Not really, but it sure seemed cold enough. I have left the Beach due to the fact that the cold water has pushed virtually all of the rockfish out past the three-mile line where it is illegal to possess striped bass.

I want to sincerely thank all of you again for what was a pretty good year, especially considering the economy. Your business means everything to me and my family, and I honestly don’t know what the heck I would do without it. Overall fishing was very good and so was business.

Virginia Beach, however, was another story. It was hardly worth the trip this year. I had to cancel a bunch of trips due to the horrendously cold and windy weather and poor fishing in legal waters.

Some captains are still fishing. I have read claims on web sites that the fish are ‘well within the three-mile line.’ (Hahaha! I just double-checked afore mentioned web site and they took the lie off the report! The noose is tightening apparently) They go on to claim the ‘warm spell’ will move the fish even closer. What’s it going to do, push the fish up on the beach? I couldn’t believe it when I read these outright lies on the web site of one of the prominent marinas on Rudee Inlet. Do any of you really think I would just cancel a bunch of trips and bring my boat home if fishing were that good in legal water? I hardly think so.

The truth is that the captains who are still catching fish consistently go well offshore, sometimes as far as 30 miles, where the fish are incredibly thick. They catch their fish and run as fast as they can to get back to the three-mile line. During this time, they have their fish in trash cans, ready to dump overboard at the sight of the marine police or Coast Guard. With the increased enforcement, I have heard about several boats doing just this lately. How DESPICABLE! These are 10-20 year-old rockfish that are the breeding stock. They are our future. They dump their fish, then go right back out after the police leave and catch more fish. I can only hope that NOAA and/or the US Coast Guard catch these guys and make them pay. I have watched it and, stupidly, kept my mouth shut for a long time now, but I’m done. If any of you find yourselves on one of these boats, be careful because you could be charged. This is not a minor offense. It is a federal crime, possibly a felony.

If you find yourself fishing with one of these intentional, egregious violators, or just have information that will help put these guys out of business, I strongly encourage you to document the name of the captain, name of the boat, name of the marina and area fished and call the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement at 727-824-5344.

Sorry to end on a sour note, but it’s a horrible situation down there that needs to be addressed.

The fall trophy season in the Bay was fantastic this fall. The run started early (the first week of November) and lasted right through the end of the calendar year (the Potomac River and Virginia seasons were open until the New Year). We were able to catch our limit of big fish almost every trip.

We are currently fishing (attempting to fish) out of Virginia Beach. It’s been a terrible affair down there this year. You may have noticed that the weather has been somewhat less than optimal. As usual in cold years, the bulk of the fish are beyond the three-mile limit of state waters, where it is illegal to possess striped bass. We are doing our best, however, and on the days we have been able to get out, we have done well.

The weather in the past in late December/early January was typically in the 50’s, and indeed the average high for the entire month of January is 49. It was supposed to warm up this week, but I just looked at the forecast and I’m seeing more highs in the low 40’s. Ugh.

I am looking forward to some spring trophy fishing.

We had ten days of rotten weather lately and we’re trying to get our bearings. Nobody fished much during that period and we basically took a quantum leap from summer fishing to fall fishing. The Spanish mackerel seem to have disappeared, but there are LOTS of small blues around, and the fall run of rockfish is starting to show signs of life. The fat fall blues should be around anytime now as well.

On a recent trip, we caught nine keeper flounder, including a beautiful 21-incher. Above is a picture of long-time customer Phil Wagner with that beauty along with the pride of Baltimore, a Natty Boh. Phil is a very cool cat who was once the manager of the world famous Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington. He has some great stories about some very famous people including J. Edgar Hoover and President Lyndon Johnson.

The past few weeks have been great for big, fat croaker. There have also been lots of small bluefish and a couple bunches of big (30-50 lbs.) redfish around.

A couple weeks ago we had the privilege of having Brian Westbrook of the Eagles on the boat along with some of his friends and family. If you are a football fan, you know Westbrook is a great player who kicks butt on the field. It was lots of fun and Westbrook is a very cool guy.

Look at these beautiful flounder caught this week near Drum Point! One is 22 inches and the other 20. We caught 3 keepers that day. There are a lot of these beauties around this year and I hope to have an opportunity to fish for them more.

The schedule looks good for August but September is looking slim so far. It is traditionally slower business-wise but it is a great month to fish. We usually have every species that swims in the Bay.

Fishing has been good as of late with fantastic live-bait fishing for rockfish being the steadiest action around. Croaker fishing has generally been good but we hit a bit of a rough patch with all the cool, breezy weather. Last night was fantastic and the weather was (not coincidentally) warm and muggy with a light south wind.

I saw some Spanish mackerel yesterday that came out of a fish trap, so perhaps they will arrive early this year.

Also, it’s time to start thinking about fall and winter trophy trips. I have booked a couple this week so it’s not too early to call.

Fishing is now transitioning to full-on summer. The biggest rockfish have headed north to cooler climes (must be nice!) and the smaller resident fish have moved into many of their summer haunts. We have still managed to catch a few 30-inch plus fish here and there. There is some live bait fishing going on, but trolling has been more reliable, so we’ve generally been sticking with that. I will do some live-bait fishing this weekend and let everyone know how it goes. When the spot come in bigger numbers (mid to late June) we should transition to all live-bait fishing.

We ran our first couple of night trips over the weekend with mixed results. One trip was pretty decent and one was fairly slow. I am hearing reports of big croaker up the rivers and I’m hoping they just haven’t made it out to their usual places yet.

Remember that this year I am offering a ten-hour trip for the hardcore fishermen. This trip doesn’t cost that much more and you can do A LOT of fishing!

I hope to have some good croaker pics up after the weekend.

BTW, I need a couple extra people for a morning trip on Thursday if anyone is interested.

Justin Powers christened his new rod and reel with this 44-inch beauty!

This was actually the first fish Justin caught on that rod. A snagged bunker!

After a slow start, the fish are moving out of the rivers and back into the Bay. Fishing has really heated up this week. Yesterday, we caught 15 fish in an hour and a half. The fish are lean and a little beat up from the spawning activity. Fishing should be great between now and when they migrate from the Bay to the ocean. The fish will hang out, feeding heavily to fatten up for the long migration north. Toward the end of May, the fattened up fish will stage and school up. That is when we get lots of multiple hook-ups. It’s not unusual at that time to hook 4-8 big fat fish at the same time. It is wonderfully chaotic! I have an opening this Saturday afternoon if anyone is interested in a last-minute trip.

Hopefully the fish hold up. Opening day is April 18. I’m getting anxious!