At about 2:30 this afternoon I got a text from offshore from my buddy Captain Austin Ensor of the Primary Search out of Sunset Marina that read, “I need you to call someone at DNR and ask them if Opah (yes the west coast round orange fish) are legal to harvest in MD.) After about 5 minutes of waiting while I pondered how drunk Austin might have gotten himself offshore I got another….”Please! I have a 80-100 pound sword and an “expletive deleted” opah on board…..it’s huge and orange!”
I immediately called my DNR connection and he assured me that Opah, being that one has never been caught out of Maryland…EVER, was not regulated by MD DNR and was therefore ok to harvest. I sent Austin the text confirming that he could keep the fish, but I’ll be honest…..I couldn’t believe it was actually an opah until I saw it for myself.
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Not the first but it's been a very long time since one has been caught off Ocean City
ReplyDeleteFunny, I thought it said 'Oprah'.
ReplyDeleteLol that's a WHALE.
DeleteSeems to be a pretty rare fish around here...
ReplyDeleteSo did they release it or kill it?
My money is on "killed it".
It is a warm blooded fish. They are in the atlantic but rarely caught recreationally.
ReplyDeleteCall the taxidermist.
ReplyDelete2:27 Just like all the tournaments in OC. They kill everything. So sad for the recreational fishermen that want to catch and release billfish.
ReplyDeleteBut if you ever do reel in an Oprah 1:37 I would advise you to cut your line.
ReplyDeleteIt is rare, so I will kill it. Sad mentality.
ReplyDeleteIt is not rare. It is plentiful in numbers. Just rarely caught in any Atlantic waters.
DeleteThe sad mentality is that of people whom make uneducated assumptions...