Fish Report 4/5/12

Fish Report 4/5/12

More Toggin

Sixteen's Tough

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Dredging's Done, Channel's Clear; We're Back In Our Regular Slip At The Ocean City Fishing Center.

New Tog Trips:

Easter Sunday - 4/8/12 - 6 to 4 - $125.00 - 12 Sells Out.

Monday, 4/9/12 - 7 to 3 - Very Close To Home In NW Winds - $100.00 - 8 Sells Out.

Wednesday, 4/11/12 - 5am to 5pm - Not At All Close To Home - Going Hunting - $150.00 - 14 Sells Out.

Thursday, 4/12/12 - Regular Tog - 7 to 3 - $100.00 - 12 Sells Out.

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NEW SIZE LIMIT IS HARDER - 16 Inches..

Crabs Provided; You're Welcome To Bring Any Hard-Bait.

Reservations Required at 410 520 2076 - Leave Your Best Contact Number In Case Weather Forecasts Change.

This Is Tog Fishing - It's Possible Some Clients Will Be Skunked.

Fishery Regulations Followed Or Exceeded.

Passage does not include exact location of fishing spots - Ever - GPS units float tested.

No Live Fish Leave The Boat.

Bring A Cooler w/Ice For Your Party's Fish.

So There! (Brooks, Mel: Blazing Saddles 1974)

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Hi All,

Weatherman and I been getting along all winter.. These spring fronts rolling through make it tougher to figure. Chose to cancel all but 2 days of my last 5.

Been working to scratch-up a catch too. Dennis's 14.6 pound pool winner Tuesday was the high-point.

We're so spoiled. That fish looked average.

Did.

4 tog over 20 pounds this winter including Charlie's 23 pound new state record - History.

Back to real toggin' now.

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Its made tougher too at 16 inches.. We're still allowed 4 fish.
Funny, it was 20 years ago this May that I began strictly enforcing a 16 inch, 3 per person boat regulation.. I loosened in 1998 when the state & fed made it 14 inches and 5 fish per-person...

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John & John each had 2 re-released tags Wednesday. One of those tag returns had some years at liberty--four I think. Will know when I get the report back from ALS.

Sr. took the pool with that fish - we do tog pools by length. It can be a fish that's been tagged and put back or one that's in the boat.

Chances are it stayed right where we first tagged it - never moved.

Because of this extreme habitat fidelity, having everyone play by the same rules is important.

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Be a while before regional management gets a foot in the door. Right now management watches computer screens for new catch estimates.

I've seen 1 private boat tog fishing offshore so far all year - in 2010 he & his buddy caught 19,000 tog in MD during March & April.

Or so MuRFSS claims..

Ought to have a clump of coral & oysters next to each computer screen: Fish Live Here.

Not in catch estimate data -- On reefs.

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The Nature Conservancy gave us a pallet of Allied Concrete's Oyster Castles last week - 16 inch blocks modified for reefing. (search Google images) Mike & I picked 'em up in three easy truckloads.

Took the first 10 offshore with us Wednesday. Trailed a bit of rope just behind the boat for an aiming point and had volunteers toss 'em overboard on my signal.

"Mark!"
Barges, you see, make BIG substrate.

But they don't make good substrate.

We've sited additional materials on 3 other barges and seen a magnificent jump in productivity--Including Many More Fish.

Once all that flat steel has a bit more rugosity, life explodes

..just like it would on denuded natural flat rock.

These first Oyster Castles dropped into a high-sided barge--and with many more trips, I expect we'll see an increase in productivity by mid-summer and vastly increased corals in just 6 or 7 years.

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Management's concern focused laser-like on catch estimates: Habitat Fidelity, Habitat & Maximizing Spawning Production Await Notice.

Regards,

Monty

Capt. Monty Hawkins
mhawkins@siteone.net
Party Boat "Morning Star"
Reservation Line 410 520 2076
http://www.morningstarfishing.com/