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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Fishing (attempt), 7/21/11

I've always wondered what the high temperature limit is on bottom fishing in Tangier Sound, and I think I have now discovered it- 100F.  Debated all week about whether or not to brave the heat, projected at 99+F.  I also realized the functional limit of my camper's A/C.  And I also realized what clinical heat exhaustion feels like.  So, after conquering the A/C, installing a new water heater, and beating heat stroke, I finally launched the boat out of the north harbor at Deal ISland at 7pm, a mere 1/2 hour before high tide.  Had hoped to get out by 5pm but no dice tonite.  Took a quick trip back to Laws Thorofare, anchored, and caught one nice hardhead and one skate before deciding to relocate at 8:15.  Surface water temp = 92.5F- OUCH!! Boogied out into the Sound as the sun was setting and drifted at different depths from 25-45 ft after the crab-pot line drop off at 15 ft, but nothing biting on this muddy bottom despite showing many fish on the depth finder.  Nothing to brag about this trip, and doubtful I will ever attempt to fish again in heat that extreme.


Oh Yeah, fell off a ladder working on the camper- long story.  After hitting the ground, my first concern was whether or not anyone saw me.  Second concern was whether or not I broke any bones.  Two days later I am still extremely sore, but able to laugh about it,... sort of.  Next trip- July 27-28.  Time is running short and summer is disappearing like sand running through my fingers.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Deal Island Fishing- July 14/15 2011

So, I have realized that I have an interesting dilemma with respect to this blog.  And my problem is- I am actually fishing frequently enough this year that is difficult to keep up with chronicling my ventures here in this blog.  Oh well, not a bad dilemma to have I guess.

Embarked on a 2-day fishing adventure starting on a Thursday, 7/14/11, with both my son Blair (14) and buddy Loran fishing with me this time.  An unusual mid-July cool front passing through coincided with our fishing plans, the result being extremely windy (and rough) conditions for the front end of our trip.  Every single attempt to catch a late evening tide change (this one at 8pm) this year has been accompanied by big winds.  Nonetheless, braving persistent 4 ft swells (actually 1 – 2 ft when we first went out), we managed to dangle enough squid, shrimp, and soft crab on the bottom to put 16 fish in the cooler, largest being around 13-14 inches.  The fishing pattern was much the same as it has been the last month, drifting to find where the fish were biting, and in this case it was again around 35-45 feet of water, on the ledge of the west side of eth shipping channel, just north of Wenona.  This has pretty much been my hot spot this year, with some occasional action near the #12 buoy just south of Wenona.  Would like to explore some more distant areas soon, and also try and target some other species, but need better converging conditions (time, tide, and wind).

Friday, 7/15/11 unfolded with completely different wind, while maintaining a northerly direction from yesterday it had subsided to about 5 knots, which was qwuite comfortable with temps in the low 80’s and partly cloudy.   After another trip to the Hideaway in Rumbley for lunch (thanks Loran for the crab cake), we set out to catch the 3pm high tide. 



 On the way back from Rumbley, we stopped in the 25-30 ft hole not far west from the 1st Rumbley channel marker.  Not much doing here with what we were offering, but I could tell that it was a soft bottom.  Returned to our aforementioned spots and enjoyed a simply glorious day, again catching lots of hard head, releasing most, and keeping 9- largest was 14”.  Have yet to catch any fish exceeding 14 inches.  Plan to return next Friday for one day of evening fishing, with a 7:30 pm high tide.  Bought a new water heater for the camper and hope that it arrives in time for me to bring it and install it.  Until next time,...



Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Flounder fishing- Folly Creek

Got home from Deal Island (exhausted) just after noon on July 3, only to get a phone call from my buddy Bruce Davis, the greatest flounder fisherman there ever was.  I fished once with Bruce a few years back and was quite impressed with how much he knew about this fish, even though we hadn’t caught many on a cool March day.  But this was different, Bruce was calling to tell me that he had been fishing the last 2 weeks at a place in Virginia and had never seen the fishing so good- tall words from this guy, and that we ought to go together the next day, July 4.  After initially declining but after thorough consulting with my wife Candy, I called Bruce back and told him that we were on.  Yes, I had just committed to awakening at 4 am to meet up with Bruce at 5 am in Delmar.  Got to bed early and made the 5 am connection with Bruce, thankful that he was driving and that we were taking his boat, an 18 ft jon that he has specifically configured for slaying flounder.  An hour and a half to 2 hrs later, we were at the ramp on Folly Creek, just east of Accomack, VA.  What a beautiful place, probably one of so many that I am not even aware of here on the eastern shore.  The VA eastern shore fascinates me any way, with borders on both the Atlantic and the Chesapeake.  So, we launch and follow the creek out about 2 or 3 miles to Metompkin Bay, which promptly empties into the Atlantic Ocean.  The water coming out was clear and adequately deep, and I wondered what finned treasures it might hold other than founder.  We commence fishing in a labyrinth or creeks and guts, all pulled along well by the now incoming tide.  Immediately I caught a flounder which measured 18 inches, a keeper.  Our rigs were interesting and very specific.  3 foot looped fluorochrome leaders, looped as to not present any knots to the fish in order to maintain invisibility.  No weight, using a ¾ oz naked jig head, rigged with a Gulp worm (Pumpkinseed, specifically), plus a live minnow (good sized minnows). We later augmented this to include a small strip of flounder belly and also a frozen shiner.  The idea was to not spook the flounder with an additional weight.  The worm was the same color as a species of shrimp which Bruce claimed was their favorite food.  The last element of our success was the electric trolling motor, as Bruce was able to maneuver the boat with great accuracy over shoals and holes.  The fishing was spectacular, we caught at least 80 flounder, a slow day by Bruce’s standards but beyond anything I had ever done, plus it was nice to catch a fish other than Croaker.  By 12:30 pm we had caught our limit of 8 (4 each), with one at 25” and another at 23”.  Netting these larger fish was critical- the flounder were really good at shaking out the hook.  Two pieces of instruction Bruce gave me for hooking fish, critical since I had not yet developed a good feel for hooking flounder, were 1) gently pull back on the line when feeling a strike or anticipating the fish taking the bait, and 2) maintaining pressure on the reel once I started winding one in.  Bruce still out fished me, but I felt like I was getting the hang of it.  Must return some day soon  !!!!

Deal Island fishing- long July weekend

Been busy fishing, so slow to get this blog updated.  Went to Deal Island June 30, didn’t return until July 3. Bait = squid and shrimp.  Fishing evening of 6/30, wind blowing hard out of NW, and even though the time of (low) tide change was perfect (~8 pm) seas were 3 ft and it just wasn’t pleasant. Again.  Managed to catch some fish, kept 6 smallish hard heads. 


Pics of the campsite,...


Got up Friday 7/1 and after toiling in the yard all morning, began my all-day fishing adventure.  Wind seemed to have laid down a bit, so I seized the opportunity to motor over to Rumbley, MD.  I have been intending to visit here by boat  since I first visited about 2 yrs ago by car.  There is a restaurant at the marina that looks pretty cool and claims to have the best crabcake in the world.  Get to “The Hideaway Grill” around 11:30 after about a 20-25 minute boat ride, taking it slow since I wasn’t familiar with these waters.  Tied right up next to the gas pump, not much traffic since it was during the week and also middle of the day.  Got me a cold beverage and sat out on the sandy veranda that was in some ways like a tropical place, anyway it was very cool as I was only steps away from the water and watching the waterman return from crabbing.  Ordered a crabcake from the friendly waitress and oh MAN was it good, worth the $14 for the crabcake.  It is hard to find a crabcake any more that is not made from asian crab meat, but this was the real deal.  After my 2nd beverage, I reluctantly returned to my boat in order to rendezvous with the fish at the 2:30 pm (high) tide change.  No sooner did I leave the Rumbley harbor when the NW wind picked right up where it left off yesterday.  As expected, the water was rough and the fishing sparse, only putting one in the cooler.  NW wind here spells doom to my fishing.  Note to self- one significant 25-29 ft hole just outside of Rumbley in the midst of 8-16 ft depth all the way from Deal Island.  Could this hold fish at some point? Flounder maybe??  Must return to see, and have another crabcake.

Returned to Wenona exhausted from the sun (didn’t use the Bimini top today) and unfulfilled in terms of fishing.  Seeking to change my luck, I loaded up the jon-boat in attempt to hit the larger croaker back in the creek with the 8:30 am tide change.  When I got there around 6:30, the wind was dropping.  Timing was right, and I managed to catch 5 really nice fish (12-14 inches) before calling it a day at around 9 pm.  I love this time of year if for no other reason than the length of the days.  Retuned to the north-end harbor and a North wind, which blew my boat around and made it nearly impossible to get my boat on the trailer solo.  Note to self-  need to rig up a stern rope, even install a bigger cleat if necessary.  Eventually had to drive the boat onto the trailer, but not before the DNR game warden checked out my boat.  Wanting to know if I had a bow light.  Well, having been there before- yes, I indeed had a clip-on bow light, which I had dismounted after pulling in, as it sometimes slips its clamping after being docked.

The final fishing day, 7/2/11- head out around noon.  Oh man, it was DEAD CALM, or “slick cam”.  Like a lake, and hot too.  No choice but to use the Bimini top today.  Managed to put 6 fish in the cooler, all caught between 40 and 42 ft.  The drift was so slow, no sock necessary.  And, I only used 3 ozs of weight.  Caught many fish, just that the majority were throw backs.  Hoping some nicer fish roll in through the rest of the summer.  Called it a day by 3:30, it was hot, I was tired from all-day fishing the day before, and they were having karaoke at Lucky’s at 8 pm. Lucky’s is a convenience store in Chance.  They have a grill in the back and will cook just about whatever you want.  They also have really cold draft beer, the “cold” being necessary when you are sipping the cheap stuff.  I have eaten crabs there the last few weekends- I think they charged me $14 for a dozen of #1’s, which were not huge, but very full, tasty, and hot.  I think what I enjoy most about the Deal Island area is the culture and the people.  And the only way to really experience that is to get elbow-to-elbow with these folks and to meet them.  Even the newcomers are an interesting bunch since they are mostly like minded folks, having relocated here to retire and enjoy the Land of Pleasant Living.  I see it starting to change the character of the island somewhat, but one thing you cannot stop is- change,…. Had a cold beer with my friend Capt. D (names abbreviated to preserve people’s privacy), and met a new friend- Patty, the Crisfield blogger (a.k.a. Georgia Peach, as named by Daddy Art), then went back to the camper to grab a bight to eat.  Returned for the karaoke- WOW the place was packed !!  Oh what fun, as the night wore on people became more adventurous and yes, even I sang “Take Me Home Country Roads” before the night was over, fulfilling a promise to my friend “M” that I would sing if she would.  It was so nice to get away, I wish the whole family found this as much fun as I do.  My son Blair didn’t join me this time- he was away with the church youth group at “Creation”.  Until next time,…