Posted on December 4th, 2021
Hit the vid for the rockfish gear available at Atlantic Tackle
It was a little windier than the weatherman said it would be today, but it was still doable both in the bay and on the ocean. It doesn’t look to stay that way with some boats already cancelling for tomorrow, but it’s December now so I guess it should be expected.
Summer flounder are moving further and further from shore as they head to their winter spawning grounds, but there are still a few being caught on the wrecks and reefs off of Ocean City. Captain Kevin Twilley had the crew of Fish Bound out today and had a couple of nice flounder with the biggest at six pounds. These were in addition to a boat limit of fat sea bass as well.
Captain Chris Mizurak of the Angler had a few flounder on board today as well with the largest being 5 pounds. There were a bunch of sea bass and a big bluefish in the mix today too. Tomorrow is cancelled due to weather.
Catch and release rockfish action in the back bay was good for some today with lots of small “school” sized fish between 14″ and 24″ being caught. Kevin McNelis released about 20 fish today.
Kern Ducote got in on the rockfish action as well today catching and releasing 28 schoolie rock this afternoon.
Captain Monty Hawkins of the Morning Star had sea bass boat limit #9 today and his anglers were super excited about it
Greetings All,
Missed an eerie sunrise—err, at least we missed the deep mausoleum-red predawn part of the sunrise. Waited at the wharf for our last client, a no show with no phone; those deep colors were gone time we got out of the marina.
Would’ve made a great snap.
On our way off we paused briefly at Capt Bob Gowar’s Memorial Reef where Ryan B of OC gave today’s reef blocks a hearty shove. We then continued on our way.
After muffing a double anchor set (why would I be practicing that? hmmm..) we came right and tight – lines in.
Found nice cbass fishing.
Strange though it may seem, Hurricane Murray, all by his dern self, blasted past Bernie to seize the day’s ‘first to limit’ brass ring. A couple minutes later Bernie sealed the deal too. They, and soon others, went on to help the Reef Foundation curry favor by donating to crew fish that are then cleaned and given away in our odd “pay the rent” fashion. (Our reef pyramids, tractor trailer loads of donated reef blocks, and even a load of cement fence posts; all take up real estate. Mo & Joe graciously allow us the use of an empty West OC lot for our hand portable reef material. They ask no rent save a few fresh fish.. It’s a serious responsibility so far as I’m concerned.)
Every angler at the rail limited and a nice supply of rent too – Nine Boat Limits in a row..
Weather in the week ahead looks just pathetic. Put it use writing & lobbying.
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) demands NOAA’s SE Regional Office sells us mandatory permits for mahi, wahoo, plus king and spanish mackerel.
Instead of ‘how many of these fish did you catch and how many did you throw back?’ plus ‘roughly where did you catch them?’— all info I’ve given the state and fed about these species since 1996 or so, these scoundrels have need of maybe two dozen more questions: “How much fuel did you burn and what did it cost?” “How many free passengers?” “How many paying? How much did paying passengers pay?” These deeply overstepping questions and more have been on our mandatory daily reports since spring.
Now they want to know – every day – how much bait we used (but not what kind, not yet!) – whether I have an ice maker, & “what percent share goes to the owner?”
It’s no damn wonder so many fisheries are in a mess down there.
Fisheries managers do need to know what we caught. They really do. SAFMC, in what I hope is a great embarrassment, never asked their for hire (party/charter) guys what they caught until just a couple/three years ago. Two I think.
Relied on MuRFFS & then MRIP, did they?
I can only imagine the garbage catch estimates that have been deeply baked into regulation down there.
MRIP will, one day, be the most embarrassing “scientific data” ever used in the United States. Even this past spring MRIP has Maryland private boats (and MD actually cares!) ..MRIP has our private boats catching over 100,000 lbs of sea bass in May/June (what’s called “wave 3” in recreational fisheries data) I promise — All MD Party/Charter & MD Commercial Trap & Trawl together came nowhere near 100,000lbs of sea bass in May/June!
MRIP also shows MD Party/Charter catching just 8,000lbs in the same period, wave 3.
WE TELL THEM WHAT WE CAUGHT EVERY DAY!!
All of us!
MY BOAT ALONE CAUGHT OVER 8,000 lbs IN MAY/JUNE!
The states and fed, all saltwater fishers from TX to Maine; we’re all being horribly short-changed by data that blinds scientists and managers to their best path forward.
Most (All?) Gulf states now have state estimates that replace MRIP. What’s that tell you?
What fisheries professionals ought to ask is, “How can we maximize spawning production in each managed species while sustaining bioeconomic stability along our waterfronts?”
And, “Why are some areas of ocean—seafloor especially—barren today when they once offered fantastic opportunities to commercial & recreational fisher alike?”
Find and Fix HABITAT! That’s how you make fisheries flourish!
Bloody bunch of rotten baloney – “how much fuel did you burn” “how much bait did you use?”
What I want to know is — “How much more time will be squandered with nonsense such as this.”
Get to work!
SE Regional Office of NOAA: “Oh, No, captain, we need this info!”
I will be headed to DC soon. This business needs to end. If you know a professional recreational skipper have him/her email me.
Gonna form a good old fashioned (typewriter & pen!) posse.
Cheers!
Monty
