily-won bait. . High hook had 14, but everyone had a heck of a nice mess for dinner.
Greg Alt from Harrisburg PA (grey t-shirt) took everyone’s pool money with a fat, extra-swollen knot-headed cbass. He and son Ryan had a fantastic cooler full of great sea bass.
Gerard Lardieri of Manville NJ, (in green) – Dr. Carla Kotsifakis, a WOC local, & Dylan Kemper of Nazareth PA all show off nice keepers.