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Saturday, August 27, 2011

Calm before the Storm, 8/27/11


My hillbilly college friend would have called this “pre-frontal success”.  With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the east coast, I saw a window of opportunity to get in a quick fishing venture.  Had originally planned to make it 2 days of fishing, but a front with accompanying storms forced me to only pursue Day 2.   I arrived August 27 at 9 AM, hoping to get out on the water right away to catch the 12:15 pm high tide.  Arrival of Irene the next day necessitated me getting off the water early in order to clean-up and secure the fishing camp, so fishing the 6:30 low tide which normally would have been my preference was not an option here.

Arrived to rain showers and dark skies.  Waited these out and as soon as the radar had convinced me that it was safe, I launched from Wenona at 11:30 AM.  For a change, I found seas to be less than one foot and almost calm at times.  Headed straight to buoy 12 southwest of Wenona (see pic) as I had a hunch the bite would be on as soon as I got my lines in the water.   Water surface temps had fallen to 79-80°F, and a mid-day bite was now more probable than previously.  A gentle southeast breeze pushed me from shallow to deeper water, while the tide pulled me up the bay.  It didn’t take long to figure out that the croakers were biting at around 45 ft, +/- 1 ft.  This was a pretty tight depth tolerance- I think one fish was beyond the standard deviation at 50 ft.  Caught 2-3 fish every drift, throwing back probably ten 10½” fish.  The remainder were all 12-14”, and I kept 7.  Consistent with the rest of the summer, no monsters.  Well, things started to fade after around 2 pm , and by 2:45 I had called it quits.  I used squid, clam, and shrimp- but today there was a distinct preference for squid, which is I carry multiple baits.  You never know.  Soft crabs are scarce and expensive right now and besides- all the waterman had pulled their pots out of the water with the storm approaching.

As I write this, Irene is rolling in.  A gentle rain started this morning at 5:15 AM at Deal Island and was continuing to increase gradually as I departed the island at 7:30 AM.  I prayed to God throughout the day yesterday that my camper would be spared harm and also the homes of all the people on the island unharmed.  At 11:45 AM, the rains and wind continue to build at home here in Millsboro.  The storm has weakened somewhat in terms of wind, but the rain and storm surge appear to be potentially serious.  I'm also wondering whether this might be the end of my 2011 bottom-fishing,...

Sunday, August 21, 2011

And the rough waters persist- August 18/19, 2011

There’s simply no escaping it for 2011.  Wind. Small craft advisories.  And now, finally- violent thunderstorms.  Thursday August 18, since I had already taken off work and made my plans, I braved the small craft advisory and 3-4 ft waves.  Launched out of the harbor on the north end of Deal Island, just to give myself a back-up option in case it got too rough.   And good thing I did.  After getting my brains beat in for about an hour just northwest of Wenona and only catching one nice hardhead, I decided to take up plan B, and sped back to Law’s Thorofare, the sheltered creek behind the island.  This has historically been a real large croaker hot-spot, particularly late in the day and timed with the peak high or low tides.  But this evening, fate would not have it and the place seemed to be infested only with skates.  I was fishing two rods and naturally could only hold one at a time.  The first of the 5 I caught, I nearly lost rod and reel.  Decided to make a meal of it too.  Had tried cooking skate in the past but hadn’t been too pleased with the outcome.  I didn’t like them deep fried, or broiled like I do a hard head.  Anyway, caught and kept another but released the final three after eviscerating them.  They really are a pain to handle on the deck of a small boat solo, not to mention they monopolize the space in a 54 qt cooler.  Furthermore, they are a total pain in the butt when it comers to cleaning them.  They have a thick hide so are tough to fillet, and then you are left with a huge and heavy carcass to dispose of.  You are able to cut a really nice hunk of fillet off of each wing though.  More about eating them later,..  After the skate cleared out (and little else bites when they are active in this creek), I did manage to catch a few decent spot and even one small sheepshead- a species I hadn’t caught here in about 8 or 9 years (see pic).

The next day brought calmer waters (for awhile) but a never-ending threat of late day severe thunderstorms.   I launched around 2:45 pm for a 6pm high tide, hoping to get some fishing time in before the storms took over.  Spent most of my time fishing around buoy 12 just southwest of Wenona, and caught 4 nice croaker (12-14”) drifting between 30 and 42 ft of water.  Never could find a pattern though.  Shifted to the west side of the channel, a little farther north- where I often turn to for making a change.  I had maintained my VHF weather radio on the whole time, as there were a never-ending string if storms coming across the bay.  They are spot-on accurate for telling me when one is headed my way, and if anything they are a little too conservative.  So when the warning came that there was one headed to Tangier Sound and the inland waters of Bloodsworth Island, and warning boaters to get off the water and seek shelter- I did just that.  Crap, foiled again.  This was my last shot for this trip, as I would be cleaning up and departing in the morning.  Later that evening, after the storms never hit- I crossed the Deal Island bridge just at sunset and looked out at beautiful and calm water.  Figures.

Parting thoughts- I scored some nice hard crabs off my friend Captain Danny Benton.  Brought them back to Millsboro and enjoyed them with my favorite crab beating buddy, 83-year-old Miss Pat from next door.  Wow they were good.  And for the skate-  I just finished eating them and they were FABULOUS !!  Followed a recipe I found online (http://www.aboutseafood.com/recipe/zesty-grilled-skate) and grilled them.  Had cut the meat into one inch cubes, and it literally fell apart as I pulled it off the grill.  My next experiment- smoked croaker.  My buddy Bruce Davis just gave me a Big Chief Smoker, and as soon as I get time enough to set it up and run it, I am going to smoke some croaker,…. Took my first hot shower at the camper using my new water heater.  It was great and looking forward to many more.  And so, the next trip and perhaps final bottom-fishing venture for 2011 is scheduled for Thursday, August 25.  The following weekend is Labor Day and have not finalized my plans, although my son and I plan to be down at the island.  The crowds are pretty heavy and I’m not much into waiting for the boat ramp, but we’ll see.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Vacation and a different scene- lower Chesapeake


It’s always nice to try something different from time-to-time.  And so, I capitalized on the opportunity during our family summer vacation to explore some new fishing grounds.  Our “camping” trip (air-conditioned cabin) at Cherrystone, on the southern tip of Virginia’s eastern shore provided a seeming excellent launching pad.  We were basically right on the Chesapeake, and only a few miles also from the Atlantic.  My plan was to launch out of the Cherrystone boat ramp either 2 or 3 days, depending on conditions and on whatever else we had going on.  Launch #1 came on Monday August 8, later in the afternoon.  Conditions were near perfect- approaching peak high tide at about 5:30 pm, and with 1-2 ft waves out of the Southeast.  Departed the harbor, which is bordered on the other side by the lovely Cape Charles, and headed south.  The channel is pretty focused but well marked, and we stuck to it all the way past the south end of Cape Charles.  Following a pretty decent marine depth chart I had picked up at the campground, I then headed southwest an addition 3+ miles to a reef which stuck up out of the water, so it was quite obvious.  Most water was 10-20 ft all the way out.  Just pas the reef, it tapered down to 120 ft, although I never explored past 60 ft.  We drifted in various depths and offered squid, shrimp, and clam (recommended by the local guy at the Cherrystone tackle shop) as bottom-fare.  The bites were frequent and plenty, just small.  Caught probably a dozen Kingfish, none were big enough to mess with.  The nature scene was more engaging than the fishing however.  We were surrounded by dolphins surfacing on a number of occasions, so close you could hear and see the spray from their exhale-blows.  Another really cool sight was that of skates (or small rays) swimming at the surface-in a FORMATION!  This was so cool, I was so amazed I forgot to take out the camera and capture it.  They swam in a wedge, just like geese flying. 

Launch #2 came two days later, only this time headed north after exiting the Cherrystone harbor and clearing the channel markers (careful, shallow water at 4.5 ft on a high tide).  Again conditions were right as we headed to another reef at buoy 36A, seemingly popular with other fishermen (and one solo fisherwoman who impressed me).  I’m not sure what the structural draw was at this location but there were 8 or 9 other boats fishing it, drifting and then re-setting to cover the same small piece of water.  More small fish, only this time it was croaker and sea bass.  I really came away disappointed at the quality of fishing in this part of the Bay, as I somehow had a preconceived notion that it would be really great.  However, the owner of the tackle shop at Cape Charles confirmed that there was little if any action in this region of the Chesapeake right now.  My only other observation to share was that of the water- which was much clearer and cleaner (“blue-er”) here than farther north in Tangier Sound.  Also, it seemed to roll more like ocean water, rather than the familiar “Chesapeake Chop”.

I did have opportunity to scout some other areas while down at Cherrystone.  Directly east and on the coast inside the barrier islands was the “town” of Oyster.  There was a public launch there at which were parked probably 50+ boat trailers, so I assume SOMETHING was going on out there.  From what I had read, navigating these back waters was pretty tricky due to shifting channels and it was advised to follow someone local.  The only thing that really kept me from doing this was that I had no idea it was so heavily fished.  Next trip, this will be my first launching point.  Flounder are reported to be thick here (I really need to develop my flounder skills anyhow) and tarpon up to 80 lbs are also caught.  Another launch I got to look at was at Virginia Landing Campground, south of Quimby and 40 minutes from Cherrystone.  My friends Loran and Pam camp there and we have been trying unsuccessfully so far to rendezvous.  Again, tricky water but very little fishing pressure is almost irresistible.  Croaker show up there thick for just a couple of weeks, and they were there this week.  Note to self- return there mid-August in the future.  Last place I laid eyes on that I want to chronicle was the wildlife refuge at the south end of the peninsula, just before the bay-bridge tunnel.  Fee to launch, but oh how spectacular it looked.  Dumped into an east-west trough called The Ditch, which separated it from an uninhabited island to the south.  One exit came out on the Chesapeake, the other the Atlantic.  The reports of this area are that it is top-notch, and I intend to make it launch #2 next time down to Cherrystone.  A final note to self- the naturalist at the refuge gave is great detail about the launching ramp at Kiptopeke State Park.  There are sunken concrete ships that serve as reefs, just off the launch- and which hold tautog and spadefish, 2 species I’d like to get to know better (I have caught Tautog off Ocean City but that either involves hugging the jetties or anchoring over sunken reefs, neither of which are practical for my rig).  Until next time,… which is actually only a couple of days away- and back to Tangier Sound.  Hoping for calm waters so I can cover some ground and burn off some gas, but it isn’t looking good.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Deal Island Fishing- July 28-29, 2011

As the wind blows,…… I know this is becoming a recurring theme, but I cannot recall any past year that was as windy as this.  Having fished almost 2 days each week of June and July, there have been a total of 2 days in which waves were less than 3 ft.  So, here again on Thursday it was 3-4 feet at evening launch, and built to 4-5 feet after about an hour.  With my boat only being just over 17 ft in length, 4-5 ft seas make for a pretty miserable time on the water and also tends to have a negative effect on the fish bite.  As a result, after about 2 hours of getting beat to death and catching only 2 fish, we called this one off early.

Friday 7/29 rolled around, fulfilling the forecast of 95-96F.  Another condition component consistent with this entire summer has been the extreme heat.  I’m sure there have been prior years equally as hot, maybe as I get older I am more sensitive to the heat.  No doubt though that this has been a hot year.  With frequent daytime air temps between 90-100F, the water surface temp has hovered in the upper 80’s.  That has definitely had an impact on the fishing, as the daytime bite had all but turned off.  I would not be surprised if there were oxygen depleted dead zones in the area, as I am marking many fish without any action.  Also, I seem to be marking a lot of fish suspended off the bottom.  We launched around 4:45 pm for a 7:30 low tide.  Fishing was quiet the first 2-2 ½ hours, as the sun was still high and the heat pretty intense.  My fishing companion son Blair had given up so by 6 pm I was the only rod in the water. At about 7 pm, the bite came on, as if someone had flipped a switch.  I put 7 nice fish in the cooler in rapid succession, the last being a double header of a 14” and a 12”.  Depth was a pretty focused 45 feet, on the west side of the channel, and just due west of Wenona harbor (this is just a bit south from where I usually fish on the west side of the channel, with a more gentle slope from 30-60 ft).  It was at this point, around 7:20 pm, that Blair indicated he had to urgently use the bathroom.  And, we weren’t talking about hanging it over the side, it was gonna be bucket-worthy.  So, like a good dad, I headed back for the harbor in a rather quick way.  And I guess Blair was serious, as he raced for the bathroom in the parking lot as soon as we got to the dock.  Oh well, we probably missed the best part of the fishing, but we’ll go on to fish another day.

Finally got the water heater and plumbing issues at the camper completely straightened out, fixing the residual leak.  The new water heater works well too.  Taking a break from Tangier Sound fishing, as the family and I are going to Cherrystone for a week.  Taking the boat to Cherrystone and planning to do some fishing there in unfamiliar waters.  Back at Tangier Sound to fish around August 19.  Gosh, this summer is almost over, Blair starts school 8/22 and full-day football practice 8/15.  Looks like I’ll fish solo the rest of the way out (until Labor Day) or recruit someone to join me.