Virginia Saltwater Fish Citations Reported for week of 11-13-08 through 11-19-08

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WRAPPING IT ALL UP
I never really understood the majority of anglers’ behavior this time of the year.  While the fishing gets better, folks begin to drop out.  Boats are being shrink-wrapped, and gear is being stowed while the peanut-bunker amass and the feeding activity increases.  I suppose there is the “freezing-your-arse-off” factor, which indeed can make things less fun, particularly when it’s windy.  But there are still those gem days where the wind sits down, the water is glass and the air temp stays in the high 50’s.  And those are the primo striped bass days.  The ones where you can watch fish chasing down menhaden on the surface and where one can stick 20-plus pound bass with some frequency on topwaters…  Yeah man, I live for those days.

Capt. Robin Calitri from longislandflyfishing.com checks in with this North Shore/East End report.  Check it out:
“It ain’t over!!!  There are bass and blues all over the North Shore.  The blackfishing is wonderful for the winter table fare and Montauk is smokin’.  I can never figure out why people quit fishing during November when there is so much fun to be had. On Oct. 27 Joel, Karen and Charlie Weiss had a wonderful session with surface feeding blues off Eaton’s Neck.  Karen took high honors with a hard fighting 8 pound blue. Saturday, Nov. 1 had Jim DelGrosso and Stu Hochron in the midst of blitz after blitz of Montauk Point.  Some schools were all blues to about 10 pounds, some all bass to 28 inches and many of the schools were mixed.  There were also rumors of tuna in close but we saw none.  This tuna thing meshes with a report that I got from son Scot that there were tons of tuna off Jeffries and Stewegon Bank in Mass.  They will move south and I hope to get them on their way.  Monday November 3 and Wednesday November 5 had CSICAGAIN plying the waters off Cold Spring Harbor thanks to a tip from Mr. and Mrs. Don Vogel.  It has been birds, bass and blues for Joe, Spinella, Mitch Bernstein, Emory Jr. and Emory Butts.  There are a nice amount of keepers if  you are patient and fish a large, gaudy fly deep as you see the marks on your fishfinder.  The Vogel-Weiss group is scheduled for the 14th and there should be plenty of action.  Thanksgiving weekend should be a Sound blackfish and Montauk madness finale to great season.   As a way of saying thank you I will offer these years prices to anyone who books now for next season.  I have enjoyed fishing with some great people in some interesting situations this year.  Giant storms caused some challenging boat handling off Montauk. Flying Jeff’s almost disaster at North Bar. Fishing in the lee of Gardiners with Hank and Sophocles when the Redbone was cancelled.  Working with Capt. John and Danielle McMurray for Trout Unlimited.  Landing a duo with Captain Vinny Catelano of 16 and 29 pounds on the fly. North Shore Bonito and Emory’s 11 pound weakfish.  Working with some very accomplished and generous fellow guides.   Fishing with my sons Todd and Scot.  Have a great off season and see you in the spring.”

Capt. David Blinken from North Flats Guiding Service checks in with a Montauk report:
“The water temps have dropped into the lower 50’s which will hopefully bring in larger bait.
There are still many anchovies around from Gardner’s Island to Montauk point and peanut bunker are showing up in larger numbers.  As usual this time of year we have weather dictating when we can go out which ends up being about 3 days a week.  It seems like the bass will be sticking around for a while, so if you can avoid looking at the stock market and taking time to reflect on recent history in our country, there is nothing like a little fishing before ice forms in our guides.  2009 is just around the corner and we as a group have a lot of work to do in the coming months to protect the bass. We need to organize better, go to meetings and make our voices heard, and hit our foes in there wallet to let them know we are serious about fisheries management.   Remember to release those bass and keep up the fight.”

Capt. Jim Hull from Light Tackle Challenge checks in with this end of the year report:
“This season has been spectacular so far with some of the best action yet to come. Started on May 1 with our first cast yielding a 20lb. bass and the second a 30lb.class fish to set the tone. Big fish were plentiful in shallow water early on and then on structure during the summer months. Many personal bests were achieved on both fly and light tackle including David Schrader taking a 51″ beauty, Toyooki Sonoda with a 46″ fish and even my best on fly of 48.25″. For the last 2 months we have experienced an incredible mass of 6yr. old bass that are still here at Montauk on copious amounts of anchovies on this November 5. Bigger bait is showing now as well under diving Gannets with the start of larger bass. Thanks to all my sports that help make this year the best ever and a peaceful winter. See you all and maybe some new acquaintances next season.”

Capt. Ken Rafferty from flyfishingslatwater.com also checks in with a final Montauk report.  Check it out:
“This will most likely be my last fishing report for this season although the fishing at Montauk Point is fantastic. There are schools of Stripers as far as you can see blitzing on the surface, sometimes right on the shoreline. These Stripers are mixed in with some Bluefish but usually one Blue for every three Stripers. The size of these Bass are usually around 27 inches long. There have been some larger fish landed but the water temp is still in the low 60s and the migration has not yet begun. There are no Mackerel or Herring schooling up, just Sand Eels, Bay Anchovies and Minnows. I am considering taking my boat out of water but would sure like to hit into some of those big sized Striper blitzes.

” Since my last report, I have been out on eleven charters…all in the afternoons.
OCTOBER: 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd We had large swells and couldn’t get next to the shore lines but still had Stripers out in deeper water.
The 26th, 27th and 31st I fished mornings and afternoons……..afternoons were much better.
On Oct 31st…. John Mannix was on board, fly-fishing. In near Oyster Pond, he stated he had never seen Stripers swimming shoulder to shoulder as far as far as you looked, swallowing mouth-fulls of bait…..they were so thick you could have walked on them and it has been that way just about everyday since.
NOVEMBER 1st, 3rd and 4th…..afternoons from 1:00 pm till 5:00 pm with non-stop action…….get out there and catch some fish.
Once again I’d like to thank all of my regular customers and all of the new anglers that have fished with me this season…it’s been great fishing with all of you. I wish all of you a great Holiday season and a very Happy New Year and I hope to see all of you again next year.”
David Azar from Live to Fish Charters reports:
The 2008 fall run has gone into high gear.  Striped bass have invaded local waters and at times fishing is so good it’s downright silly!  But who’s complaining?  Sunday 11/2, Dr. Ron Mizrahi and I had to wait until the morning’s nor’easter passed before getting out.  But when we did it was birds and fish all afternoon!    Monday 11/3, I started out by myself and on the morning’s incoming tide fishing was good with birds working over schoolie bass and big blues.  But when the tide turned it just got silly with fish breaking all around the boat and crease flies, clousers and small plastic jigs were slamming fish after fish.  Dr. Ralph Moseri joined me for an hour and a half during which he landed 10 fish! Most bass have been banter weights but there are enough bigger stripers mixed in to make things interesting.  A fresh crop of bigger fish was reported moving into Jamaica Bay and this can only bode well for the rest of the season.  We will keep fishing until Dec. 15th…or the weather dumps on us.  To all those that fished with me this year thanks for your continued support and I look forward to fishing with you again.

New England Fishing Reports
Capt. Greg Snow from Snowfly Charters checks in with this Cape Cod/Florida report:
“I fished with my good friend Bill Murphy from Murphy’s Fly Box at  Cape Cod Bay on the 17th.  We were looking for some Blue fin tuna on spinning tackle and boy did we find’em.  Bill and I spent a few hours looking around the usual haunts and dragger fishing boats with not much luck.  We got some great intel from a good friend that was also taking advantage of the Indian summer day.  He told us that fish were busting bait only about 3 miles from our location.  Enough said!  Throttle pegged, we ran through the glassy 4-7 foot ground swell that was more reminiscent of an amusement park ride under the windless conditions.  Just 2 miles into the run we spotted some seriously large surface explosions that were unmistakably Blue fin tuna.  100-200 pound fish blowing up on the surface of glass calm conditions will burn a fiery brand into your fishing memory bank forever.  The best analogy I can give you is that its like some guy is throwing out  his old kitchen appliances from a plane at 8000 feet.  We stopped and started our drift while casting our plugs into the middle of the very spread out school.  Our hearts were pounding uncontrollably in anticipation of a thunderous strike from one of these big critters.  Then it happened.  3 to 5 fish erupted about 100 feet off the port side and Bill made a sniperlike cast dead center into the raucous.  As Bill vigorously worked his supper sized popper back to the boat there were at least 2 tunas in hot pursuit with one of them pushing 200 pounds!    THWAP!!  He’s on!  The fish made a short run and sounded making it a brutal, vertical, hour plus long battle that  ended with about a 120 pound fish in the boat.  Boy, I’m sure glad that larger fish didn’t get a hold of Bill’s popper first.  It would have been a whole different scenario hooked up with such a large fish.  The activity had dissipated and we had a 20 mile run back to port.  It was already 2:30pm so unfortunately it was to late for me to get a shot at a fish as well.  I was very content with what the day had brought so we headed home in what was now a 15-20 knot stiff breeze right in our face.  Great…  Bill’s litle 18′ Hydrasport handled it surprisingly well. Needless to say it was an epic trip that left Bill and I with a great memory and a freezer full of Blue fin tuna.  O darn!” 

Capt. Dave Rimmer checks in with this final report from Newburyport:
“There is no question that the 2008 fishing season for striped bass and bluefish in the Newburyport-Plum Island-Ipswich Bay Area had some shining moments but on balance, the fishing was considerably less productive than it had been for 10+ years. In essence, 2008 continued a slow decline that has been developing over the past 3-4 years in this area. Perhaps the most conspicuous change has been the declining numbers of striped bass during the fall run. This year there was plenty of bait around but very inconsistent and lower numbers of bass feeding on it. Fishing started off well in May, with seemingly healthy numbers of fish pushing up into the warmer waters of the estuaries and rivers like the Parker and the Merrimack. The bait was a mix of mid-sized and large herring and stripers into the mid-40 inch range were mixed in with the schools. It was excellent fishing.  June was a mixed bag across our area. Weather was tough at times as well. The Merrimack River started to produce big fish in early June but not as many of them. And they were being caught more upriver and in the channel. As usual, schoolies were often feeding on the surface at the river mouth on small sand eels. Sometimes this action was epic and more than once a 20 pound fish was pulled out of a school of breaking bass out there. Joppa Flats did not get going until mid-June and even then it was erratic. I do recall one day when a bright mid-morning sun was shining on the backs of literally hundreds of stripers in several schools, all fish 30-45+ inches. It was a challenge to spot these schools believe it or not but if you could line up a cast into them, it was money. It was an amazing site and something I have not seen anywhere else but Joppa Flats.  By July, the surface feeding bass at the mouth of the Merrimack were starting to slow down but Joppa Flats remained very good on certain tides. I had one of my best days ever in late July, landing 8 stripers from 34-40 inches in a 2 hour block of time in the early morning. But in general the estuary fishing, usually reliable through July, really shut down. Some of my guide friends were struggling to catch a half dozen schoolies per trip! And bluefish were nowhere to be found. So for many, July was a very poor fishing month. Even the rocks off Cape Ann were slow I heard.  Typically August arrives and brings bait with it, mostly silversides and small herring, even peanut bunker later in the month some years. Well some of the bait came (no pb this year) but not many stripers and spotty bluefish. August was very very tough fishing. The better days were not even that good.  So we hoped that things were just delayed and would improve in September but it never really broke open. Fishing was better for sure and bluefish became more abundant. There were some very good days mixed in and you could generally find some fish in the estuaries, but seemingly a lot less than recent years had produced. The fall run just never developed. Certainly there were a few good slots and I know some highliner-types who were trolling dead herring and live eels were getting big fish off the front side of Plum Island, but those fish were almost impossible for the average angler to catch. They would not take a fly or lure in most cases. Missing were the big schools of 3-7 year old bass busting bait on the surface. October was more of the same and by months end the fishing season was over for most of us.  I have heard many explanations about why fishing in the northeast was down this year. A Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries biologist claimed the bait stayed off the mid-Atlantic states and never came north so the bass and blues stayed with them. I hope that is true. I also fish in Maine 10-15 times a year and this year was the poorest fishing I can remember in 20 years there. Many are concerned that over-fishing and poor recruitment are contributing to the lower numbers of bass seen in the northeast in 2008. I guess only time will tell. On a scale of 1-10, I give the 2008 fishing season in the Newburyport area a 6, and that may be generous.”

That’s all for 2008.  Hope to see you back in 2009. 

Capt. John McMurray

The National Coalition for Marine Conservation (NCMC) recently teamed up with the International Game Fish Association and The Billfish Foundation to form Take Marlin Off the Menu, a campaign aimed at ending the importation and sale of Pacific marlin and sailfish within the United States (federal law has made it illegal since 1989 to sell Atlantic billfish). Billfish populations are being decimated by commercial overfishing worldwide due in part to continued consumer demand for marlin in U.S. restaurants and at seafood retailers. The campaign has hired a media team and will be reaching out to high profile chefs, restaurants, seafood vendors, anglers and consumers, asking them to go “marlin-free,” or to stop eating or serving marlin and other billfish in restaurants and food markets. The campaign web site, www.takemarlinoffthemenu.org, was launched late last week. The site includes information about who the groups are, why it’s important to remove billfish from the market, background on billfish, a how you can help section, as well as a newsroom.

The campaign plans to:

• Educate the American public and consumers about the threat to billfish;
• Involve chefs, retaurants, and seafood vendors to voluntarily remove marlin at U.S. restaurants and supermarkets;
• Build support for international billfish conservation among U.S. policymakers including domestic legislation to prohibit marlin and sailfish imports;
• Promote conservation of billfish on U.S. delegations to Pacific Regional Fishery Management Organizations.

The inshore water temperatures are still cooling, encouraging a larger class of stripers to move into lower Bay waters. And although the hogs are still yet to arrive, fish to around 45-inches are keeping anglers content in the meantime. These larger fish are not biting in a frenzy, but the outgoing tide is providing the best luck with rockfish of all sizes. School-sized fish are available to casters working the pilings of the lower Bay structures, while boats using live bait and wire-lining over the tubes and near the 4th island of the CBBT are finding bigger fish. The folks at Ocean’s East 2 report that the HRBT is holding plenty of school-sized fish, while the JRB and the M&M are giving up fish averaging up to around 32-inches. For those using eels at the high rise, the best bite is usually at night. Ben Sheppard and Rudy Levasseur of Chesapeake put their crew on several nice fish to 44-inches on a recent overnight eeling trip the high rise of the CBBT. Some folks are also finding good luck fishing the open Bay waters trolling and casting under working birds. Todd at Bayside Bait and Tackle reports that folks targeting trout and stripers in Willoughby are also catching plenty of croaker near all three of the jetties.

The first big striped bass tournament of the season is coming up on November 28th. The Kiptopeke Rockfish Riot is hosted by Chris’ Bait and Tackle, and benefits the North Hampton County Toy Closet for children. For more information, call 757-331-3000.

Tautog action is still on the rise on lower bay structures and on coastal wrecks. Even
with somewhat muddy water this week, crab, clam, and black mussels offered along the pilings and the tubes of the CBBT are rewarding anglers with limits of fish averaging to more than 6-pounds.  Folks targeting the concrete ships off Kiptopeke are also having good luck with keeper fish.

Although speckled trout action slowed a little this week within Lynnhaven Inlet, anglers fishing Rudee Inlet, the Elizabeth River, and Ocean View are still finding good numbers of fish. The larger specks are coming from Rudee Inlet and the Elizabeth River, where several citations hit the scales from both locations recently. Greg Campbell of Virginia Beach weighed in a nice five pound speck he hooked while casting a Mirrolure in Rudee Inlet this week. The best luck in the Hot Ditch area of the Elizabeth River is coming from floating minnows on bobbers. Puppy drum are still a big hit in most all shallow backwater areas, with both live finger mullet and cut mullet working well.

Flounder reports from Bay waters are hard to come by, but good hauls of flatfish are coming from coastal and offshore structures. The Triangle Wrecks area is a favorite hot spot for flounder lately, where Captain Fred Feller put his crew aboard the Rudee Mariner on more than 20 keeper flatfish up to 6.5-pounds recently. Nice seabass are also available on these offshore structures, but the trick is finding a wreck that has not been fished lately. Huge chopper bluefish pushing to over 20-pounds, continue to lure folks to the Triangle Wreck area. These fish are easy to catch and offer a great battle, especially on light tackle. Both trolling and jigging is working well lately for these toothy fish. Very good triggerfish action is also occurring on many offshore structures.

Reports of bluefin tuna sightings are beginning to trickle in. Although no schools of giants have been reported as of yet, Captain Jake Hiles aboard the Matador reports that schools of smallish bluefins are making a showing at the Triangle Wrecks and the Hot Dog area, along with scores of small false albacore. The offshore winter yellowfin tuna bite is not materializing. The hit and miss bite of a few weeks ago fizzled, with no promise of returning. Swordfish are still a possibility for overnighters when a weather window presents itself.
Until next week, good luck fishing!

Julie
Dr. Julie Ball
IGFA Representative,Virginia Beach

Virginia’s Eastern Shore Fishing Report
Covering Inshore and Offshore Fishing out of Wachapreague, Chincoteague and Assateague
by Kevin of Lyn B Sportfishing - TidalFish.com Correspondent
Kevin must be into some good fishing right now. Kevin of Lyn B Sportfishing, a 34ft custom sport fisherman Captained by Bill Bowen. They offer inshore, wreck and offshore fishing adventures. Fishing from the Wachapreague, Wachapreague . Call 757-787-1074 to book a trip.

Luckily we have some reports from the Virginia Saltwater Review covering this region.
Chincoteague - No report this week.
Wachapreague - No report this week.

Virginia’s Middle Bay Fishing Report
by Jerry Thrash From Patriot Charters and Queens Creek Outfitters
Jerry writes: “Schooling stripers varying in size from 16-24” have been common this past week on moving tides at the Hole-in the Wall, Windmill Bar and in Fleets Bay above the bar.  Activity dies with the tide.  A few scattered big fish in the 40” range have been caught but these fish are isolated, not in schools yet.  Chilly nights should bring great striper fishing in the next week or so with big fish to come by Thanksgiving. Storm-type lures fished on bottom bouncing rigs and up high are working as are bucktails with grubs or shad.”

Commercial gillnet fishermen in North Carolina have been put on notice that regulations will take effect this week impacting times and places they are required to stay within 100 yards of and ready to work their small mesh gill nets.

N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Director Louis Daniel issued a proclamation that implements attendance requirements passed by the Marine Fisheries Commission last week in conjunction with the adoption of an updated Red Drum Fishery Management Plan. The new attendance requirements become effective Thursday.

The new regulations will:

-  Require year-round attendance in the lower Neuse River for nets smaller than 5-inches stretch mesh set within 200 yards of shore from the N.C. 17 bridge to the mouth of the river;

-  Lengthen a small mesh gill net attendance season so that it runs from May 1 through Nov. 30 in all primary and permanent secondary nursery areas and modified no-trawl areas;

-  Implement a May 1 through Nov. 30 attendance requirement for small mesh nets set within 200 yards of the shore in the Pamlico, Pungo, Neuse and Bay rivers and bays;

-  Require May 1 through Nov. 30 attendance of small mesh gill nets set within 50 yards of shore in Pamlico and Core sounds and in waters south to the South Carolina state line, except for Core Sound and waters south during October and November;

-  Modify the small mesh gill net attendance line in the area between Rodanthe and Gull Island to straighten a line and allow for non-attended nets in areas of deeper water;

-   Modify the attendance line in the area of Oliver Reef near Cape Hatteras to allow for non-attended nets in deeper water.

Daniel had received more than 300 letters from the public asking him to immediately implement the small mesh gill net attendance requirements once the commission adopted the updated Red Drum Fishery Management Plan. The commission voted 6-1 to ask Daniel to issue such a proclamation.

Permanent rules implementing recommendations in the Red Drum Plan will not be finalized until at least February. Other permanent rules approved by the commission as recommended in the Red Drum Plan include:

-   Establishing a 3,000–yard-per-vessel limit on large mesh gill net used in inshore waters;

-   Requiring the use of circle hooks, short leaders and fixed weights when fishing at night with natural bait using large hooks (greater than 4/0) in the Pamlico Sound and its tributaries from July through September;

-   Splitting the annual commercial red drum harvest limit into two periods: 150,000 pounds allotted for Sept. 1 – April 30 and 100,000 pounds allotted for May 1 – Aug. 31.

The governor has appointed (in October) a new VMRC Vice-commisoner, William E. Laine, Jr. of Smithfield, VA as the “recreational” representive on the VMRC replacing Commissioner Mclesky (who served 8 years as “recreational ” representataive). . 

Bill Laine served on the VMRC Finfish Advisory Committee for several years  and I got the impression that VRMC Director, Col. Steve Bowman had slected him to co-chair the Finfish Advisory Committee with Ernie Bowden, a strong commercial advocate and sole chairman of the Finfish Adv Committee for the last couple of years. 

Fishing Club officers should make every effort to invite ,recreational angler,  Bill Laine to Club functions and each Club may consider inviting Commissioner Laine to a monthly meeting so that he may be introduced to local recreational anglers. 

You may reach Mr. Laine, by calling or sending an e-mail to Jack Trvelstead at VMRC.   He will re-direct your inquiry to Mr. Laine, or may give you a telephone number or forwarding address.

BoatU.S. Chairman and Founder,  Richard Schwartz, and U.S. Fish  and Wildlife Service Director H.  Dale Hall signed an agreement  in September to use “The Ethical  Angler” creed to remind the public  of the great tradition of fishing and  its role in conservation. The creed’s  responsible fishing practices are  based on the word “ANGLERS”:

• Avoid spilling and never dump  gasoline, oil or other pollutants - on  land or in the water.
• Never leave trash behind, including  worn line, old hooks and bait, and  practice recycling.
• Gain knowledge about aquatic  nuisance species and how to help  prevent their spread.
• Learn and abide by all fishing  regulations and boating laws.
• Educate fellow anglers and especially  new participants about fishing ethics.
• Respect private property and the  rights of other anglers and outdoor  recreationists.
• Save fish for tomorrow by practicing conservation and learning proper catch-and-release techniques.

Tell me how insane it is to have nice pound nets in this small area. Sustainable harvesting? Uh, no. A navigational hazard given how much traffic this area gets. Uh, yes.

VMRC has received permit applications for two additional pound nets in the Lynnhaven-Cape Henry area of the lower Chesapeake Bay. See details below. These are in addition to two other applications submitted on October 9 (see CCA VA InfoNet October 17).

These pending applications, and the five existing area pound nets, could bring the number of active pound nets between Lynnhaven Inlet and Cape Henry to nine. In addition, there are two more active pound net licenses in the area which are held by an individual who is setting them aside as part of the grey trout management plan.

In general, CCA VA understands that pound nets are an important part of the commercial fishery.  However, the placement of such structures may have some negative impacts on the use of the waters local to the sites.  Whether you support the permits, or feel that the proposals will have a substantive negative impact on the public use of local waters, you may wish to express your opinion by sending your comments to:

E-mail:  jack.travelstead@mrc.virginia.gov
Fax: 757-247-8101
Mail:
Attn. Jack Travelstead
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
2600 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor
Newport News, VA 23607

The public has 30 days from the date of application to submit comments to the VMRC.

Gregory Application
October 31, 2008:  Notice is hereby given that Charles Gregory of Virginia
Beach has applied to the Marine Resources Commission to license and locate a
pound net in the southwestern portion of Chesapeake Bay, along the shore
between Lynnhaven Inlet and Cape Henry. The net is to be located 300 yards
from the nearest shoreline, at Latitude 36° 55¹ 17² N, and Longitude 76° 04¹
06² W, and 435 yards upstream and 345 yards downstream of existing adjacent
pound nets. The net is proposed to run in an approximately northerly
direction and is 1200 feet in length.

Sanford Application
October 31, 2008:  Notice is hereby given that Mark T. Sanford of Cheriton
has applied to the Marine Resources Commission to license and locate a pound
net in the southwestern portion of Chesapeake Bay, along the shore between
Lynnhaven Inlet and Cape Henry. The net is to be located 170 yards from the
nearest shoreline, at Latitude 36° 55¹ 25² N, and Longitude 76° 03¹ 33² W,
about 660 yards upstream and 320 yards downstream of existing adjacent pound
nets. The net is proposed to run in an approximately northerly direction and
is 1200 feet in length.