Pamlico Drum 2005

First the good news, we used ONLY circle hooks, and did not kill any drum. Now the bad, lord, we got skunked again. I give up. Drum were caught, but I think we were too far at the end of the line of boats. You gotta know where the dropoffs are- its very subtle when the water's only 10-15 ft deep to start with. some folks had their honeyholes but were keeping quiet on the radio. Conditions were a little choppy with a stiff east wind. Fished till midnite without any serious bites (kids caught lots of bait, however, so we still had fun). Highlight of the evening was a 3" flounder the boys got using a bait-net. Still a beautiful time of yr to be on the Pamlico.

fishing expedition

Over the weekend, we attempted to get sbft off of Newport, RI. Nothing doing. People had not seen any fish since earlier last week, with some dorado showing up. But everybody was gone by the weekend. Ah well.
We will try Cape Cod Bay next.

Google searches related to the eye projects turned up this little ditty:

http://www.eyedesignbook.com/index.html

Wherein it is indicated that a Designer has made it pointless to do eye research. Well, Hell, let's go fishin!

DT

Schoolie bluefin tuna (sbft) here at home

I have been babbling about sbft up here of Rhode Island and in Cape Cod Bay, too. To
read some stories, go to reel-time.com and look in the New England Forum. Stories of:
*Broken leaders, rods, lines
*Lost backing, flylines, spoolings
*Even a sinking (and survival)!

The RI fishery has been going for some years, with a few pods showing up from July 4 until early August.
The fish are 20-30 lbs. The Cape Cod Bay ones are 35-100 lbs and start in August, running until October.

Did good last week-2 on the spinning rod (they like metal) and one on the flyrod (biggest of the day @ 22 lb).
After the two on spin rod (2 casts = 2 fish) we spent the rest of the time with flyrod. Kept hooking up, but
then the little %$#@#$% would pop off! No breakage, good sharp Gamy hooks (they liked a white"mushmouth" pattern. Another fly lost to a big bluefish, then everybody started getting boat shy.
I went with my friend "Capn Eric" in the tricked out Parker 18. All fish released.

We will remember our cameras for next week.

glimmer of hope for menhaden

Published in the Asbury Park Press 08/18/05
BY KIRK MOORESTAFF WRITER

Atlantic states fishing regulators agreed Wednesday to cap industrial menhaden fishing in Chesapeake Bay for five years — a victory for recreational fishing and environmental groups, but one that could be challenged by a fleet that's already been kicked out of New Jersey waters and other coastal states.

Omega Protein's net boats would be limited to 105,800 metric tons of menhaden from Chesapeake Bay starting in 2006, after a vote by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission menhaden board in Alexandria, Va. In an Aug. 11 letter to menhaden committee Chairman Jack Travelstead, Omega Vice President Toby Gascon said the company would pledge to voluntarily hold its annual harvests to 131,000 metric tons a year for five years.

The company can't support, "and will resist," any restrictions that it sees as not being based on the best scientific evidence, Gascon said. But it was willing to set the five-year limit on catches to address critics' concerns, he wrote.

Board members discussed the Omega proposal for several hours Wednesday, but ultimately voted to impose the lower cap that had been sought by Menhaden Matter, an effort by Omega critics, who wanted the catch limited to an average of the last five years. "It's a first step. All our work begins right now," said Ken Hinman of the Virginia-based National Center for Marine Conservation.

Menhaden have long been processed into fish meal and oil for a range of industrial and animal feed uses. Omega recently opened a new fish oil plant in Virginia designed to meet growing demand for omega-3 fish oils for human consumption.

Recreational fishing and environmental activists contend Omega is taking too many menhaden, affecting the ecosystem of Chesapeake Bay and the health of striped bass, a popular food and game fish that feed on menhaden and range up the coast to New Jersey waters.

Omega officials counter that critics don't have scientific evidence to back their claims, and the company has indicated it may appeal any new catch limits.

Sharp-toothed critters--Lookout Offshore

Morehead City, August 5th
Offshore on the Asa Gray

Steve Rehner came down from DC with his boys Isaac and Daniel and met me at the boat to head out after kings and AJs out on the wrecks off Cape Lookout. I got to the boat yard right around midnight and splashed the boat and snoozed for a few hours until Steve and crew arrived in the wee hours of the morning. After waiting for an impressive line of squalls to pass we headed out. We fished AR 285 first--mainly drifting cigar minnows and live baits. Steve nailed a nice 'cuda and we hit some kings as well. We were enjoying hearing the reels sing as the kings ran line out when we got a particularly strong hit. Not savage (that comes later at the Russian Freighter), but man did it put a bend in the rod. It put up a hard fight on the 20 lb gear--really a strong fish. It turned out to be a 6-7' long shark in the requiem shark family, probably Carcharinus plumbeus, the sandbar shark. Man, what a good looking animal.

After a few hours at AR285 we headed out to the knucle buoy and the litte wreck right near it and picked up one small dolphin. Then, out to the field of dreams....sky blue water over the Russian Freighter. We caught some wreck fish for bait and did some live-lining and drifted cigar minnows. The 20lb rod took the most vicious hit and fastest run I have ever experienced on any gear. The fish was so hot that the water in the reel spool flew out in a white fog! Very cool. The fish had some weight on him too. But, into the fight he broke the hook off a commercial king rig. I'm guessing a big wahoo, but I guess a ginormous king could give the same fight. We were watching big schools of bait swim under the boat when we saw a very large 'cuda (maybe a king--it was deep) moving with them. Steve rigged up a live bait and we drove up on the bait ball and pitched it in--WHAM!!!--and he was hooked up. We were catching Atlantic sharp-nosed sharks, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, as well. All in all a great day!

Morehead

After being gone all summer, it wasn't hard to convince Liz that we needed to spend a wknd at the beach before the boys head off to college. Not much to report since we're into the dog days of summer - temps in the 90's, humid, water temp was 85. Spent most of my fishing time in the Morehead City basin fishing in 50ft of water with Gabe and Rim. Caught black seabass, flounder, eels, ribbonfishes, stingrays, and baby hammerheads. All were released. Attempts at trolling for larger fish were fruitless.

Check out this website

Hey all--Check out this website:

www.menhadenmatter.org

Has info about consortium of CCA, Coalition for Marine Conservation, et al. Some meager progress being made on the halt to the bunker harvest front.

Cheers

DT

far afield with the inlaws

Hi all--spent the weekend at exotic Bethany Bay, DE. A beachside playground where the fathers do not
lock up their daughters.

The 17' Trophy was slipped in a little canal beside the "beach" house (water view from roof looking between
the midrise beachfront condos). Boat used for cruisin' an boozin', a couple trips into the marshes (2-3 foot
depths-looked good!) for red fish? blue fish? one fish? two fish? And trips for blue crabs taken on chicken
necks. Now THAT was successful. Also tried a little fly fishing from the ocean beach, but no takers.

We played jetty jockies for one morning, going to Indian River inlet in Delaware. As we arrived, mid
outgoing, the water was blasting thru the jetties with a few 5-6 foot rollers kicked up along the way.
People were catching a few weakfish along the shore, picking them off the bottom with bait or plastics.
We helped one guy get his ten pound squeaker up the rocks. Gorgeous fish! A run out the jetty was
interesting. The top was scored with marks from hundreds of korker-shod feet going back and forth.
Noted that the water went over the top of the jetty in big tides/winds, so studs a must. Naturally I did not bring em along, but am alive to tell. I tried slinging a Deceiver into the 4-6 mph current. Great casts
since the wind was at my back, but hopeless trying to get any sink, and no bluefish on the surface.
Since there was also a surf beach behind me, I thought about turning around, casting into the wind, and going for bikini tops.

Greatly entertaining to watch boats go in and out of the inlet. Smallest boat: 9 ft inflatable. Biggest boat:
35 + footer rigged for offshore. A helmsman lesson learned: If the current is going out fast and the wind
is coming in hard, line 'er up and GUN IT! Never mind those people who are outside the inlet trying to drift with the current and fish. Just drifting and fishing is unAmerican. Best landing: 21 foot Sea Fox--full air
after near ender bouncing off the 6 foot roller. Nice crunching sound on impact!

Well, it aint Hawaii, but good to get out and wet a line. Had I stayed home, I could have fished for school bluefin a mile from shore near Newport RI.