Morning Star Fish Report

Fish Report 4/9/05

Hi All,

Toggin' along, almost to a wreck, when I had several mid-water marks on the machines.

Nicked a few of 'em too on Saturday. Mixed with small herring; it was the first time I'd personally bowed up on mackerel in many a year. It really wasn't what I'm looking for though. Just not enough to it.

Every fisher should experience the insanity of a hot mackerel bite and every mate should learn untangling skills in the thick of it too...

A couple favorite mackerel fishing tales:

Ol' Capt. Bill (Tuffy) Bunting was ill and Shorty, the parking lot guy at the "Angler," filled in selling tickets one fine Saturday morning. The bite was hot and word was out; folks were rolling in. Capt. Bill sold the boat out at 65(ish) which Shorty knew, but, things being hectic, he lost count and ended up with 91 people! Great Scott! A 65 foot boat with 91 fishermen, trash cans and coolers for fish, other coolers for the beer... I was working deck by myself and begged people to get off, "We're oversold!" No dice. Everyone held their ground. Still within CG regulations for passengers but beyond ridiculous for fishing - we got underway. I had everyone fish 'one man in, one man out'. As soon as a triple, quadruple or whatever came across the rail the other guy would make a drop. It worked too! Well, except in the stern; they all had to fish -right now- and didn't catch a tenth of what the rest did fishing cooperatively.

If you've wondered where the idea for my present operation came from, there's a clue!

Another day, pretty light rail - 'bout 35 head - and mackerel were hot. In one drift we loaded everything on the boat and wore everyone out. Headed home by 10:30AM; a mate's dream. Going around to announce our return, one guy was almost hysterical ~ he'd paid to go 'all day deep sea fishing' and we were not going in! Ummm... OK. Well, everyone has all the fish they could possibly want. How about we make a drift and they give you what they catch. Deal. I sold him a bunch of those plastic fish bags... When we got in the grumpy 'ol goat made a many trip down the dock with his fish and loaded his vehicle up. A Dodge Dart! A few bags in front but the trunk and backseat were jammed - I mean slam crammed in! Bottomed out on the suspension springs; he got stuck leaving the parking lot. A bunch of us had to give him a shove... No idea if he made it home or not: never saw him again!

Ah well, maybe there will be something to it yet, this year's mackerel run. I've not heard from Lewes of late - don't know what they have going on. Capt. Victor on the Ocean Princess should be fishing by the holiday too... We'll see...

I'm going toggin' right through Easter. But ~ we'll have gear ready just to try 'em - get a taste of it - should I see the macks stacked up. 1/2 hour of it - if at all. It really is a shame, but they'll come back. Maybe already have...

Tautog trips then: 7AM - 3PM(ish) everyday from the 11th until the 17th - 16 people sells out the rail - Crabs provided. If you make a reservation, leave the best phone number possible in case of a weather cancellation!

Tog fishing is not sea bass fishing! It's work, frustration, skill, luck and, most of all, patience! But, once you've caught the bug ~ Oh, it's a terrible thing; make you roll out of bed on frosty January mornings - I even have guys that cuss the summer! Can't wait for cold water again! Terrible, terrible affliction...

See you on the rail,

Monty

Capt. Monty Hawkins
mhawkins@siteone.net
Party Boat "Morning Star"
Reservations 410 520 2076
www.morningstarfishing.com

posted by Monty # Sunday, April 09, 2006

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Fish Report 4/9/05

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