Fish Report 4/5/16
Going Wednesday, Friday, & Saturday
More Tuna Than Cbass?
Going Toggin: It's STILL a COLD WATER BITE! Getting a lot more bites & throwbacks though -- tagging more. Some anglers will likely do OK - not everyone.
Going Wednesday, Friday, & Saturday April 6th, 8th, & 9th - 7AM to 3PM - $110.00 - 12 Sells Out..
Reservations Required
If unfamiliar with toggin, or with my boat's policies --- PLEASE read the trip info at the bottom of this email. (pretty much like this: if you think they'll be easy to catch, or it's easy to cheat, you are not going to enjoy tog fishing with me..)
Opening May 15th Through May 31st For Sea Bass. I do not anticipate easy bag limits.
All Winter Trips Posted Via Email. There's just no use trying to go everyday in winter.. (that includes March, April, and early May.)
Reservations Required - See Way Down Below & Be a half hour early! We always leave early!
12,725 Reef Blocks Deployed at numerous sites. Active presently are Doug Ake's Reef with 2,406 - St. Ann's 1,459 - Al Giles Barge 689 - Eagle Scout Reef 756 - Sue's Drifting Easy Reef 147 - Nichols' Concrete 578 - Upside Down Tank 132
Please Support the Ocean City Reef Foundation!
We're Nowhere Near Reef Building's True Potential.
Thank You!
Here's a load of about 150 "oyster castle" blocks on the deck of my boat. We have built several spots over the years with boat deployed reef material. (as opposed to sinking barges, boats, ships, and precast concrete projects)
We have also used reef blocks (many now supplied by Potomac Valley Brick) to restore reefs that were once productive, but have scoured-in. Just as your feet 'scour-in' when a wave recedes from the beach, a rubble reef built too low will silt-over as currents dig it in.
We're now using old reefs lying just beneath the sand as a foundation for our small-scale block reefs. It's working nicely.
We also use reef blocks to tie several larger pieces together. If two robust reef units are less than 50 feet apart, we can drop blocks in the gap and make it one reef.
We typically take 12 blocks on a fishing trip - closing in on thirteen thousand blocks.
I am 100% positive it works
..and works
and works.
One day the management community will take note: Not only is reef restoration, including oyster restoration, vital to fisheries restoration; but it's a pretty dagoned simple way to make spawning habitat for tautog, fluke, lobster, & sea bass. Lots of other critters use reef too in one life stage or all..
For less than the cost of a couple miles of highway or a single fighter jet, we could change fishing in all of the Mid-Atlantic for the better.
Greetings All,
When I sent my last with Cheech & Chong's look at MRIP, the forecast had rain for Friday & wind for Saturday.
Things look a lot better now.
I still have a ton of room for Wednesday 4/6/16 too.
Wrote across the top of management last week. Do that once in a while. A couple of them read my work. Most probably think I've lost my mind (or never had one!)
Seen from our side of the regulatory divide, however; I think most of us wonder if sanity has been absent federal fisheries, at least where recreational catch & regulation is concerned..
It's entirely possible that some anglers in northern states will be allowed more tuna than sea bass this summer.
Is there any possible way that could make sense?
What we have today are regulations hijacked by bad data.
Need to focus fisheries restoration efforts on biology, not wildly inaccurate statistics.
Regards,
Monty
Capt. Monty Hawkins
Going Toggin?
Skunks are always possible while tog fishing.
Really. It's a frequent occurrence, even with a good bite. Not an easy fishery; the very best toggers sometimes get their head handed to them despite folks all around having done well.
Then too, sometimes the whole boat can do very poorly.
If you can't take the heat, and there ain't much of that either, stay out of the kitchen.
Crew Have White Crabs For Sale AT THE DOCK for the low, low price of just $5.00 per generous dozen. There Is No Guarantee We'll Have Whites For Any Trip. Sometimes they all die. That shrinkage is why I prefer greens. We may be bringing some whites with us in the ocean. Green Crabs (not Whites!) Remain Provided As Boat Bait And Are Included In All Fares.
Going Toggin Anyway! Tog Only, Sea Bass Are Closed Because NOAA Has Accepted Poor Statistical Catch Estimates As If They Represented 'Certain Knowledge' For Decades. NOAA Has No Idea How Best To Manage The Sea Bass Fishery. (yet)
No Live Tog Leave The Boat - Dead & Bled - Period. (I Believe The Live Tog Black Market Has Hurt This Fishery ..But Nowhere Near As Much As Bad Sea Bass Regulations)
Agreed With Or Not, All Regulations Observed – Maryland: 4 Tog @ 16 Inches
If You Won't Measure & Count Your Fish, The State Will Provide A Man With A Gun To Do It For You. We Measure & Count — ALWAYS — No Exceptions!
Reservations Required at 410 520 2076 - On My Rig You Can Reserve What Spot You're In. Please See http://morningstarfishing.com For How The Rail's Laid Out..
LEAVE YOUR BEST POSSIBLE CONTACT NUMBER - Weather Cancelations Happen - I Make Every Attempt To Let Clients Sleep In If The Weather's Not Going Our Way..
Be a half hour early! We always leave early!
..except when someone shows up right on time.
Clients arriving late will see the west end of an east bound boat. With a limited number of reserved spots, I do not refund because you over-slept or had a flat..
Dramamine Is Cheap Insurance! (Meclizine's Better!) Crystalized Ginger Works Great Too. It's Simple To Prevent Motion Sickness, Difficult To Cure.
Honestly - If you get to go on the ocean once month, once a year, or even less; why risk chumming all day? Similarly, if you howl at the moon all night, chances are good you'll howl into a bucket all day.
Bring A Cooler With Ice For Your Fish – A 48 Quart Cooler Is Fine For A Few People. Do Not Bring A Very Large Cooler. We DO have a few loaners - you'll still need ice.
No Galley! Bring Food & Beverages To Suit. A few beers in cans is fine for the ride home.
