Fish Report 12/2/20 (Quicky)

Fish Report 12/2/20 (Quicky)

Tomorrow! 
Couple Sea Bass Trips (amid spells of windy weather!)
Reef Building Amazes..

Catching Sea Bass! (Had a boat limit three of my last four trips - about 30% limited on the worst trip lately. MD limit is 15 cbass at 12.5 inches)

Reduced Covid Passenger Limits. 
Reservation Line Was Changed in Sept.. 

Going Sea Bassin' Thursday 12/3/20 (yes, Tomorrow!) & Monday 12/7/20.. (Weekend looks pretty nasty/rainy)

Both these Trips are 7 to 3:30 at $150.00 (Yes! We'll try to leave up to 1/2 hour early. And, yes, I rarely get in on time unless the fishing's just been outrageously good..)

As many are already aware, my old reservation line of 18 years is no more. Have a new system. You may recognize Anna's voice as she builds her new answering service company. It's From Eight AM to Eight PM 100% Live Answer (except when life necessitates letting the message system have the helm awhile) and she'll not pick up before or after eight! Reservation Line: 443-235-5577

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 BOOK A SPOT 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..

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! 

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 less dramatic increase in corona, we must remain vigilant.) 

Interestingly, for the first time in a long time I have need of reminding some clients: 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! 

If accustomed to ignoring regulations - find another boat! 

Boat Now Sells Out At 15! (used to be 25 before Covid, then 18, now reduced further for client and crew safety) See new spots chart at morningstarfishing.com .. Everyone liked a smaller crowd as COVID regs hit - including me. It's going to stay that way even after Covid's long gone. 

NEW Reservation Line 443-235-5577 from 8am to 8pm — No More 24 hour answers.. (emailing me about reservation availability does no good. Anna will have real time info. Worse is FB messenger. I only check it once a week or so. Want Reservation info? Want to know if your favorite spot is available? Call Anna! Sometimes you'll get a very sharp Daughter, Hanna..) 

Am posting somewhat detailed day by day reports on 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 email inquiry. 

Be a half hour early! We always leave early!

..except when someone shows up right on time.
Clients (but not the Captain) 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—Clam & squid now. Rod rentals are $7.00 & include all rigs. 

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!! 

Please Donate!! 

The price of scrap steel being so low is creating more reef building opportunity than I've had in my entire life!

Help!

So far in 2020 we've deployed a 55' barge, an 85' tug, a 50' steel sailboat, plus thousands of reef blocks and almost 150 reef pyramids. 

Now we have a 200' Barge coming - it's ours - we've patched it so it won't leak on the tow down. Cost for a tow from Baltimore to 9nm East of OC is 100% doable - our largest project ever - and we've ALMOST enough funding! Going to have to hustle on the 200' barge. We have the money to buy it and get it here. Do not have the coin to modify it - not yet! Has to be gone by mid-December. Dern sure can't bring it into OC - it's too big. Have to cut holes in it and add concrete while wharfed up in Baltimore. 

Would a 200' barge function as a reef w/o the extra work? Sure. But it'll be 50x better when doctored up a bit. Get water flowing through its interior spaces - use concrete pipe and cement junction boxes to add rugosity to that giant open hopper, maybe even on her decks fore & aft - will make a huge difference - a much more productive reef..

The raffle is helping to get us there. Sure could use a few of y'all buying em up! 

I thought I'd spice it up with a weekly t-shirt drawing thru the New Year's Day Grand Prize Drawing. New mermaid design or tried and true—winner's choice—starting 11/15/20- every Sunday at 9:00pm we'll gather sales, pull three tickets from the fish bowl, contact winners for a size, give them each a shirt & put their ticket back for the main drawing. Get drawn twice and it's a sweatshirt! (Three times? Ah, you're too spoiled!)

Every donation builds reef!

OCRF's 2020 Benelli Raffle features a Benelli M-2 from their Performance Shop in 12ga or $1,000.00 Cash! 

Drawing January 1, 2021.. 

For the first time ever supporters can buy tix online at ocreefs.org - we'll (eh, Courtney) will fill in your name and take a pic of the stubs to email you. 

Tix are one for $10 - six for $50 - fourteen for $100.. 

Tickets also available at Atlantic Tackle, AllTackle WOC, Optical Galleria, on my boat, & at Raceway Citgo with more locations soon.

Reef Report 11/30/20 

(12/2/20 Update! McLean's Going To Work With Us On Barge Modifications & Loading Concrete!) 

Greetings All! 

Danny & I drove over to the McLean yard in Baltimore today(11/30/20) to scope out the barge, drop off some OCRF swag, and try to get them to tackle the job of prepping it as a reef. While I wish I'd started that part of the project sooner, I wasn't at all sure I could raise the money. Still ain't! But we're in striking distance!
Sinking it whole would certainly build reef. Cutting slots or holes in her sides and in the vast 'hopper' section will make the interior of the barge flow with water — fish will use it, mussels et al too. 
Corals? No. 
They need sunlight. I've yet to see star coral or sea whip in an interior space. 
I'd also like to get numerous truckloads of concrete in the Barge's cargo hopper.. Boy would I. That added rugosity would really up the reef's production. 

We also saw what might become our next project - certainly somewhere in line. It's a smallish tug of 40/45 feet. Maybe they'll put THAT in the Barge's hopper! (This is a REAL possibility!) Boy would we have to hustle if that comes to be. Lot of prep in a tug - especially oil & fuel..

The McLean yard is a busy place with multi-multi million dollar contracts to attend. Not sure I'll get their attention with a couple grand! 
Will try! 

The raffle is helping to get us there. Sure could use a few champions out there selling raffle tickets! OCRF's 2020 Benelli Raffle features a Benelli M-2 from their Performance Shop in 12ga -or- $1,000.00 Cash.. 

Drawing January 1, 2021.. 

For the first time ever supporters can buy tix online at ocreefs.org - we'll (eh, Courtney) will fill in your name and take a pic of the stubs to email you. 

Tix are one for $10 - six for $50 - fourteen for $100.. 

Tickets also available at Atlantic Tackle, AllTackle WOC, Optical Galleria, on my boat, & at Raceway Citgo with more locations soon.

Capt Monty Hawkins
Mhawkins@morningstarfishing.com