Fish Report 10/1/24
Some Toggin? Sure..
The 5 year average is what?!?!
Let's do a handful of trips. Start on Thursday & Friday 10/3 & 10/4/24 with 7am to 3pm Nearshore (inside twelve miles) Tog Trips - 12 Anglers Sells Out (and doubtful!) - $175..
Sat 10/5/24, Nearshore Tog Trip - 7 to 12 - $110 - Sells out at 12 Anglers. (Not staying late! Short day so the capt can do capt things! Not Sailing Sun.)
Reservations - Anna is a one person operation. She might be slammed when I hit send. (or maybe not!) If she cannot pick up, Leave her a message. She has a method to her madness..
Reservations at 443-235-5577 - She has other jobs too. The line closes at 8pm and reopens at 8am. She won't take reservations for trips that are not announced.
If you want a spot call the reservation line at 443-235-5577.. Emailing me is no good - her service handles reservations. I'll have no idea what spots have been sold. I do check email for questions; check FaceBook messenger too..
***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. Seriously, with a limited number of reserved spots, I do not refund because you overslept or had a flat.. If you're reserved and are the last person we're waiting on - you'll need to answer your phone. I will not make on-time clients wait past scheduled departure because of a misfortune on your part.
Sea Bass Size limit 13 inches - 15 per person.
Try to always leave a half hour early (and never an hour early!) I rarely get in on time either. If you have a worrier at home, please advise them I often come home late. It's what I do.
Trips Also Sometimes Announced on Facebook at Morning Star Fishing
https://www.facebook.com/ocfishing/
I post after action reports (or lack thereof) (and sometimes detailed thoughts on fisheries issues) for every trip on my personal FB page and Morning Star page. Posts including OC Reef Foundation work will be included on that page as well.
Bait is provided on all trips.
No Galley. Bring Your Own Food & Beverage.
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!
It's Simple To Prevent Motion Sickness, Difficult To Cure. Bonine seems our best over the counter because it's (supposed to be!) non-drowsy. It's truly cheap & effective insurance. If it makes you a bit sleepy - but not chumming? That's a great trade!
"The Patch" of Scopolamine, however, is a prescription only that beats all comers.
If the ocean still wants to get the better of you? Zofran (anti nausea) can be a day saver if you have it left over from a prescription.
Honestly - If you get to go on the ocean once a month, once a year or even less; why risk chumming all day? And then there's the ebullience of youth! Of course you can party hard and go on a moderately rough ocean!
No you can't!
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 have a few loaners - you'll still need ice. Should you catch some monstrous fish, we'll be able to ice it.
No Galley! Bring Food & Beverages To Suit. A few beers in cans is fine for the ride home.
Reef Blocks - As of 8/1/24 we have 42,318 Reef Blocks & 2,340 Reef Pyramids (170lb ea) deployed at numerous ACE permitted ocean reef sites. There are also 1,336 pyramids deployed by MD CCA at Chesapeake Bay oyster sites working to restore blue ocean water. Counting those awaiting deployment we have exceeded 5,000 pyramids made since my crew and I fashioned a prototype mold in late August 2019.
Currently being targeted oceanside: Ryan & Shari's Bay Breeze Reef 208 Pyramids - Uncle Murphy's Reef 284 Reef Blocks; Rambler Reef 424 Reef Blocks & 13 Pyramids - Pete Maugan's Memorial Reef 116 Blocks & 14 Pyramids - Calder's Reef Improvement 100 Blocks & 12 Reef Pyramids - Virginia Lee Hawkins Memorial Reef 550 Reef Blocks (+98 Reef Pyramids) - Capt. Jack Kaeufer's/Lucas Alexander's Reefs 2162 Blocks (+57 Reef Pyramids) - Doug Ake's Reef 4,194 blocks (+16 Reef Pyramids) - St. Ann's 3,035 (+14 Reef Pyramids) Unnamed Spot at Jackspot Reef 200 Blocks & 12 Pyramids (many w/bamboo added) - Sue's Block Drop 1,786 (+30 Reef Pyramids) - Kathy's Cable 276 blocks (11 pyramids) - Rudys/Big Dad's Barges 140 Reef Blocks (+9 Pyramids) - Benelli Reef 1,552 (+18 Pyramids) - Capt. Bob's Bass Grounds Reef 4,742 (+ 116 reef pyramids) - Al Berger's Reef 1,970 Reef Blocks (48 Reef Pyramids) - Great Eastern South Block Drop 260 Reef Blocks (+10 Pyramids) - Cristina's Blast 140 Reef Blocks & 2 Pyramids - Capt Greg Hall's Memorial Reef 362 Blocks (+2 Pyramids) - Kinsley's Reef 964 Pyramids - Bear Concrete Reef 512 Pyramids, 44 Blocks plus 16 pipes..
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Shirts & Sweats at OCReefs.org for donors..
Now available as 'name a (small) reef' are 'Tog Cabins' made of parking lot car stops & 'Coral Castles' made of concrete pipe.
See ocreefs.org's 'donate' page for this opportunity.
Greetings All - Just a quick look at why our sea bass are closed for ten days in October.
Where DE & MD's recreational landings are both within their mean - I assure you they're not right either.
Still, any errors in the upper half of DelMarVa are diminished in grand scale by VA's overestimated Private Boat landings.
From 2004 to 2008 VA's Private Boats's were said to have averaged 76.4K for a 101.2 thousand pounds a year average.
From 2009 to 2013 BA Private Boat averaged 74.8K sea bass..
From 2014 to 2018 the average was 52.6 thousand sea bass annually.
From 2019 to 2023 the average was 324.3 Thousand sea bass annually or 641,000 pounds average - or 640,000 more pounds landed per year more than 15/20 years ago..
Uhh Huh..
From what I'm told there aren't 100 Private Boats in the fishery.
VA's Party/Charter Boats have only landed over 25K sea bass twice & have never landed 100K lbs of sea bass..
76 avg
74 avg
52 avg
324 avg..
In 2023 VA's Private Boats are said to have landed quite nearly One Million Pounds of Sea Bass...
In truth? I think all the estimates are too high - but one of these averages is waaaaayyy too high. That's why we're in trouble--That Is Why We're Closed. That's exactly what modern day 'overfishing' always looks like: a boogered up series of MRIP catch estimates always lies at the heart of "Recreational Overfishing."
Cheers,
Monty
