Posted on December 29th, 2023
It felt more like mid-April than late December today with sunny skies, no wind and temps in the upper 50s in and around Ocean City. It was a great day to be outside washing a car like I was, or way better….catching a boat limit of jumbo sea bass like Captain Monty Hawkins and his crew on the Morning Star!
Last of 2023’s Sea Bass – 12/29/23 – a Boat Limit of Jumbos..
Tied her loose 35 min early. No fancy sunrise art this day; eastern sky simply grew a lighter shade of gray as we ambled off. Sun popped from behind the clouds just after Adm D Cornflower deployed 20 blocks and 100-some oyster shells on Calder’s Reef.
We continued on.
Arriving at today’s fishing location; I didn’t care for the lay of a single anchor. Didn’t trust it.
Now double anchored and lines in; while I was personally disappointed it wasn’t a bare hook bite, Adm Dave used his reef builder’s karma to boat a forty minute limit. Sopping up some of Dave’s powerful juju – Paul & Zig, fishing next to him, also had a forty minute limit with Zig taking the pool too.
Pretty fish today. Headed home with a boat limit of jumbos.
Be mid-May before we’re allowed to cbass fish again. If, that is, MRIP hasn’t some madness up it’s sleeve to fool management with.
Start toggin soon. Will wish I had a time machine for that. Nothing teaches like experience.
Cheers
Monty
There are some keeper sized rockfish between in the short slot of 28″ to 31″ around right now with some fish coming from the route 50 bridge and OC inlet with others coming from just inside three miles in the ocean. Mason Hetherington and his buddy Luke McAteer headed to the ocean in today’s calm and found some good fish that were released and two keepers that ended up in the fish box.
Brian Mills put his father-in-law on this nice 30.5″ keeper rockfish at the route 50 bridge yesterday that he caught on a swim shad.
