Redemption

After a very slow morning I had to make sure I didn't start a new work week on a sour note so I tried again this evening. It wasn't "on fire" like it was during last week, but I did manage some nice fish. Several were in the upper 20" to low 30" and gave a good pull on the line. After such good fishing this past week, I might just have to take a week of vacation every year during Thanksgiving break. I hope this cold weather doesn't push the bait/fish south until I get a chance to get back at them next weekend.

Rockgiving

Couldn't stay away from the water after solid fishing the last few trips, so I tried an early morning session today. It was raining a bit but was slick calm which made my run quick and easy. It was amazing the amount of bird activity I saw this morning. BIG flocks of birds working everywhere. The good news is the big birds are still around but they were spread out and only occasionally diving. I couldn't find any big fish during my quick morning outing, but had my way with low-mid 20"ers. I did have one fish that was pushing 30" but when I grabbed the leader it broke off. I guess it got nicked last night.

Twilight Hour

After getting blown out this morning, I was anxious to find those big fish from last night. The same pattern came through tonight and I was rewarded with many 30" fish. I never did find the 40" class from last night, but I'll take 30"ers anytime. It was steady action for the better part of an hour and a half. This is shaping up to be one heck of a week!!!

Personal Best..46" & Many Firsts Tonight

I was lucky to get a chance to make it out again tonight and I'm glad I did. I've never seen so many big birds around. I probably saw 50 Pelicans and Gannets on my way out. This had to be a good sign of things to come and it certainly turned out that way. It took me a while to find the bigger fish (many dinks under massive flocks), but it was worth the fuel. I had a solid 45 minutes of fantastic BIG FISH fishing. Most were in the low to mid 30" class, but I was lucky to catch 5 fish that went over 40". In the process I finally broke the 35" mark this fall including my person best..a 46"er. It was a beautiful fish that probably was easily 10-12" across her belly. Another first was almost getting spooled (two times). I actually had to start the boat to chase them down. I'm glad the fish ran off my starboard side otherwise I would have lost them. I didn't want to take much time with them out of the water so I tried a few "self timed" pics and back they went. As a side note, you know you have a great wife when you fish both the morning and evening of your wedding anniversary.

It Never Gets Old

Being out on the water early as the sun rises will never get old. Today was no different except for having big flocks of birds working good fish. This week is shaping up to be a great week of fishing and the quality of fish continues to improve. The only issue is they have been moving deeper and deeper. I haven't broken the 35" mark this fall, but today I got really close.

Just a Few More Minutes

I managed to convince my son to join me for round two this afternoon. I thought it would be a repeat of my early morning session, but I ran out of time. We found a lot of small fish, but just when it was starting to be "prime time" we had to go. He really wanted to go in and I couldn't tell him "in a few minutes" anymore. Fifteen more minutes is all it would have taken. I started to see big swirls and a few "BIG" birds starting to work. Oh well, until next time.

A Wonderful Thing

Fishing during the week is a wonderful thing. I love being the only boat around and finding a school of quality fish...it doesn't get any better than that!! I started off at first light in the same general area I've been fishing the last few days and it continues to produce fish up to 30". Most of the fish today were in the low to mid 20", but I did manage several that went between 30-32". Maybe I'll get a chance to catch a few this PM?

Football Season

What a beautiful morning. Great sunrise, flocks of birds everywhere and many, many, many "footballs". It was game on at first light and continued right up to the minute I had to leave them (around 9:00). I stayed in the same general area where I left them last night and it paid off. Several boats were chasing birds, but they were dinks last night and that was the same story today. Nothing bigger than 25-26", but I didn't go more than a few casts without having a tight line all morning.

Looking Up

Tonight was one of those nights that you could go in almost any direction and you found fish. Most of the fish were dinks, but after searching around a bit I finally found some really nice fish. Mid to upper 20"ers and a few that were pushing 30". I plan on starting out early tomorrow just were I left the nicer fish in hopes that they will still be there. It's been awhile since I had some decent pullage, so it was a welcome change to finally find some quality ones tonight. It comes just in time for an upcoming vacation that includes fishing just about everyday next week.

Fishing the Rip

Tried my luck at a local "rip" without anything to show for it tonight. I only had a few minutes but nothing was biting. I did talk to another guy who recently caught some nice fish (one close to 40") in the same general area which is good to know. It's tough getting out during the week with not much daylight after work, but I'll take a few minutes anytime I get it.

Slow Day

Tried the afternoon bite and didn't have much luck. There were a few pods of fish breaking but they didn't stay around for long. I'm sure the "blue bird" day with it's high pressure contributed to my slow day. I got impatient and decided to call it quits after only landing a few dinks, but It was nice seeing a couple of friends on the water who sounded like they had similar luck.

Nice to be Back

This was my first trip on the bay in a few weeks and finally the wind was calm. The reports haven't been great lately so I didn't expect to find much, but I was surprised to see flocks of birds working fish/bait in almost every direction. Unfortunately, the fish were on the smaller side. Many small to mid-teen size fish with the largest maybe going 20". It's nice getting back on the bay especially with no wind. Any day the bigger fish should start consistently showing up in the mid bay.

Back from Harkers Island

I had high hopes, plenty of gear and a great network of intel for this years trip, but the Albies were hiding. As I expected, we encountered 15-20 knots everyday which made getting around a little tricky. In three and a half days we burned 93 gallons of gas without even seeing a fish (did see a few splashes) and the closest we got to landing a fish was being next to a boat who was hooked up. Not all was lost, as we met some new friends and found a great place to stay for future trips. It's still one of my favorite places to fish with or without actually catching anything. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait another year to try my luck at catching some albies.