Author: Riley

Well I guess it had to happen, but today we were skunked. Not 100% surprising, Scott was finishing the move of “stuff” out of his house for the final inspection before the final sale, I had a fund raiser for WyldLife in the morning so we didn’t get out before 14:00. The water and wind were moving the opposite directions so we were fishing backwards. For those few that don’t know what I mean it is where the natural line of the boat points south and the lines run south as well. A good day is when the boat points one way the lines run out behind the boat. I don’t know if I have never caught a fish fishing backwards but it certainly is not many.

I did get the Whays Creek West sign put up in the morning.

June 19,2020

Well with ultra high hopes Ron, Todd, and I set out for the cobia run. Joe and Jack joined in Joe’s boat and we went almost to the exact same spot as yesterday. They were not there in any great numbers today. We setup everything as normal but we were there about an hour before Joe caught a 38″. Maybe about 30 min after that Joe and Jack brought in a 49″ and to make matters worse we had a good one on maybe mid 40s but he got off at the boat. Broke the leader, it is a very difficult fish to net but unless it is clearly over 40 I never want to gaff. Once gaffed I would be surprised if they survive. Absolutely no reason to kill a fish you can eat. One main difference today is I am sure we did not have any hits that were not on a live spot. We had eels, spot, and cut bunker but the spot got every hit.

Todd came with us today and had never caught a cobia but we stayed long enough to get through the tide change and he finally got a chance and landed and nice 41er. It was not the fighter I was hoping Todd would get but all cobia have a certain amount of fight that is always fun.

I am planning on heading back out with Mitch, Scott, and Basil after I attend the Wyldlife yard sale fundraiser on Saturday afternoon.

I know my entries have been a little weak on details but after I got home from a long day of fishing I still needed to mix and bake 4 more pans of cinnamon buns, cut the yard, set the spot trap, check the crab pots, fix the sign for Whays Creek Road (maybe another seperate article).

Update on tagged fish. Hear is the report I got back. “Remark: This fish was in with a pack of hundreds. Most were about the same size.”

Really had not intended to fish today but I got a call from Ron and Jack that they were killing the cobia. They were coming back for lunch and asked did I want to go out for a second run. Yep…I’m on my way.

Got to Ron’s house set out for the fishing grounds and yep almost immediately we got right back into them. There was a lull for about an hour waiting for the tide to turn but we got them jumping into the boat.

27, yep you heard that right, 27 cobia in a single day. I don’t believe it and I was there so I have no problem with you say LIE.

Caught one with a tag. That was my first tagged fish. I registered him and will add the report here once it is emailed to me.

June 14, 2020. Went cobia fishing and caught my biggest fish ever in the bay.

Started out right by going to church for the first time since the covid crisis started. Got home just after noon and texted Scott to go. The only bait we had was a left over chum bag from Butlers Tackle, a few left over bunker, an old jug of menhayden oil, and the blood vein from our tuna trip. Not super convinced that we were going out at the right time as we missed the tide, but it was better than cutting the grass that I should have been doing.

We are lucky that some of the best cobia strikes seem to be happening here as opposed to going down to Windmill. We were only on plane for about 10 min. or so. My goal always is to set up on a drop off point, maybe 5+ feet or more if possible and not so worried about a specific spot. The water was big in the morning but with the tide following the wind it was only about 1 – 2 going out and most of the time we spent it remained about 2. The last hour after the tide changed we were definitely in some heavier seas. Setup anchor and was fishing.

Set out 3 rods with bunker and 1 with the blood line tuna pieces, just knitted them on and actually they stayed pretty well. Really nothing but conversation for the first hour or so. Then a good strike on the blood line. The fight was on and almost immediately the fish came to the surface so we knew it was a cobia. Pulled in about a 44″ guy and was just estatic.

Reset everything and just as the tide turned a big strike came on a bunker. I grabed the rod and immediately thought it was a ray. It just pulled too much to be a cobia but then this guy came flying out of the water and wow could you tell it was a big’un. He danced on the water 4 distinct times. My 30 Penn and thankfully on my custom rod that has all rollers was the one he chose. For the next 30 min we didn’t see him but we kept exchanging the 100 ft of line about 10 times before he finally gave up enough to get him in the boat. I was exhausted and so was the fish. 47+ pound fish.

• Temp 75 deg
• Wind 15 NE
• Water 75

The only advice I have gotten that I am sure is critical to catching these bigger fish is to have your gear in perfect condition. When I tie any knot I am very precise in how it is done, I cut off a potion of the line every month or so so the last 20 ft or so is fresh, use leader instead of just line, etc. I have lost too many big fish to poor gear. I went with some friends last year in striper season to hook a killer fish and the line broke. If you want to catch the “big” one be prepared to catch the big one all of the time.

I’ll start off with the obvious, it was a great day on the water. Ron, Mike, Jack, Dave and I meet at the Schooner Hotel Sunday afternoon. We went over to the Rudee Inlet outdoor restaurant, ate, and watched for Capt Ryan Rogers come in on the Midnight Sun. When he finally got there, which was late, 18:00 we meet him at the dock. He had a good haul of Yellow fin and a few black fin. We talked with him and decided to meet at 3:00 because we needed 4 hours to haul to the fishing grounds.

Meet up with the gang at 2:30 on Monday morning and on the boat at 3:00. Ryan and Doug joined at 3:00 and we were off. Four long hours we were on the grounds which were ruffly at coordinates N 35 49 by W 74 51. The water and weather were just about as perfect as you could draw up so no complaint there.

The Baits: Fishing was cool which I had not done. We had two long plastic squid teasers on the sides just behind the boat maybe just at the transom, no more. The main bait was Ballyhoos, I would say they were from anywhere between 50 and 250 feet behind the boat. We also had a few teaser combos close to the baits nearest the boat. A rainbow of colors and combos of teasers. I am not convince that made the difference, most of the strikes were the back baits.

The Gear: Most if not all of the reels were 50s with mono (I would estimate 60#). There were Penns and Shimanos in the mix. Drag was set to strike which Doug told us it was about 17 – 20 lbs of dragforce.

The Catching: On initial strike the fish just took off, there was no stopping him at Full drag which was a little surprising to me for such a big reel. They were a “screama” and you just had to wait them out. This was true for both yellow and blackfin. The blackfin of course slowed down the quickest and was the easiest to get back to the boat. The yellow fin would take line multiple times during the fight. The fight was very full on, you better eat your breakfast and lift weights before you get on.

Sharks: The sharks were ridiculous. I think we only landed 3 whole yellow fins, 2 partials, and 10 got completely taken by sharks. The sharks were more numerous than the tuna at some points. They are supposed to be an endangered species, anyone who thinks that should go fishing for a day and their minds should be completely changed forever. There was one time during the trip that we had 4 sharks on at one time. Completely a 30 min window of crazy happening. I pulled in one with no belt (because we had only 3).

Missing Joe: Our good friend Joe could not make it, he is scheduled to visit his father and did not feel it was worth the chance to pass on any thing to his father. I am in complete agreement with him but was very sorry to miss him. And more importantly, without question I know Joe would have caught the biggest fish.

The biggest fish: Ron pulled in the biggest full fish and the biggest partial fish. So he took the honors

Things I saw:

• Yellow fin tuna
• Black fin tuna
• Spinner sharks (very cool seeing them fly out of the water and spinning)
• Hammerhead sharks (5)
• Sea turtles (2)
• Man-of-War (3)
• Porpoise (many, one pod swam beside the boat)
• 4 crazy friends (Ron, Jack, Dave, and Mike)
• 2 good Captains and mates (Ryan and Doug)
• 4 High speed Navy boats with massive guns
• A mylar ballon
• One thing I did not see is all of the sharks that took the tuna

Photos and videos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DphEggCGF6vHaRRDA

Weather:

• Pressure 30.04 in
• Visibility 10 miles
• Clouds Partly Cloudy
• Dew Point 69 F
• Humidity 67 %
• Temp 81
• Wind 6 NE
• Water Temp 74 and clear

Charters: midnightsun

Baits: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Outdoor—Sporting-Goods-Company/Killer-Bee-Customs-1554271024812882/

First trip out this year for some serious fishing. Scott, Brian, and Shady came over about 6:30. Headed off for the bait shop at Crockrells. Normally the shop opens at 7:00 we got there at 6:45 and the guys were putting a big order together so we snuck in the middle. Good group of guys at the shop and always treats us right.

We needed to be back early so we took off for the bay side of Dameron marsh. There were probably a handfull of boats but we were there before the parking lot. Went to a place I had marked 2 years ago. Put out a chum bag at the bottom (15 feet of water and behind us it as a drop off to 20).

The Story

Put out the 4 rods and I would estimate maybe a min the rod closest to me went screaming. I picked it up set the hook and handed it to Shady. He went out 50 feet and I could see it was a cobia. Shady was fighting the biggest fish he has ever caught and was very fun to see. Of course, Scott was wound up but the rest of us were as well. He came to the boat about 5 times before we could net him. Everyone was worn out and turned out to be a good fish.

We caught a few skates later but that was the only Cobia.

On the way back my Alternator belt broke but we had tools and a replacement belt on board so other than being hot not really a problem. Ok, me remember to get another belt. Really, I need to change them out yearly.

• Weather
• Air Temp 75 -> 80
• Wind 4 from the W
• Moon Phase waning 55%.

• Pressure 29.82 in
• Visibility 10 miles
• Clouds Partly Cloudy
• Dew Point 74 F
• Humidity 68 %

• Water
• Waves 0.5> 0.5 later
• Tide  LT 7:35 HT 13:25
• Temp 72.0
• Clear

Bait

• Chum at the bottom
• Bunker on the hook
• Chum over the gunnel

37°45’54.3″N +76°15’31.6″W

Well looking off my dock I see more minows this year than any year I have seen in many years, so hoping for a good year.

This morning is Easter, a time for me when I would be getting prepared either to teach or go to Sunday School. As normal I am up early and listening to my favorite Bible study. But today is not a normal Sunday, I have been at home (working) for 3 weeks now, not going into work. This is of course during the COVID 19 pandemic.

We the world and the country have been through a radical change. Sadly, we are in the very beginning and not towards the end. We have become so accustomed to a given way of life we are still in denial of how seriously this pandemic is going to effect us. I truly believe it will take a year or so to be back to full force.

The overwhelming question is will be is it over after the pandemic is over or just the first in a long line of viruses? I am not sure but I can bet this particular one is not going to be the only one in my lifetime.

Where is the hope in that? Well it is no hope in the world, my hope is in the belief in my soul that will be in Heaven for eternity. I believe that when born there is no end but eternal life, the question is where. My prayer for all of you will be Heaven and not Hell. We have eternal life in Heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus.

We all hope for the best for this world but put your hope and faith in Jesus, that is the manner in which you gain the wonderful life here on earth and in Heaven.

I pray for each of you.

I knew this was going to be a tough year for me based on work. I had a big project at work that had a 2019 deadline. The project went live on Dec 5th but that was the big thing that held me back from fishing as much as I could.

The year started a bust because Spring Trophy season was cancelled. I would expect that the 2020 season will be cancelled as well. I am fully supportive of any legislative measures that will keep the population of fish in the Bay healthy

My boat had a lower unit go out and that took out most of the spring and summer fishing. I was able to get out a few times for Spanish and that was the one specicies that saved fishing in general. By all accounts we had a banner year for Spanish.

Did not get out Cobia fishing but once and did not get anything other than a few skates.

Had lots of issues with the weather, big wind/waves and after I was off for the remainder of the year it was extremely foggy so we didn’t venture off too many times.

My buddy Mitch got a new Parker so I did go with him a few times after Dec 16th but we only got a few shorts. Went with Captain Jack one time and caught one keeper.

The one that got away. Had a 50# main line break on a very big fish. The 25# leader did not break so it was obviously a chaffed or defective line.

Anyway, I have my boat in good working order and hopefully 2020 will be the year for some wall mounters.

See ya in the Spring.

Well everyone knew we were ahead of the season but it was such a nice day we just had to get out. Also, Scott had gotten a new chart plotter so we needed to take that out for a spin.