Jerry and Michael's Trip

Jerry and Michael Moreland along with the rest of their group got out on the water with me last Saturday and had a great day.  When we ran out into the Bay that morning, it was a little rough, but as we made it  further east the seas laid down, and as the day went on it  got even better.
When we finally got to where we were heading we got our trolling spread out, and after a few tackle malfunctions we finally got straightened out and started catching fish.  As the morning went on, lots of bait fish started showing on top, and along with them were plenty of nice size Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel.
By the end of the day, we managed to put a good number of fish in the box.

Thanks again for spending the day fishing with Nathan and I last Saturday!  I look forward to doing it again very soon.

Blessing of the Fleet

Many coastal towns all over the country, whose economies depend on fishing have the tradition of asking the blessing of our Lord for a safe and productive season with a Blessing of the Fleet service.  For many years, my home town of Reedville, VA has also had this tradition.  Every year on the Sunday before the opening day of the menhaden season, several area churches join together at the site of the old Morris-Fisher plant and historic Stack http://savethestack.blogspot.com/ in Reedville to participate in our Blessing of the Fleet. 
Since this was the first year that our new boat was in the area (in a long time), my family and friends made a point to be  present to accept our share of the blessings.

 Graciously, Rev. James Godwin offered the following blessing for our new vessel.  I don't think that anyone could have done a better job, and I am eternally grateful for him taking time to perform this blessing. 

Koontz Trip

 

I had the pleasure of fishing with Rick Koontz, his family and good friend Danny last Saturday.

The day started out picture perfect as there was very little wind and the seas were calm.  We headed out across the channel and started trolling at 7:30.  Within an hour or so, we picked up a few good size Bluefish and a nice Spanish Mackerel. With the conditions being so good, we moved on to one of my stand by spots and started chumming.  Luckily, the fish were there waiting for us.  Within a few minutes of dropping anchor, we started catching (and releasing) good numbers of Striped Bass.  Lucky for them, their season doesn't begin for another 7 weeks.  Even though it is tough to throw back such good fish, this is certainly a good sign for this upcoming fall, as virtually all of these fish were of legal size and in very good shape. 

 

 

After fishing for about an hour, the Bluefish showed up for the party.  We had a lot of hookups, and landed a good number of healthy fish.  With our ultra light tackle, Rick and his group had a good time fighting these bulldogs along with a few Skates and Cow Nose Rays.

 

 

 

 

When the ebb tide gave up, we picked up the anchor and headed back west.  On the way back, we stopped and trolled on some good bait that we ran across, and managed to pick up a few more. 

 

 

  All in all, Nathan and I had a good day of fishing with a good group of guys.  Thank you again Rick for fishing with me last weekend.  I hope we get to do it again soon!

Bragg Trip

I had the pleasure of fishing with Bob, Bo, Boyd and Lewis Bragg today.  When we headed out this morning, the bay looked like a sheet of glass.  We ran into some good looking bait first thing, and we got our trolling spread out.

 Within a few minutes we hooked into a nice fish, and after a good fight, Lewis landed his first Cobia.
 

Unfortunately, that fish was a few inches undersized so he was returned to the water to grow up.  We made a few more passes in that area and picked up a few bluefish.  From there, we kept moving east and set up on a spot that has been producing good fish for me over the past few weeks.  

Once we got set up, we started catching fish pretty quickly.  We finished out our day catching good sized bluefish on our ultra lite tackle.  

We finished the day having caught a good number of fish and got back to the dock just as it started raining.  

Thank you Bob, Bo, Boyd and Lewis for a good day on the water!  I hope to do it again soon.