We had a couple good days this past weekend - some nice sized tog. Wasn't all gravy; had my head handed to me on Saturday. Really poor day and with a great bunch of regulars too; nicked a few dinners was all.

A few weeks back when we left the dock it was 11 degrees in Salisbury. Pretty chilly for these parts. Breaking ice and easing through slush seem to be lie behind us now. That cold spell finally worked it's way into local marine waters though.

Last Thursday's trip was ho-hum at best. A beautiful day, calm, but the bite was tempered, I believe, by cold water. The area I was fishing should have treated us far kinder.

Friday's trip has been cancelled, but the weekend looks doable. The 24th and 25th - Saturday and Sunday 7 to 3 - reservations needed - 12 head sells out the rail - Dress warm~No Heat! If you book a spot make darn sure you give a good contact phone number in case I have to cancel-- Again! And, it is possible that the water will just get too cold - a bad day of fishing!

To have had a camera Saturday last!

I'd been working on the boat the previous day and left the engines in gear to break up the ice in the marina.

Well, of the 4 days that I thought we'd get out - just one. Saturday sure was a pretty day though! Calm and then building a little SWesterly set late; the day was gorgeous. And cold - cut slushy ice on the way out of the marina.

Last Saturday was a decent day. Some fellows picked on 'em all day, others didn't get it going 'till late. 12 pounds or so was the pool winner with several north of 10. We tagged 5 fish over 20 inches and a bunch more over 14. For now, I'm not tagging shorts - just legal ones.

Been jammed up with maintenance - the kind you have to fold yourself up and squeeze into the small places on a boat.

Much better to get it done - keep things in good shape.

Can't stand it no more ~ gotta go fishin!

Tog trip on 1/11 7am to 3pm 16 head sells out. Green crabs provided. Calm but cold is the forecast. 5 fish at 14 inches is the law (and boy does that need work!)

The weather isn't going to be fit to go on our New Year's tog trip. Rats! Had 3 years running; it was bound to happen. No worries, when the weather looks good we'll go. Promise!

The very last trips of the year had little to do with a day's fishing but everything to do with how good fishing might be in the future. Burnt some fuel to take scientists and advocacy groups offshore to see for themselves a tiny bit of our seafloor ecology.

The final weeks were more productive than I would have thought. It seemed - despite all indicators - that the cbass were hightailing it out of here. And they are now indeed but we sure had a couple good shots on 'em as they left!

Fishing is GREAT ~ it's just that sometimes the catching's a little slow...

Mostly limits some days, mid-teens / low twenties others. And that's not bad fishing, but with the anticipation of a fall crush ~ the 'wear your arms out' type of day that we almost always have this time of year ~ it isn't the fishing that I'd like.

The year grows shorter. Grey November skies on a flat calm day: it's a time of year I truly enjoy.

The fishing isn't what I'd expect - yesterday's limit-out and in early was the exception. Mostly we're working to get folks 'there' or close to it - working through the smalls to get keepers. I'd say we're averaging half the customers limited out.

There's only been a few days of fishing since the last report - dagoned wind won't let us be. Thursday's fishing was hampered by a pretty saucy WNW wind - a few limits, came home late.

This year I've limited-out and come in early six or seven times. Three of those trips have been the last three days.

You might say fishing for sea bass is pretty decent...

A classic north-easter.

In the early hours of Saturday, 1:30 AM, wave heights topped out at 17 feet at the buoy 15 NM east of Fenwick Island. That's nasty weather!

It hasn't been all bad though.

In my last fish report I had anticipated an upturn in the fishing and there was. The next day we had our first double limits - croaker/sea bass. With croakers up to 18 inches, that's a kind of fishing that is easy to enjoy!

Jolly 10 days since my last report. North-east winds, hurricane swells and heavy rains sum it up nicely. Then, when we did have a decent weather day, 'ol man Murphy stepped up and slipped a burst engine hose into the mix!

Tropical Storm Ernesto sure seemed like a hurricane to me! At their height, seas from the blow were running 23 feet at the DE. Lightship, a weather buoy 15 NM east of Fenwick Island, DE.