Opening trips thru October 4th 2020..
Now Catching Whatever Bites—Sea Bass Mostly & A Few Fluke/Flounder, plus Mahi-Mahi on occasion (but mahi could quit any day now..)
Now Catching Whatever Bites—Sea Bass Mostly & A Few Fluke/Flounder, plus Mahi-Mahi on occasion (but mahi could quit any day now..)
*Special Mahi Trips 6:30 to 4:30 - $225.00 - Sells Out at 12 this coming Monday/Thursday Sept 14 & 17.. (Wednesday a regular cbass run) Any day could be their last for inshore fishing. If we find they've left, we'll have to switch to sea bass/fluke.. Have been incredibly fortunate with mahi this year—even 5 trips with a boat limit at its peak in the last days of Aug/first of Sept.
Am posting somewhat detailed day by day reports on Facebook. Will also post some coming special trips ONLY to Facebook ..but I Do Not have FB messenger on my phone. If you want to book a spot - call. Need info from me? Email mhawkins@morningstarfishing.com - I make a sincere effort to reply to every inquiry.
See Below For Trip Schedule.
Now opening to October 4th with the same "No Refund/Reschedule Only" policy as May, June, July & August. With this year's Covid restrictions in place my minimized cash flow cannot handle a string of refund days; and if the guvmint shuts us completely? Well, eventually we'll reopen. If canceled for whatever reason - Please know I'm good for your trip another day.
If you have a reschedule on the book you're welcome to reserve any spot that's open on any day with a similarly priced trip.
If you miss the boat however, you done Missed The Boat! No refund or reschedule for a missed trip.
IF YOU BOOK LEAVE YOUR BEST POSSIBLE CONTACT NUMBER & LISTEN TO YOUR MESSAGES -
Weather Cancellations Happen - I Make Every Attempt To Let Clients Sleep In If The Weather's Not Going Our Way..
Weather Cancellations Happen - I Make Every Attempt To Let Clients Sleep In If The Weather's Not Going Our Way..
COVID Regs Trips Are NonRefundable! Reschedule in event of bad weather? Of Course! But no refunds.. If you can't abide a reschedule - don't book!
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
overslept or had a flat. No Refund or Reschedule for a missed trip!
Trips Also Announced on Facebook at Morning Star Fishing
https://www.facebook.com/ocfishing/ & my personal FB page along with after action (or lack thereof) reports..
Bait is provided on all trips. Rod rentals are $7.00 & include all rigs and even a separate spinning rod if mahi fishing too.
Opening to October 4th for NonRefundable reef fishing trips. Size limit on sea bass 12.5 inches & 15 sea bass per person. 16.5 inches and 4 per-person on flounder. Mahi are 10 per-person w/no size limit.
Reservation Line 410-520-2076 (emailing me about availability does no good. The service will have real time info. Worse is FB messenger. I only check it once a week or so. Want Reservation info? Call em!)
If in the passenger salon - Mask Required. If you refuse a mask, BYO life jacket! (but seriously, not only do I not want anyone taking ill -- if one Partyboat anywhere sparks an outbreak we'll ALL get shut down again. With many states at new highs, it's anyone's guess.. Regardless DelMarVa's decline in corona, we must remain vigilant.)
Sailing Daily (as weather allows!) - NonRefundable Saturdays 6:30 to 3:30 at $155.00 — NonRefundable Weekdays at $135 - Except for Wednesday the 16th (a regular cbass/fluke trip) I Am Holding Wednesdays/Thursdays for special trips through October 4th. (Will post those trips to Facebook and Fish Report email.)
Boat sells out with 18 clients (used to be 25.) Anglers will be given more room than usual until the "All Clear" is given. Actually? I might never go back to 25. The whole concept from when I first conceived my business in 1984 was fewer anglers - it's been nice.
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
overslept or had a flat. No Refund or Reschedule for a missed trip!
Trips Also Announced on Facebook at Morning Star Fishing
https://www.facebook.com/ocfishing/ & my personal FB page along with after action (or lack thereof) reports..
Bait is provided on all trips. Rod rentals are $7.00 & include all rigs and even a separate spinning rod if mahi fishing too.
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 best because it's non-drowsy. Truly cheap & effective insurance.
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
Two People. Do Not Bring A Very Large Coffin 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.
It's Simple To Prevent Motion Sickness, Difficult To Cure. Bonine
seems best because it's non-drowsy. Truly cheap & effective insurance.
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
Two People. Do Not Bring A Very Large Coffin 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.
Wishbone never replaces backbone.. Have to keep a shoulder into reef building to make it happen.
Donations help too! Ocreefs.org
Have CRAZY opportunities this fall - Great Time To Donate!!
As of 9/9/20 we have 31,322 Reef Blocks + 214 Concrete Pyramids (170lb ea) deployed at numerous ACE permitted reef sites.
Currently being targeted: Virginia Lee Hawkins Memorial Reef 75 Reef Blocks (+ 47 Reef Pyramids begun 8/18/20) - Capt. Jack Kaeufer's Reef 1,444 Blocks (+44 Reef Units) - Doug Ake's Reef 4,054 blocks (+16 Pyramid Reef Units) - St. Ann's 2,493 (+6 Reef Units) - Sue's Block Drop 1,538 (+20 Reef Units) - TwoTanks Reef 1,175 (+ 11 Reef Units) - Capt. Bob's Inshore Block Drop 900 - Benelli Reef 1,447 (+ 15 Pyramid Units) - Rudy's Reef 209 - Capt. Bob's Bass
Grounds Reef
3,046 (+52 reef units) - Wolf & Daughters Reef 734 - Al Berger's Reef 550 (+4 Reef Unit) - Great Eastern Block Drop 818 (+9 Reef Units)..
Greetings All!!
Sea bass treated us unbelievably well all summer, now they're acting a bit more as they might have in mid-June most years. Hard to say really because we've been so distracted by the mahi. Though now tapered from its peak, mahi offered the very best inshore bite I've ever seen - ever.
And now too more fluke than we'd been seeing. I think flounder were around this summer; guys were catching them, it's just difficult to target fluke/flounder when folks are limiting out on cbass—and it's extremely difficult to drop to the bottom when you're seeing mahi swung over the rail!
Sakes.
I'm going fishing. Hope something bites!
Reef Building: It's just unbelievable the opportunities that have presented themselves these last few weeks. OC Reef Foundation has two large tugboats ready for immediate sinking—just need to catch a "hitchiker's tow" for both. We've also two 70' steel fishing trawlers in excellent position for acquisition as reef, and a 50 steel sailboat almost ready to deploy.
Then we have the reef pyramid project.. Here fiberglass molds are loaned to concrete plant operators to capture their waste cement - what they'd normally wash down a hillside or fill divider blocks with—what they call 'washout' is instead fashioned into 170lb hollow pyramids to make coral &, soon I think, oyster substrate.
Thus far we have molds at Atlantic Concrete in Dagsboro; Bear Concrete in Bear DE, and now Kinsley Construction in York PA.
Honestly, if we could capture 1/10 of the cement industry's lost product—their washout—we'd turn the ocean blue again and restore many reef fish populations to undreamed of heights.
It's not a stretch. Everywhere-everywhere-everywhere oysters have been restored water quality rebounds beautifully and fish fry of many species thrive.
The Mid-Atlantic began turning green in the late 1960s when Jackspot Shoal still made Ocean City MD the "White Marlin Capitol of the World." As oysters collapsed more & more algae (which would have fed oysters in their trillions) escaped in Chesapeake & DE Bay outflows. Trapped above Cape Hatteras by the worlds most powerful current, the Gulf Stream, our regions estuarine outflows, now algae laden & with substantial increases in nutrients, turned the Mid-Atlantic greener & greener. I have traced the marlin fishery's movement offshore - from even just 3 to 5 miles out in the 1920s/30s, to 8 and 20 miles offshore through the early 1960s, and then accelerating off to canyons' edges & beyond by the early 2000s.
We absolutely, positively can fix this. We KNOW how to rebuild oyster reefs and bars now. It's just a matter of money and willpower before white marlin are again targeted at the Jackspot - where I'm headed right now...
These pyramids are small boat deployable. You don't need a barge. A crab boat could easily carry 2 dozen - two strong men can easily hoist them over the side.
Among many ongoing efforts at estuarine repair, harnessing industry waste and deploying it as oyster/coral substrates can get this repair done.
Fast!
Regards,
Monty
Capt Monty Hawkins
Mhawkins@morningstarfishing.com
