Article by Dale Timmons
Welcome to another new season of Coastal Fisherman. It is an understatement to say that we had a tough winter, but we have also experienced some early warm weather, and things seem to have quickly returned to normal, at least as far as the fish are concerned. Stripers have provided good early action in the ocean inside the 3-mile limit, around the bridge pilings, the inlet jetties, and in the surf, especially at Assateague Island, where there was a phenomenal bite on Friday, April 23. There have also been several black drum caught from the beaches, and though they haven’t appeared in numbers as of this writing, bluefish should invade the surf any time now. Red drum have made a good early showing at the extreme southern end of the peninsula as well, and I have heard of reds caught as far north as the Cobb Island surf. Flounder fishing has been fair, though 19-inch minimum legal fish (in Maryland) have been hard to come by so far (ridiculous, when you think about it). Fluke fishing has been good on the Eastern Shore of Virginia this spring, where the minimum is 18 1/2 inches. The exception has been when the “brown slur” is bad. This stuff, which is apparently the result of algae dying off and floating to the surface, coats your rigs and baits, making it almost impossible to fish. As the water warms, it may be an exceptionally bad year for the slur, considering all the rain and snow and resulting runoff we had this year. Hope I’m wrong on that count…
Suzanne and I managed to spend a couple of weeks in the Keys in March, the first time we have been to the Sunshine State in six years. It was cool and windy most of the time, but definitely still better than it was up here. The extreme cold caused massive fish kills in Florida before we got there, and it was disheartening to hear what had taken place. One article I read in a local paper while down there said they estimated over 100,000 snook had been killed, which must be especially frustrating to all the anglers who have been fishing under strict slot sizes and seasons for these delicious fish. It was apparently the worse cold since the 1940s, and it may take many years for some of the fisheries to recover. The same phenomenon occurred in North Carolina, where thousands of speckled trout, including some real trophy fish, were stunned and left floating on the surface of Pamlico Sound by the sudden drop in water temps. Anyway, we didn’t do a lot of fishing in Florida. I had planned on chartering someone for either back country or tarpon, but the wind was so bad I didn’t bother. We did fish some of the bridges, and we were very successful with the mangrove snappers. Suzanne also caught a nice cero mackerel and I had a big Spanish mackerel. A couple more Spanish bit us off before we could get them up on the bridge. Thanks to the advice of Sue Foster, we fished a simple jig head and piece of shrimp combo, and it was very effective. Stopped to see Capt. Chuck Miller in New Smyrna Beach on the way down. Chuck is running New Smyrna Outfitters, a very nice high-end tackle shop (the floor alone is worth seeing). Also stopped and chatted with Capt. Scott Walker on Duck Key. Scott is running his Tailwalker Charters, along with being a big TV star on his “Into the Blue” fishing show. It was nice to see old friends, and I’m glad they both seem to be doing well…
What’s new this season? Well, in the hook category, the folks at Mustad have a new series of circle hooks called the Demon Perfect Circle that should be of particular interest to the offshore crowd or to the surf anglers who target large stripers or red drum. There are several variations and numbers in this series, but the two I see the most promise for are the 39950BLN and the 39951BLN. The first is a 3X strong hook with fairly heavy wire. It is available in 3/0 up to 16/0, but for the surf crowd fishing big head or chunk baits, the 9/0, 10/0, or even 11/0 would probably be the ticket. After tying up a few samples, my preference would be the 10/0. The 39951BLN is described as a “1X extra fine wire” hook, and it comes in sizes up to 10/0. If you like a thinner wire hook, this hook in the 10/0 strikes me as an excellent choice for fishing bunker heads or chunks or even half a peeler crab this time of year for red and black drum. Both of these hooks are non-offset models, and the 39950BLN is even endorsed by the Billfish Foundation, but if you prefer an offset circle hook, Mustad offers the 39942BLN in sizes up to 10/0. This is also a 3X hook with fairly heavy wire. The 39941BLN is basically the same hook in a 2X strong version with slightly lighter wire, though it only goes up to a 9/0 size. All of the hooks in this new series are chemically sharpened “Ultra Point” models, and they are extremely sharp right out of the package, with an excellent black nickel finish, so expect to pay a premium. As a “hook nut”, however, I think they are an excellent addition to the Mustad line. I would just like to see them make one of them, maybe the 39951BLN, with a turned down eye for more convenient snelling.
There are other new products, of course, and I will get into them as the season progresses. Personally, one thing I added this year was a Power Pole® on the stern of my boat. This silent, hydraulically powered anchoring system is very effective for fishing the shallows for species such as speckled trout, where you drift until you find some fish and then want to stop. The 8-foot Pro model I opted for is supposed to hold a boat up to 26-feet in water to 8 feet with 30 knot winds, though my butt probably won’t be out there if it’s blowing that hard. When I finally decided to spend the money, the thing that surprised me was that there were no Power Pole dealers on the Shore south of North East, MD, at least as far as their web site was concerned (something local boat dealers might want to think about). Though it was over a two-hour drive, the folks at Anchor Boats in North East were very agreeable and professional and did an excellent installation. I’ll let you know how it works out…
As many of you know, the local fishing community once again has lost one of its own with the passing of local mate and commercial diver Jimmy Jackson, who just turned 40 this spring. Jimmy died while diving in the Bahamas in late April. I have probably known Jimmy for at least half of his short life, and he was always friendly, polite, funny, and easy going in my dealings with him. He was an excellent fisherman who worked on many local charter boats, and for the past year or two he had been doing commercial diving. Jimmy was also a talented waterfowl carver and artist who loved to hunt. I know I join a lot of folks around here who called him a friend, and we pass on our deepest condolences to his mother and father. So here’s to you, Jimmy…we’ll hoist one to you and hope that the ducks are flying, there’s a bait ball under your cast net, and the water is gin clear…
Contact Dale Timmons at [email protected] or call 410-629-1191.
