Morning Star Fish Report

Fish Report 9/25/08

Fishing?

State Reef Program?

Hi All,

Yup, there's been some fishing alright. I just have to go to my logbook to remember when.

Wind/swells.

Week and a half ago I turned the ocean inside-out looking for bites. Twenty-plus miles offshore - ended up 9 miles out on small croakers. A few small croakers. Not a stellar day..

More wind.

Last Sunday we found croakers but not a lot of action, then went cbassing and they were snapping.

Best bite I've had in a very long time: Good. Fifteen/one keeper ratio: Not so good.

This past Monday the ocean was finally settling. Big blow in the forecast - its a nice set-up; usually a good day of fishing. Was. Croaks schooled up and feeding, nice grade of sea bass and more tog than I've had in months. Though it began calm, by day's end it was getting plenty saucy.

As I write, wind speeds are a constant 29 knots with gusts to 35. Wave heights are 14.5 feet. http://ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44009

So far we've fished 10 out of 25 days in September. Looks as though we'll fish Saturday on - the last 4 days of September..

All this wind; not unlike being a Wall Street 'mortgage-backed securities' trader. Have product - just can't sell it.

It'll turn. We have our best time of year coming.

Sure can't do much about the weather......

There are, however, some 'concrete' actions fishers can take to make the future brighter.

In Maryland, the not-inconsiderable efforts of the Ocean City Reef Foundation aside, there's the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative (MARI).

A collection of over 60 funding partners; MARI's built far more Chesapeake Bay reef in its 2 years than in the previous twenty.

Due to the multi-century overfishing of oysters, Maryland's Great Bay has suffered the removal of almost all it's natural hardbottom habitat.

Artificial reef can put it back. Engineered reef can put it back better. See -

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/reefs/VIMSReportRappahannockModularReef23Jan06.pdf

Elevating substrate does wonders.

Yes, it will still be a while before you can predict every reef to have quick shellfish settlement. Still, we must now begin to lay a foundation so that day may occur.

According to NOAA, there remains less than 1% of the Bay's original oyster population. Because oysters & mussels naturally filter and sequester nutrients and carbon; this 'biofiltration' is currently absent --altogether missing-- from the great estuary.

Even in it's pristine pre-European settlement form, the Bay's natural 'buffer zones' and 'storm water management ponds' weren't the only means to keep her waters clear. Oysters filtered the whole Bay almost twice a week.

Habitat or biofiltration - either one presents a strong case for building artificial reef in Maryland. Together I don't know how it can be argued against. Unless, of course, you only want oysters that are dredgable.

On the Atlantic coast we've lost a great deal of seafloor coral and tubeworm habitat. Scientifically unprovable right now; I have every confidence that when NOAA finally decides to 'find' the mid-Atlantic's coral reef system - they shall. Researching historical fisheries will show a sharp decrease in our marine habitat footprint during the 60's and 70's due to heavy stern-towed clamming/fishing gear.

Habitat loss is ongoing: I very likely saw natural coral bottom being lost on Monday, September 22, 2008, as a large, out-of-state trawler worked up and down a slough west of the Great Eastern Reef. I'll go video the area when opportunity arises.

Weighed in terms of necessity, the State of Maryland is dead last in the world for building reef.

Yet clearly has the best documented need for reef restoration.

Maryland can no longer be the only state from Texas to Massachusetts without a state reef program.

Soon there will be an opportunity to tell legislators that DNR should be on the cutting edge of reef construction. Not just a sign on someone's desk; an advanced habitat enhancement/restoration project that is representative of the habitat lost over time.

Maryland's water quality and fisheries production issues can't wait much longer.

Regards,

Monty

Capt. Monty Hawkins
mhawkins@siteone.net
Party Boat "Morning Star"
Reservation Line 410 520 2076
http://www.morningstarfishing.com/

posted by Monty # Thursday, September 25, 2008

Fish Report 9/14/08

Croakers, Cbass & Flounder

Fishing For What Bites

Wise Use

Hi All,

I thought Hanna might throw a wrench into the flounder fishing. Did. Had a dern decent day of fluking before we doubled the dock lines and fendered 'er off. For several days the enchanting odor of OrPine Bilge Cleaner wafted about the deck, mingling with the sailorly utterances of crew. Always something to do on a boat: rarely anything fun while tied up.

Unlike those poor folks in the Gulf, wasn't a lot to the storm.

Wasn't a lot to the fishing right afterward either; croakers, a few cbass, and a flounder. Had to turn a lot of ocean inside out to scratch up a catch.

Fish settled back in soon though. Tuesday we had the biggest croakers I've seen in years. Then tried the bass and flounder for a couple hours and, having failed to put lipstick on that skunk, went back to the big croaks.

Another wind; two more lost days. Hauled out, changed zincs and swapped out props.

I love yachting.

Friday we finally saw a few flounder again. After stopping first on medium and large croakers: Saturday we kept a number of flounder and tagged 27. Some stayed with the cbass and faired quite well.

Croakers on the way out Sunday too. Left them for some coral and shortly caught two nice fluke and a few cbass. Couldn't buy a third! Back to the croakers and sharks..

Fishing for what bites. And man were they biting. Pretty doubles. All the croakers you could want - well, keep.

I wish sea bass would pull like that.

Good sized sharks in there with 'em -that food web thing again- which made for some fun. Tuesday we watched one shark on the surface work a bait just as a birddog might, switching excitedly -fine tuning it's approach to the scent - then spin toward the boat -mouth open- as it took the bait.

That was cool.

Caught four. Unfortunately, despite using circle hooks for numerous sharks over the years, two this day were gut hooked. Special 'Deep Throat Dehookers' failed and they were released with the leader intact.

This, based on Lukacovic's hook mortality work, must greatly diminish their chance of long term survival. Having recently come past a half dozen dead sharks drifting as a gill net was being pulled, I'd assert that deep hooking mortality isn't the coastal shark stock's only problem.

I wonder if maybe the Norwegian's aren't way ahead in resolving bycatch. There they require any dead bycatch to be landed. And, since it all counts against quota, that regulation has forced fishers to fish smarter.

In the US -sport or commercial- it's not illegal to catch and throw back dead, just don't bring it in - we're not allowed to land it.

Sport tuna fishers this summer often had to measure numerous fish to find their 'slot' fish - one under 47 inches and one over. How some fishers took their measurements makes one wonder if there is anything resembling 'fishery management' going on. What good can possibly come of 'gaff, measure - release'.

Alaska's halibut fishery recently had Norwegian style bycatch management put in effect. Pacific rockfish caught in excess of allowable bycatch must still be brought in and sold. It's just that the state gets the money from the overage.

Better than drifting off to rot..

Nothing simple about it. Even sea bass caught in deep water on a hot calm day can make an ugly statement.

Looking into a 'land it all' dead bycatch strategy in some fisheries would be a step toward fine-tuning our resource utilization.

If nothing else, it would give managers hard numbers to work with; some of which I'm sure would serve a nasty slap to present management schemes.

Conservation is said to mean 'wise use' - Lot of work yet..

Regards,

Monty

Capt. Monty Hawkins
mhawkins@siteone.net
Party Boat "Morning Star"
Reservation Line 410 520 2076
http://www.morningstarfishing.com/

posted by Monty # Monday, September 15, 2008

Fish Report 9/1/08

Flounder Improve

Small to Medium Croakers

A Spiny Surprise

Hi All,

An improvement in the last week I'd say. Wednesday's flounder fishing was just fine. Still haven't limited the boat, but some passengers were. Many a tagged flattie went by the rail too.

Friday was slower with a better grade of fish - to 8 lbs. Saturday's fluking a bit better than Wednesday's with more sea bass.

Sunday - eh, can't be all gravy. A dicey forecast --weather warning prior to departure-- got noticeably rough; then turned into a beautiful day. Most came out of it OK fish wise - don't know about those who suffered reverse digestion syndrome.

Our Labor Day trip was enjoyed by all - 30 tags before I invoked the federal paperwork reduction act. (Yes, all those +-11,000 tags mean paperwork and I aim to reduce it!)

The September 1st trip also saw the first shot of croaker on my boat this year. Spent about 40 minutes on 'em. Nice pick of medium & smalls.

Had some sea bass on each trip too.

Now, don't get me wrong. This is an improvement. It's not "hot"- definitely not "red hot!"

But there were times when a well presented bait wouldn't last long - or even hit bottom.

Flounder.. Yes northerners, flounder. We call summer flounder -- flounder. Who'd a thunk it. Since we call our winter flounder 'extinct', or nearly so, there's no need to differentiate between winter and summer flounder.

Taste the same as fluke. No, really, they are fluke.

And here come a whole string of hurricanes and tropical depressions that create swells that fluke don't like.

Argggg.

Time will tell.........

So with global warming we'll have a red snapper/grouper fishery here directly I suppose. I read a report by a scientist who I highly regard stating that red hake (AKA ling or ling-cod - and not at all the southern ling which we call cobia, and especially not the west coast's lingcod which, I 'magine, we'd have to call alien. Must be why they use Latin designations in the thick books) Anyway, the report anticipates that red hake will draw north as waters warm.

But the scuba community testimony I get isn't about warm bottom temps. It's chilly down there.

Earlier in the week I heard accounts of small spiny dogfish in the area.

Yeah right.

November a few. Maybe. Heart of winter loads of them, holding sometimes into early May.

This cold water pain in the neck - spiny dogfish - isn't showing his mug off OC in August.

I took one off my hook today.

Little guy, but Wow.

I came through a pocket of 84 degree surface water Saturday. Gulf Stream current influences the surface, Labrador current the bottom - heck of a thermocline in between.

Some models of increased glacial melt show decreased water temps along the north and mid-Atlantic coasts.

With dogfish here in late summer, maybe red hake will move south too? Along with a rebounding cod population? Ah sheesh, might even have to start calling our flounder fluke as winter flounder reinvade...

The spiny dogfish stock assessment a few years ago that lead to practically closing the commercial fishery: did they look south of where they might normally be to calculate biomass?

Was 'Sherman - 1991' right about the elasmobranch expansion - that skate, ray and dogfish populations are expanding into habitat vacated by other species. Habitat vacated because fishers caught them up, of course.

Are red hake and scup holding north due to water temps or is there a specific problem with this region's stocks.

Are spiny dogfish in need of strict management or prolonging --perhaps preventing-- rebuilding efforts of other species.

I know where I'd put my money...

I've never been able to find long term bottom temp readings such as can be found for surface temp. The only way I can think of to create such would be from scuba diver/club log books. Sure would be a handy bit of information to fishery managers.

All the years we did catch red hake for most of the summer; no spiny dogfish. Ever.

Don't think I'll have to worry about those snapper/grouper regulations any time soon.

At least not inshore..

Regards,

Monty

Capt. Monty Hawkins
mhawkins@siteone.net
Party Boat "Morning Star"
Reservation Line 410 520 2076
http://www.morningstarfishing.com/

posted by Monty # Monday, September 01, 2008

Morning Star Fish Report

Fish Report 9/25/08

Fish Report 9/14/08

Fish Report 9/1/08

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