Dead Loggerback 7/29/2015

Left the house early this morning in hope of catching the last of the incoming tide.  I know nobody wants to admit this, but summer is just about over.  It was extremely foggy this morning as it is in the fall and I could smell the corn drying already.  When I reached the marina there wasn't any air moving at all.  Almost eerie.  The water temperature was 88 degrees.  There was a large pod of Bottlenose Dolphins all the back by the entrance to Turville Creek.

As I reached Rt 90 bridge it was still 86 degrees.  That's warm!  The bay is full of croakers and spot now which they are probably feeding on.  Very few boats out in the bay, except for a hand full of crabbers.  Reached the thorofare and still seeing a few Bottlenoses.  Once I got to Route 50 bridge there were a few boats Flounder Fishing in the East Channel.  Water there was a bit cloudy.  Did get a few storms yesterday afternoon with a lot of storm runoff.

Started fishing the south jetty around 7:00.  The water was still coming in and around 78 degrees. Caught quite a few Croakers which are getting larger.  Most around 10 to 14 inches . Cut one up for bait and the Flounder bite was on. I n the two hours that the tide continued to come in, I landed 10 with 2 nice keepers.  Only brought home one for dinner.  I also caught a 17" Black Drum, at least 10 small Sea Bass, and 20 Croakers.  My greatest catch of the day was a 10" Blow Fish.  Talked to a few fishermen out on the water and seemed like everyone was catching fish but they were all small.

When I was a kid fishing in Indian River you could watch the Blow Fish steal your bait.  The water was probably 6' deep and crystal clear.  If you hooked your minnow thru the mouth they would cut off the tail. If you hooked them thru the tail they would cut off the head.  It was pretty cool to watch as there were always quite a few in a school to agitate us.  I can also remember my father cleaning them as you would a Cat Fish and they were good eating.  I wonder why they're not here like they used to be?  They can't have too many predators.

Heard some wonderful news this week.  Well, wonderful in my eyes.  They are reducing the flounder regulations by 40 percent next year.  Sorry to all of the charter boat people, but no one needs to keep 4 Flounder @ 16".  How about 2 @ 18"?  Yea I like it! Come on, isn't it a lot more fun just to catch fish and know your chances are better to catch another one next time by throwing just one back??!!

When I was heading in, I found a dead Loggerback Turtle up on the shoreline.  Not sure if I am suppose to report that.  Does anyone know?  Will look into it. Still a lot of crabs up on the shore line, Hope to go later in the week.

  Would also like to thank all the people who were at the Indian River Craft and Seafood Festival over the weekend.   It was a great success!!  (Pictures at thecraftycrabs.blogspot.com).

Twas the night before 7/24/2015

Well,  it's a big day tomorrow.  Just asking all my readers to wish me a lot of luck.  I know I've got smarts, at least I hope so.  I just need a little bit of luck.  Got to take my Masters Test tomorrow up in Newark, Delaware.  Yes, I'm a nervous wreck.  Haven't had a drink in two weeks so my son is driving me up.  That way, when I pass, I'm going to overindulge.  And I really need to get back into fishing!!!

 As well, tomorrow, the kids are participating in the Indian River Arts and Seafood Festival at the Indian River Marina. It's a great show and sale. Everything from crafts, arts, food, Orange Crushes, stuff for the kids, people and some great dogs. We make and sell a lot of nautical crafts including jewelry, bottle cap art, clocks, furniture, fishing lures, wreaths and quilted bags. There will be a lot of other vendors there doing the same. Mention that you read this and I will give you 4 free fishing rigs of your choice. The kids will have two sites, 52 and 53. Their name is "The Crafty Crabs".  There's a link on this blog to their Etsy store. Stop by and say "Hi!",check out their stuff, and don't forget your free fishing rigs.

Official name of Manatee 7/17/2015

Headed out in the afternoon around 1pm.   Beautiful day in the high 70's with a light breeze.  Went looking for the Manatee down near the Ocean City Coast Guard Station. I looked everywhere, near and far.  I think she headed up on the boardwalk to ride the rides, grab some candy at Candy Kitchens, stop by and view the Ocean City Museum, and then hit Thrashers for some of those fine French Fries with lots of salt and vinegar. Well, anyway, I would like to officially name her like they do the Manatees that venture into the Chesapeake Bay.  Her name shall be "Dumbluck". This is based on "dumb" thoughts that brought her into Ocean City and her "luck" not to get run over by the hundred of boats traveling through the inlet on a daily basis. Just kidding.  I think it's great we get the opportunity to see some of God's great creatures, (This is probably what the Manatee will tell her kids that she saw on her trip.)  I still ponder why all this happens in one summer.  Global Warming?  I do believe you will see a lot more of this in the near future.  I am going to start a commercial Shrimp Boat.  It's just a matter of time before the Shrimp show up.

Did fish for a few hours yesterday.  First drift in the middle channel.  Line wasn't in the water a minute and bam! nice flounder.  Wow!  Going to slam 'em today!   Well, must have hit him in the head with the bait because that was it.   I did manage to catch two more but they were smaller.

Decided to head out in the inlet where I caught at least 30 nice croakers and brought home 5 for my lunch today. Not many people fishing. Quite a few boats coming in from offshore flying Tuna and released Marlin flags. The Morning Star came in as well while I was in the inlet.  Must have had a good day because everybody on the boat looked like they had a good time.

'Til next week and please be nice to Mother Nature.

Good time to crab 7/17/2015

Where has summer gone?  Its hard to believe its almost over.  Fished and crabbed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.  The weather was outstanding as well as the fishing and crabbing. The water temperature was 87 degrees in the Little Assawoman Bay and loaded with crabs.  I caught over 100 Sunday and Monday in the Assawoman Bay.  Tuesday, I crabbed the Sinapuxent Bay and caught another 85. These crabs are the biggest and fattest I've seen in years and mighty tasty.

There were people in the little Assawoman pulling their kids on tubes and the bay is polluted with Sea Nettles, I don't know how they do it.  Those kids braver than me or else the parents just like to hear their kids whine.  Usually, this time of year, there are a lot of Clear and Cownose Rays in the bay, but I've seen very few. It also appears that the Red Drum are not there as well.  They were around a month ago.  The water may have gotten too warm.  There's sure a lot of small crabs for them to eat.  Talked to a fellow I typically see out there crabbing.  He uses snatch traps and he told me he's catching Blowfish, Croakers, and Spot in his traps while crabbing. Must be hungry.  Maybe I should be using chicken for bait.

Fished on the Southside all 3 days and caught at least 50 Croakers, 20 small Seabass, and 15 Flounder.  It was hard to find a keeper Flounder, but I was catching Croakers in the 10" to 14" range.
There weren't a lot of people fishing,  I was amazed that even on Sunday they weren't out there.

Well, the boat is loaded and the tide is going to be high this afternoon.  I'm heading out to try Sheephead fishing, I've caught citation size Sheephead the last three years in the Inlet, so I've got to do it again this year.  That's a fighting fish!  Especially with the light tackle that I use. Let you know how it goes. Also heard there was a Manatee in the bay near the Coast Guard Station and need to get a picture.

Ocean City Inlet Flounder 07/06/2015

Hope everyone had a great 4th.  Seemed there was a lot of people down on Delmarva for the weekend.  At least on the roads.  Can't vouch for the water; way too many people for me.

Did get up early this morning and was on the water by 6;30.  The water temperature in the Little Assawoman has risen to 87 degrees.  Wow!  That's warm.


Ran down to the Ocean City Inlet and started fishing around 8;30. The tide was dead low and the water was very cloudy.  Using fish bites and squid I caught probably 20 Croakers that were all about 12"s, and 10 small Sea Bass. When the tide started coming in, I switched over to cut Croaker for bait and caught 5 Flounder, the biggest @ 18".  Kind of an uneventful day but still a great day to go fishing.

Another "I'll show you who's the boss!" by Mother Nature 7/03/15

Started out early Thursday morning knowing the weather was forecasted to turn bad around lunch. Ran the shoreline looking for a few peelers after setting out the minnow trap.  Water was dirty from the wind early in the week, but I still managed to dip 30 hard crab keepers and 2 peelers.  Went and retrieved the minnow trap and had 3 dozen nice bull minnows.  The Assawoman Bay is loaded with a lot of nice crabs this year as well as quite a few small crabs, which is a great sign for later in the season.  The bay tolerates a lot of crabbing pressure from fish, birds, and recreational crabbers, but still seems to stay as productive as ever.

By the time I arrived at the south side of the Ocean City Inlet it was 9:00am.   Made a couple drifts through the inlet and caught 2-12" Croakers ( Hardheads as you Maryland people refer to them. That's what we in Delaware call tourists. That and the Pennsylvania Navy.).   Released one and cut the other into strips for bait.  I love to eat croakers.  When eaten fresh, they are delicious.   I caught them last year upwards of 18" and, fried, they made a great sandwich.  Anyway, made a few more drifts when the tide had just about stopped coming in.  Caught and released 5 healthy Flounder.  No keepers, but they were about fifteen inches and fat.  They'll be nice fish this fall.

Got a phone call that there were some bad storms heading toward the coast.  This was about 11;00, so figured I better start heading home.  By the time I arrived in the Fenwick Ditch, the first storm cell that arrived had moved out in the Ocean,  Heard the Coast Guard talking on the radio.  They were heading out into the Ocean, off Sea Colony where apparently a vessel was struck by lighting and they were in need of medical care and towing. Not five minutes later a "take immediate action" alarm came over the radio for Ocean City Maryland to Cape May New Jersey for high winds, rain and lightning. I saw it coming as I headed south of Fenwick.  Following my instincts, I turned around and headed back. Before I got back, all hell broke loose. I couldn't see a foot in front of the boat and the wind was unbelievable, I was a hundred yards from the Route 54 bridge and couldn't see it.  It let up slightly and I headed under the bridge where I tied up. The lightning was right overhead, the winds were howling, and the water was running off the bridge by the buckets. It lasted about twenty minutes. It was the 4th of July about 6 years ago when I remember a storm this bad.

Never forget Mother Nature is always in charge.