Posted on October 24th, 2021

Hit the vid for the Angler’s Advantage at Atlantic Tackle

I just got back from a fun night with my squad at Frightland up in Delaware where we got our Halloween fix on and got a good scare a couple of times.  My service up there sucked so it’s a late report….but better late than never.

It was a good day out in the ocean for Captain Monty and his crew as he put them on a boat limit of fat sea bass

Such a nice day at sea. Wind & sea laid down, fish biting – just what a fisherman’s soul craves. 

Bernie & Rich dropped today’s reef blocks just before sunup into one of my largest collections. With a little luck we’ll have many generations of anglers & divers enjoying the fruits of our small labor at Capt. Bob Gowar’s Memorial Reef. 

Bite wasn’t red hot, but I’ll take ‘steady’ anyday. First limit of sea bass crossed the rail at 12:10. I wouldn’t have thought it so, but shouldn’t have wondered really. Hurricane Murray’s cherry pie was out of date – he had to fish. 

Angrily. 

Took his gustatory annoyance out on our tasty temperate reef fish, he did.

Murray’s issues aside, we nicked a few more limits, then a few more still with today’s steady bite. 

By & by I happened upon a sweet stack of sea bass – screen slam full – “In they go!” 

Couple minutes later Vic holds his hand up, “Five to go capt.” 

Folks were still catching as we hauled anchor. Boat Limit. A brief glimpse of old time fishing, that. 

Bernie took everyone’s pool money again..(he does that..)

I need to make time to work on sea bass management. There is no species easier to make prolific. If the .guv fisheries community would give em reef and make them spawn young we’d not know what to do with such a vast population. 

I’ve lived it – twice. When the stage is set for maximum spawning production, it’s the far larger population of age one sea bass that create a population worth bragging about—not the grand numbers of old females we have today in sizes Not Even Thought To Exist(!) in the scientific literature prior to 2004 or so.

If I do not convince management of this soon no one will ever benefit from the incredibly different result than is expected within fisheries management- a typical “BOFF” restoration plan—where Big Old Fecund Female fish are said to be the restorers of yesteryears populations. 

It’s not true of all species, especially reef species that change sex. 

Sakes. 

I actually wonder if it’s true at all. We ALWAYS get the most bang for our regulatory buck when a species first comes under management (when obviously at their nadir for a species’ number of Big Fecund Females..)

And then there’s next week’s weather.. 

Gosh Sakes! 

Double Dang!!

Might not come to be. Hope not. 

Tuesday is supposed to be the calm before the gale… 

Cheers All, 

Monty 

Captain Jason Mumford of Lucky Break found this nice slot red drum at the south jetty this morning.

Captain Wayne Blanks of Bayside Guide Service had a good morning with some snapper bluefish action and this keeper flounder.

Captain Marc Spagnola of Dusk to Dawn Bowfishing has been back on the river lately and his shooters are very happy about it.  They’ve had great luck with gar, some big catfish and a bunch of big, tasty snakeheads.

Curt Presnell took his son Cody and Cody’s girlfriend Brooke out for a day of fishing and they burned the sea bass and flounder.  Brooke caught her biggest flounder ever at 24″ and then 25″.