I have been privileged to cover the White Marlin Open since the first one 43 years ago. Jim Motsko and his family run a first-class operation, and the way they have handled this sad situation of possible cheating by one angler and crew proves the fact. While lie detector tests are not admissible in court, the fact that these guys failed three tests given by three different companies, plus the altered log book, certainly puts their credibility in doubt.
The decision is now in the hands of a circuit court judge in Maryland who will decide if in fact the men did cheat and how the prize money will be distributed. I am sure a few ambulance chasers will get involved, especially with $2.8 million at stake, and the final outcome is a long way down the road.
Correction
In a recent article I said there are no rules regarding cobia in Delaware, and the closure in federal waters ended in Virginia. While it is true that Delaware does not have any regulations on the books, they do follow the guidelines issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service. That is a 33-inch fork length minimum size and a bag limit of two per day.
Where this gets a bit tricky is cobia season is closed in the EEZ that extends from three to 200 miles off the coast. I thought this closure was from Florida to Virginia, but it actually extends from Florida to New York. This means it is illegal to retain a cobia in federal waters. Since Delaware has no cobia regulation, you may retain cobia in Delaware waters up to three miles off the coast so long as they are 33 inches fork length.
Fishing report
The biggest news in Lewes is the landing of a 351-pound swordfish by Nate Evans. As if one sword isn’t enough, Matt Baker brought in another weighing 90 pounds while fishing on the Sea Tiger. It’s not that swordfish are that rare, but having two caught in one week is pretty special.
Last Thursday, I was in the Wilmington Canyon fishing for marlin on Frank Goodheart’s boat, the Brenda Lou, out of Sunset Marina in Ocean City. We left the dock at 0430 and were in the canyon by 0800. Almost as soon as we had lines in the water, we hooked up with a double header of white marlin. Both fish played nice, staying right behind the boat as Frank backed down and the anglers cranked them in. Both were quickly released. The next bite came at 1100, and that white was also quickly released.
The next three hours were uneventful except for the rising wind and building seas. We headed in at 1500, and, by then, the seas and wind were in full song. The NOAA weather report said 15- to 20-knot winds and seas running 2 to 3 feet. I am sure there were some 2- to 3-footers, but they were hard to find between the 5- and 6-footers. The Brenda Lou is a 33-foot Albemarle, and if I am facing a 78-mile ride in those conditions I can’t think of any other 33-footer I would rather be aboard.
On Wednesday, I had a much better ride on Larry Weldin’s 22-foot Sportsman. Taylor Deemer and I met Larry at his home in Mariner’s Cove on Long Neck around 0700 and we headed out to the Old Grounds.
Lines were in around 0745 and we were into fish right away. We picked at flounder and sea bass until the current changed direction and the drift went to 0 knots. Larry deployed the electric trolling motor and that got our drift back. However, the fishing was still slow.
At that point, we moved to an area west of A Buoy where I have had success on prior trips. The bite was much better, and in with the flounder and sea bass we began to catch ling.
Around 1400 we headed back to the dock with seven flounder and seven sea bass in the cooler. Considering how many short fish we caught, plus the ling, I felt we had a pretty good day. We all used squid or Gulp! on Delaware Bay Green Machines or top-bottom rigs.
Small blues are being caught at Fenwick Shoal and in the Delaware Bay. Casting metal lures under diving birds in the bay or trolling small spoons at Fenwick Shoal have been the top techniques.
A few more flounder have been caught out of Indian River Inlet on squid and minnows. Nighttime jetty jockeys are finding a very few keeper rockfish on live eels.
Small croaker and spot have been caught from the Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier on bloodworms.
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Eric Burnley is a Delaware native who has fished and hunted the state from an early age. Since 1978 he has written countless articles about hunting and fishing in Delaware and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast. He has been the regional editor for several publications and was the founding editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman magazine. Eric is the author of three books: Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast, The Ultimate Guide to Striped Bass Fishing and Fishing Saltwater Baits. He and his wife Barbara live near Milton, Delaware. Eric can be reached at Eburnle@aol.com.
