9/19/09

Met up with my friends Thom Mattauch and Tim Morris. Got to Thom's special spot and got into 'em good. Got my limit reds then met Jimmy Jimmy under the bridge. Got a good sheepshead. 20" 6lbs.

9/18/09 Double limit of...

... Sheeps n' Reds. Got done with my business meeting early so of course, I decided to go fishing. First I went for the sheeps/togs. Caught my limit of sheeps but no togs. Largest sheepie was 17".


Then I went back to the launch to get a snack and put the sheepies in the cooler. Met up with Bass Assassin and his friend Jeremy. Went out to the marsh together and I managed a 21" Red. The other two took off after a while and I went to a different spot (one of my faves) and hooked into a 23" and 24". Had another pull rip drag like an overslot, but he pulled the hook so I never got to see him.

Sheeps n Togs

Got up @ 3:30am. Left Richmond and got to Oceans East and picked up 4 dozen fiddlers. Was on water by 6:15am. Wind really sucked. Jigged gulps for a few dink flounders then dropped what looked to be a 22-23 inch flatty at the boat. Switched to fiddlers around 9:15am. Ended up with 3 sheeps, 6 togs (3 throwbacks, and a bunch of black sea bass. Was back at the launch by 12:30 and was back in Richmond in time to see my team whoop up on the skins.

Baaa....

Sheepshead.

Caught a total of 7. Had 4 on the stringer. I have to say, these are some of the most fun, hard fighting fish, I've ever caught. The picture below is of the second largest one I caught (16"). To give you an idea of how hard they pull, here's what happened to the biggest one I caught.

I have one of those metal clip chain stingers that I hang over the yak and attach to the side handle. I had 4 on (including my biggest 18"~19") while trying to catch more while the bite was on. I can feel them pulling wildly on the stringer, jolting the kayak, making it swing in the current. Eventually, I ran out of bait and the current was getting very swift. As I start heading in, I pulled the stringer just to take a look at the fish again. That big sheep pulled so hard that the metal clip pulled out of the socket! As you can imagine, expletive after expletive poured out of me. The wire part was bent wide open and my heart sank knowing I had no picture, weight or actual measurement.

Friday and Saturday Reds

Got there and the wind was pretty bad, but stuck with it anyways...

Had a total of 6 and kept these three.

This hard fighting 27"er went back. (try not to mind the silly face)

Went back on Saturday with a friend of mine from Richmond.

Got skunked except for this little guy.

Took Marty to a nice hole and he caught two. Here's the first one.

1st Island CBBT 8/16/09

Got to the Virginia Beach side of the CBBT and launched at 7:50am.

Arrived at the first island in a little over an hour and started looking for spades.

Nothin'.

I little birdie told me there would be some togs at a certain spot.

Nothin'.

Tried for Sheeps with fiddlers and clam.

Nothin'.

Ended up with a bunch of bait stealers...

Black Sea Bass

Pigfish

I did manage one Triggerfish.

Wind picked up in the afternoon.

I tried for spades, togs, and sheeps on the way back.

Nothing.

More wind.

Long ass paddle.

Tired.

8/15/09 Evening

I wanted to try my hand at throwing my net from the yak and have fresh bait. It worked pretty good. Along with the usual menhaden and mullet, I caught the smallest flounder I've ever seen...

...and also a Lookdown fish.

I paddled around under a cool sunset...

...found my spot and put out the mullet.

Caught two 21" reds. Sorry no pic.