MSSA in Ocean City

I spent the weekend in Ocean City, Maryland.

I was asked to give a seminar in Ocean City for the MSSA (Maryland Saltwater Sportfisherman's Association). I was one of three speakers, and the guest of honor. The other two speakers were Captain Chuck Fischer of BFG Tackle and Mark Melnyk, host of Reel Fishy Jobs on the World Fishing Network.

It was a three day convention, and I must say I was impressed. The event was held at the beautiful Princess Royale Hotel in Ocean City right on the beach. The convention was well attended, and very well organized. The first evening, I attended their Meet and Greet with food and adult beverages, where I was introduced to the members of the different chapters and the other guests and speakers.

On the second day, the MSSA held their annual meeting with opening remarks from Senator Jim Mathais. Each speaker took about an hour, and then we broke for lunch and Casino time. The Ocean Downs Casino and the Outlet Mall were favorite attractions. We returned at 5:30 pm for cocktails and then a very nice buffet dinner. During dinner, I helped present the awards, and then they held a very nice raffle. After dinner we enjoyed a singing show called “Dinner with the Legends”, featuring oldies selections such as Frank Sinatra. Captain Chuck was one of the singers.

After the event, I accompanied World Fishing Network Superstar, Mark Melnyk and his crew of "Reel Fishy Jobs" and AllTackle.com owner Keith Fraser on a night out in Ocean City. They took me on my first trip to the famous “Seacrets, “ awesome place!! We had a great time.

I met lots of great anglers and had a wonderful time. The MSSA is an organization to watch and emulate, and their future on the fishing scene is bright. Special thanks to President, Vince Ringgold and Executive Director, Dave Smith. These folks are truly a class act! Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the MSSA. I look forward to visiting again.

Now that's a big fish

I had the opportunity to stand in the presence of this massive record-blowing striper, which was humbling. All the photographs and descriptions of this fish just don’t do it justice. Max King fetched the beast from Virginia Beach, toting it to the Richmond Fishing Expo to place it on display in all its glory. An extra long tub, likened to a live stock feeding trough, was used to stretch the fish, all 57.75-inches of it, in an elegant pose on a layer of ice. Cell phone cameras snapped photos of the once-in-a-lifetime catch for hours on end as folks came from all over to crowd around yet another of Virginia’s extraordinary gifts from the sea. And no wonder, I couldn’t help but stare in amazement myself each time I walked by. That was one beautiful, colossal, amazing fish. I can’t even imagine how excited the angler must be. So, what’s next Vriginia?

Personal Message-Thank you

I just want to take a minute to thank all of you.

With this New Year, I hope for many good things to come. I'm both excited and concerned about all the changes I see on the horizon for the sport fishing world.

As always, I am intrigued by the lure of the ocean, and all of the life and power it yields. My love of the water continues to encourage me to share this passion in hopes of inspiring awareness and an appreciation of the resource. I have seen the returns in so many ways, and I am honored to have been involved as an advocate for recreational sport fishing for over 16 years now.

I have been writing complimentary fishing reports for the community every week, during good times and bad, for over seven years. The reports are reprinted all over the US, in newspapers, Blogs, and in many publications and media venues. They take hours of preparation, liaison, and networking each week.

These reports reflect valuable input and influence from many members of the local community. It is impossible for me to list and recognize each tackle shop, marina, charter captain, and the many supportive individuals who take time out of their busy lives to provide valuable information, insight, and guidance so that I can put it all together once a week in a 700-word report. I consider it a team effort, and I couldn’t do it without everyone’s support.

So I would like to thank all of you who provide this support in so many ways and on so many levels. I feel that your efforts truly make a positive difference in the fishing world, and have touched many lives. So, thank you. Julie

Is it rockfish season or tuna season?

It may seem a little confusing.

Although the incredible rockfish bite over the last few weeks is better than it has been in several years, it is not unheard of. But the unreal phenomenon that materialized over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays has the attention of the fishing community everywhere. Local anglers are very aware of the growing number of boats surprised by stealthy bluefin tuna while trolling for rockfish within just a few miles of the beach.

Stripped reels and straightened hooks will quickly reveal the culprit, but bluefin tuna encounters close to shore are not unusual in Virginia Beach. Anglers occasionally experience the powerful strike of passing bluefin tuna as schools briefly stop in on their way south in December. Sometimes a few are even boated. But now after approaching a third week, and after dozens of boated tuna, and even more lost during the fight, we are dealing with a rare phenomenon. And these are not school-sized bluefin tuna either. They are big fish ranging from 150 to 300-pounds! And on some days, the tuna fishing is actually better than the striper fishing. Yes, right now you can catch striped bass and bluefin tuna on the same trip, in the same area-right off the beach!

One the news hit, the local recreational fishing fleet quickly adapted to this dream come true, and beefed up their striper gear in short order. If you watch the boats leaving the local inlets to fish for striped bass, you will notice a lot of big gold reels, and heavy duty rods doubling as rockfish gear. Tangling with these beasts can be a thrilling experience, and it is considered quite an achievement to conquer a big bluefin tuna. But bluefin are not considered the best tuna steaks for throwing on the grill. The high fat content, oily consistency and strong fishy taste make them more suitable for raw dishes such as sushi. Most of the tuna used for sushi is bluefin tuna.

This ongoing bluefin invasion is gaining a lot of attention. But the tuna do not seem to be in a hurry to leave. The temperate waters off the coast of North Carolina are usually home for the bluefins for the winter. But with the mild winter conditions this year, the water temperatures off Virginia are staying in the moderate range which is encouraging the bait to stick around, keeping the rockfish and the bluefins content.

This is not an endless fishery, though. Bluefin tuna are strictly managed, and it is not uncommon for the fishery to be shut down almost over night once the quota is perceived as met by fisheries management officials. But until then, and as long as the water temperatures hold, there will be no end to the hundreds of local anglers hitting the water in search of a big bluefin tuna of their own. If you have your heart set on joining the chase, be sure to obtain a highly migratory species permit, and review the bluefin tuna regulations and guidelines before each trip, as they change quickly. An illegal bluefin tuna is no joke to law enforcement officials.

Fished the Rockfish Shootout

2012
Mid Atlantic Rockfish Shootout

It was the 2nd day of the 3-day tournament, the wind was around 15 out of the SW, and the high was supposed to be around 60-dgrees. Captain Jake Hiles was our skipper aboard the Legacy. Lines were to go in at 8 am, so we motored out at around 7:30 to ride around and claim our starting position off Virginia Beach. The fishing has been incredible, the best we have seen for ocean rockfish in about five years or more. And this time we also have the amazing bluefin tuna fishing right off the beach. The best we have seen in10-years, or maybe ever. But as long as the water temperatures continue to hold and the bait stays, the fish…all of them…will stick around.

Jake chose our position, and we idled there as we prepared the lines to go out. This was no ordinary striper spread. These rockfish rods sported Tiagra 50-wides, and a few 80’s with 130 to 200-pound test leaders. This was serious gear in preparation to tangle with a big bluefin tuna if need be. We were ready.

At first, we looked around for the tuna. But since the largest tuna in the bluefin category was already well over 200-pounds, we moved on to striper territory after no luck for about an hour. Once we got down to serious striper business, we were busy. There were over 200 boats trolling along the coastline looking for rockfish, which made for interesting maneuvering at times, and excited conversations on the radio. Our first fish was a typical 30-pounder, nice but not big enough to get on the leader board. But the next fish was the ticket. A nice fish pushing to 50-pounds put us in the chase. And chase we did. We had solid action for the rest of the day. We pulled up our lines at 1:50, after boxing our final forty-pounder. We were one tired crew with 14 fish, with several weighing over 40-pounds, and one at 50-pounds.

Back at the dock, we pulled up to the fuel dock at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center and dropped off our three largest fish. Our fish weighed in at 122.6-pounds, enough to put us at 3rd place. The top seven places earn money and trophies. By the end of the third fishing day, we were pushed to 7th place. It was a great day on the water, with a top notch crew.

New Years Bluefin Tuna and Rockfish

The rockfish bite had been down for the last two days. I fished Saturday (New Year's Eve) off of the Virginia Beach ocean front, and did not see a rockfish caught. What I did see were several boats with spooled reels, and heard tales of endless battles with big bluefin tuna. This was all happening among the striper fleet just off the beach. We even had a bluefin hooked up briefly on Saturday until he came unbuttoned after a few tail pumps. So, the striper bite was off, but the tuna bite was on. I decided I was fishing on Sunday, New Year’s Day, and either rockfish or tuna was fine by me. We headed towards Cape Henry from Lynnhaven Inlet, starting with a sunny day with light southerly winds. I was happy to hear that boats were hooking up with rockfish again off the Cape. I also heard of a few bluefin tuna already hooked up. We passed the huge striper fleet at Cape Henry, and headed further south to begin trolling for tuna. After trolling for a few hours, one of the rods with an umbrella rig went down and we all jumped into action with our big chance. Turned out to be a false alarm. It was just a 40lb striper, but good practice. Boats hooked up off and on most of the morning around us, but no luck for us with the tuna. The wind picked up and the seas became a little sloppy. We decided to head back north to pick through a few rockfish for the cooler. We picked up and ran to Cape Henry where we found beehives of birds scattered off of the Ramada about a mile off the beach. We marked plenty of bait and fish on our machine. Most of the fleet was still off Cape Henry, so we had the birds almost to ourselves. We had our fish and were on our way in about 45-minutes. All of the fish hit umbrella rigs. The fish ranged from 25 to 40-pounds. We called a few buddies over, and called it a day at around 4pm. What a great way to spend New Year’s Day, on the water with friends and catching nice fish. Happy New Year!

Big Rockfish for New Years

There’s a lot happening on the fishing scene, especially for this time of year. Although the weather is a constant annoyance, it looks like anglers will ring in the New Year while partaking in great fishing opportunities well within reach of shore.

The trolling scene is drawing the most attention right now. This is an effective method for targeting striped bass, and gets the job done without dealing with live eels. Schools of nice fish ranging from 38 to 49-inches are filling limits for boats working ocean waters, often in short order lately. Boats are finding nice fish from the Eastern Shore down to Rudee Inlet, with the best concentration off of Cape Henry recently. Big pods of bait and temperate weather will encourage the fish to stick around. Now, whether this is good or bad, boats are also encountering schools of bluefin tuna in these same areas. A few tuna ranging between 200 and 300-pounds are surprising anglers with screaming reels while trolling for rockfish along the ocean front. Several tuna were hooked on rockfish gear this week near the green can off Cape Henry. Most anglers are caught off guard and stare wide-eyed at instantly spooled reels. But for a few, two hour battles are bringing some of these big tuna boat side. Make sure you have a highly migratory species permit, and check the regulations before you set out to tangle with these brutes. Scattered catches of chopper bluefish are also still adding variety to the action along the shore lines.

They’re here-rockfish over 60lbs

Every year, anglers anticipate the arrival of the really big striped bass. Although 40-plus-pound rock fish are certainly respectable fish, how does a 50-pounder strike you? Ok, never mind that, and let’s consider a hog pushing to over 60-pounds? Now, that’s a big rock fish!

Yes, the super-sized fish are here. The first one of the season was hooked this week and weighed in at Chris’ Bait and Tackle on the Eastern Shore at 63.5-pounds. Just is time for the Holidays? You bet! The weather forecast looks like it will hold into the Holidays towards the end of the month, keeping water temperature right in the striper zone.

Most of the larger fish are coming from the High Rise section of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel after dark while fishing with live eels.

Some of the biggest fish of the year routinely come from the deep channels off the Eastern Shore area. Drifting in this area with live eels has become a popular fishing method for very big fish. Although this method is usually a little slower fishing, the quality of the fish is exceptional.  

If you have been holding out for the pigs to arrive, your time has come!

Wintertime Chesapeake Bay Sunset

We motored under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. We were scoping out the fishing scene, the tide was about slack, and it was about 4:30pm. As I looked around, I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful golden glow everywhere. I turned to the southwest to check out the source of the glow. I smiled as I gazed at a typical winter time Chesapeake Bay sunset. Gorgeous. The clear, crisp skies this time of year seem to make the sun blush with a soft warmth that denies any hint of chillness in the air. For a few moments, my face was bathed in the gentle radiance…then within minutes, replaced by abrupt, harsh darkness.

Wow, I’m so lucky to live and fish in such a beautiful part of the world.

Wire for Thanksgiving

The arrival of Thanksgiving always reminds me that the bigger striped bass are on their way. For years, we would head out to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on Thanksgiving Day and catch stripers by wire lining over the spines of the artificial islands.

It’s interesting how trends come and go. There are many different methods used to fish for striped bass. Casting lures, jigging, trolling, and using live bait are all good methods. Many angers still wire line the “tubes” of the islands today, but over the past few years more folks are trying out popular eeling methods. Using live eels near the High Rise section of the Bay Bridge Tunnel, and drifting with eels near the deep channels the Eastern Shore area are effective methods for targeting larger stripers. But this time of year, the average size rock fish caught via wire lining can also be larger than those caught using some other methods. The reason is simple. The wire enables the angler to get the bait into the strike zone on the down current side of the tube quickly and effectively. Sometimes wire lining out fishes the eeling methods.

Wire lining requires a special rod and reel set up to hold wire instead of fishing line, usually using a sturdy conventional reel. As for the lure, most folks use a ¼ ounce buck tail donned with a grub or a pork rind on a three-way rig made up of monofilament line.

The trick is to fish when the current is moving. This way, a very long leader sweeps the buck tail into the strike zone where rock fish lay in wait for bait tumbling over the rocks.

Although this is an effective method, it still takes some skill and practice. The captain must skillfully maintain the boat moving at a crawl along the edge of the rocks, not easy in a ripping current and any wind.

The three-way rig is dropped at the up current edge of the rocks using a heavy sinker ranging from 12 to 20-ounces. The weight is “tippy-toed” along the edge of the rocks as the boat moves slowly along the tube. It is almost impossible to avoid hanging the weight in the rocks. The trick is to have plenty of weights and rigs handy.

There’s also a trick to the pattern of the movement. The pass is always started in the shallower water near the island, moving into deeper water. That way you are letting out line with your thumb, instead of trying to keep up with reeling line in going uphill. Speaking of thumbs, many wear thumb guards while letting out the wire, because frays in the wire are common and can stab and cut.

If other boats are also wire lining, the boats take turns joining into the pattern to make a pass. That means when an angler becomes hung up, the protocol is to wrap the line around the reel and break the mono line since there is usually another boat close behind.

When a fish is hooked, the boat drifts down current out of the pattern of boats to fight the fish, and returns to rejoin the pattern after the fish is boated. Try it, you may be surprised.