Ocean City spring run brings first bluefin, yellowfin and mahi

The first bluefin, yellowfin and mahi of the season showed up in the same Ocean City stretch of water, and that is the kind of signal offshore crews wait for. After a blue marlin opened the spring on May 14, the canyons finally started paying off in a way that tells anglers to stop talking about prep and start watching the weather.

The first yellowfin tuna of the year came aboard TomCat with Captain Tommy Perry. Anglers Paul Hignutt, Leelyn Hignutt and Mike Fair boxed three yellowfin and several mahi over 20 pounds, and Perry also briefly had a white marlin hooked before it shook free. That spread matters as much as the tuna count: it showed the water was holding multiple big-game species at once, not just a single bite window.

The first bluefin tuna of the season came on Split Bill with Captain Casey Anderson out of Fisherman’s Marina. That boat also put nice mahi, a yellowfin tuna, tilefish and sea bass on deck, with 73-degree water in the Washington Canyon area pushing the whole scene along. For Mid-Atlantic tuna fishermen, that temperature reading is the kind of hard marker that changes trip planning fast. It is the difference between hoping for a break and booking around a real window.

Ocean City’s canyon setup is built for this kind of early-season turnover. Maryland lists five Mid-Atlantic canyons within range of boats running from the coast, including Wilmington, Baltimore, Poorman’s, Washington and Norfolk. Poorman’s Canyon sits 53 nautical miles from the Ocean City inlet, which is a reminder that these fish are being found well offshore, where temperature breaks, edges and current lines decide whether a trip is worth making. Maryland’s own tuna guidance says yellowfin are the most often sought-after species out there, while bluefin can show early and late in the season near canyon edges.

The stakes around this first real push are high in Ocean City for a reason. The Ocean City Tuna Tournament is entering its 39th anniversary in 2026, and it has posted record payouts above $1 million in each of the last two years. Three of the last four tournaments drew more than 100 participating boats. The Ocean City Marlin Club, founded in 1936, has long anchored that offshore calendar.

For now, the message from Washington Canyon is simple. The first bluefin, first yellowfin and first mahi did not just mark a catch report. They marked the moment Ocean City moved from waiting mode to run-and-gun season, with the next weather window likely to decide who finds the fish already in place.