Captain's Table - Special Guest Angler

[captmike28]

I ran a half day afternoon charter yesterday for my special guest and everyone’s favorite retired custom rod builder, Capt. Neil. Along for the ride was his son and daughter in law plus two of Neil’s grandsons.

The crew told me they did not care what was biting but secretly I knew they really wanted to take home some tasty Sea Bass. So, we fortunately had the right conditions to work my mid Sound drops for the target species. We arrived on scene for the last 45 minutes of the ebb tide and had constant action. Only disappointment for me was 90% of the catch were Porgies. Neil and family were happy to put some nice sized Scup in the box, but I was a little frustrated knowing how good the Sea Bass fishing has been here for most of the summer.

Still, I had a feeling that once the tide turned to the flood cycle the Sea Bass would start chewing and indeed, they did. Soon the Porgy bite faded, and the biscuits landed started to grow in size. Within about 10 minutes William landed the first keeper and that started the parade. The crew enjoyed another hour of solid action and wound up putting 9 fat Sea Bass on top of the Scup including David’s 23” beauty pushing 4# in weight, easily our biggest of the season on this spot so far. A real nice finish for a great fishing family!

 

[longcast]

That is one beautiful fish!!

 

[Snapprhead27]

Nice job!! How is Capt Neil doing?

 

[Roccus7]

Damn, mouth is watering!! My buddy's southern Maine BSB spot is a bust this year. We're wondering if it's because of all the rain water runoff, the cooler than last year GOM water temps or both?

 

[captmike28]

Nice job!! How is Capt Neil doing?

Thanks, Matt.
Capt. Neil is doing well and I think his lifelong passion for fishing is heating up again after a bit of a hiatus. This is the second trip he has made with me this season and he is trying to plan a Blackfish trip as well. I hope we get the weather.

 

[captmike28]

Damn, mouth is watering!! My buddy's southern Maine BSB spot is a bust this year. We're wondering if it's because of all the rain water runoff, the cooler than last year GOM water temps or both?

I know what you mean, Roccus. One of the best eating fish in our waters. And this angler refused to let me filet this one. His plan was to bake it whole and savor every bite!

As far as your own southern Maine BSB bite, I am actually surprised to hear that GOM water temperatures were cooler this year than last year. Our local LI water temps are a few degrees warmer this year on average than I have seen in the past. As is the case most of the time it must be a combination of factors. Although the Sea Bass has a very wide diet, we all know they really relish the shellfish a lot. Was there a falloff in the local shellfish availability in your area?

PS:, Regarding water temps overall, I view it as a normal weather-related trend just like many of the cycles we have observed and studied for hundreds of years, not just a select group of data used as a scare tactic. I will never fly the "Man Made Climate Change Flag" over my house!!!

 

[Roccus7]

Was there a falloff in the local shellfish availability in your area?

We've got a Green Crab invasion of Biblical Proportions, so no to that This BSB place is in a large river, so I'm writing it off to the storm water runoff. My lawn is green and I'm still cutting it 3 times every 2 weeks, which is the opposite of a normal late summer when my lawn is brown and gets mowed once every 3-4 weeks.

Add to that the "fun" of having to dodge floating trees while negotiating all the lobster traps!! The Tree Slalom event from river runoff is usually finished by mid-May. Guess who's not leaving his dock until there's a decent amount of visibility in the morning?

 

[Snapprhead27]

Thanks, Matt.
Capt. Neil is doing well and I think his lifelong passion for fishing is heating up again after a bit of a hiatus. This is the second trip he has made with me this season and he is trying to plan a Blackfish trip as well. I hope we get the weather.

Excellent!! Glad to hear that.

 

[captmike28]

We've got a Green Crab invasion of Biblical Proportions, so no to that This BSB place is in a large river, so I'm writing it off to the storm water runoff. My lawn is green and I'm still cutting it 3 times every 2 weeks, which is the opposite of a normal late summer when my lawn is brown and gets mowed once every 3-4 weeks.

Add to that the "fun" of having to dodge floating trees while negotiating all the lobster traps!! The Tree Slalom event from river runoff is usually finished by mid-May. Guess who's not leaving his dock until there's a decent amount of visibility in the morning?

No doubt this season has seen some of the most significant runoff and debris field issues I can ever recall. Used to be the only time you heard NOAA issuing warnings about floating debris was after a major storm for a day or two, not several months!

Personally, I agree with you Roccus about low light navigation and the added risk entailed. I have total confidence in my own ability and excellent electronics, but nothing can spot that partially submerged log or another obstacle in the dark. I have recently had this conversation with several friends and come to the conclusion that there are enough fish to catch during daylight hours. I am getting too old for the additional anxiety associated with night trips!