Fish Report 12/24/21
After Christmas Sea Bass Fishing..
The Crux Of It.
Sea Bass Trips Monday/Tuesday - Dec 27/28 - 6:30 to 4 - $155.00 - 18 sells out.
Have had 16 boat limits of cbass in a row. If I've ever had better it would have been in 2003.
Reservations Required For All Trips - Call Anna (and sometimes daughter Hanna!) Typically Reservation Line is Open 8am to 8pm - Closes Christmas Eve at 5 and Closed Christmas Day - reopen 26th at 443-235-5577 - It always jams when I first open. Sorry! Anna goes by messages too for booking.
Boots! If anywhere near the stern - wet deck - wear boots in winter. (At least bring em. If flat calm you may not need them..)
Gloves! Wow! I cannot believe guys fish without gloves.. I like heavy wool half-finger gloves with a hand warmer in each..
As ever, 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!
Ticket Sales Limited To Four. (Let your friends take care of their own reservations!)
Trips Also Sometimes Announced (but later - email is always first) on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/ocfishing/
My personal and Morning Star FB pages get daily after action (or lack thereof) reports..
Bait is provided on all trips.
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. This is 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 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.
As of 12/19/21 we have 35,500 Reef Blocks & 416 Concrete Pyramids (170lb ea) deployed at numerous ACE permitted ocean reef sites - and we have 312 pyramids at Chesapeake Bay oyster sites working to restore blue ocean water…
Currently being targeted oceanside: Virginia Lee Hawkins Memorial Reef 99 Reef Blocks (+53 Reef Pyramids begun 8/18/20) - Capt. Jack Kaeufer's/Lucas Alexander's Reefs 1,856 Blocks (+44 Reef Pyramids) - Doug Ake's Reef 4,174 blocks (+16 Reef Pyramids) - St. Ann's 2,797 (+8 Reef Pyramids) - Sue's Block Drop 1,582 (+20 Reef Pyramids) - TwoTanks Reef 1,223 (+ 11 Reef Pyramids) - Capt. Bob's Inshore Block Drop 912 - Benelli Reef 1,491 (+ 15 Pyramids) - Rudy's Reef 465 - Capt. Bob's Bass Grounds Reef 3,643 (+60 reef pyramids) - Wolf & Daughters Reef 734 - Al Berger's Reef 1,089 (+13 Reef Pyramids) - Great Eastern Block Drop 1,254 (+12 Reef Pyramids).. And a soon-to-be-named reef at Russell's Reef 30 Blocks & 49 Pyramids - We've also begun block drops at Capt Greg Hall's Memorial Reef with 212 Blocks & 2 Pyramids..
Greetings All,
Have only begun to work on the MRIP problem where yet another huge overestimate in recreational Private Boat landings forces us to face tighter regulation in sea bass and scup in 2022.
At its crux: in ultra-typical fashion Private Boats have landed ten-times more sea bass than Party/Charter. In fact, Private Boats are said to have landed, again and again and again, more sea bass than All Commercial Trawl/Trap & Party/Charter Combined.
Year after year this happens..
Except in reality, it doesn't.
It's only on MRIP's computer screens..
I've interviewed dozens of men in my industry and have only infrequently found instance where even but a few days a summer where Private Boat has more anglers than Party/Charter.
MRIP a points out - "There's LOTS more Private Boats" - True, but there's infinitely more people who; either have better sense than to buy a boat, or cannot afford a sea going boat.
They're our client pool.
It's huge.
Something's mighty smelly.
As I pointed out the other day; our cbass regulations off DelMarVa haven't changed in a decade. In 2015 we saw the worst spring run of sea bass ever - and I do confidently use the word EVER. That was because of two years straight of survey noise that continued all that summer.
Yet in 2020/21 we had the very best sea bass fishing since 2002/3..
No change in regulation.
Vast changes in spawning production and subsequent angler success.
And now, owing recreational catch estimates no one has faith in, we face nearly a 1/3 reduction in cbass quota from Hatteras north.
Just because you're right doesn't mean you'll win.
I will fight regardless.
Cheers All,
& Merry Christmas
Monty
