Josenhans FF ~ Summer Pattern Set

7 07 2011

Joel Davies with a mid-20's striper

Whew! This should finally get me caught-up with the fishing reports. I know that I have been throwing a lot at you of late, but I hope the fishing (and writing) has kept your interest. Each season seems to bring a summer pattern slightly different from the last and this year is no exception. While last summer we had more bluefish to keep us entertained (we did have them earlier) that has been replaced this year with some excellent flounder fishing.

Michael found the flounder still willing

On Wednesday, June 29 Michael Bievenour and Joel Davies joined me for a full-day trip out of Crisfield. The routine was established – shallow water rockfish early and then off to the flounder grounds. I think we accomplished both feats, just maybe in reverse order. Mike and Joel spent the morning catching mostly small rockfish over some eel grass beds, as there was not much tidal movement to speak of.  Since the striper fishing was slow to begin, we decided to try the flounder. Due to windy conditions and a couple of trips to the mid-bay area, it had been a week since we last tried for flounder and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Not long after stopping at my favorite spot we had the first flounder flopping at my feet. For the next couple of hours we had a steady pick of the tasty flatfish, the hook-ups coming just often enough to keep the guys senses on edge. As the wind dropped off and the tide changed we returned to a favorite rockfish hole. The fish were waiting for us. For the next hour or so, Mike and Joel battled stripers up to 25 inches casting plastic shads on 1/2 ounce jig-heads. Lots of fun on the feather-light G. Loomis spinning rods. It was a fitting end to a day with a somewhat slow start. I was always told it’s better to end the day on a high note and today I was fortunate. Good work guys!

David with a nice rock on topwater

Saturday, July 2 brought back Crisfield resident David Wilmoth, along with friends Ron Long and Jim Daniel. David had mentioned  more than once (good-naturedly, of course) that I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, what with all of the flounder photographs on my blog. He was right, of course. I knew one day it would come to and end – but today wasn’t the day. I’ll get to that in a minute. We started off with some early topwater rockfish action and before long we had six nice stripers boated, including a ten-pound fish caught by Ron. While the action was short-lived, the explosive strikes in shallow water made the early departure-time worthwhile.

Now to the real reason David booked this trip – flounder! David told me he has been drooling (well, maybe my word) over my photographs of limits of big flounder, one of his favorite fish. He had me under the gun today and I was hoping the fish wouldn’t disappoint. We got to the flounder grounds a bit earlier than maybe I usually would and I am glad that we did. Being a Saturday, we had to share the spot with others; but aside from a boat or two anchoring in our drift-lane, all went well. And boy were the flounder up to the task. We had steady action, sometimes with double hook-ups, of nice flounder from 17 to 23 inches. In just a couple of hours the guys were able to box their limit of the tasty flatfish. A 3/4 ounce chartreuse bucktail with a 4″ Berkley Gulp! Swimming Mullet was the hands-down favorite this day. It seems the flounder have returned in force! We ended the day drifting the lower end of Pocomoke Sound feeding leftover Gulp! to small croaker, but no one really cared. The flounder had once again made the day and I hope I never wake up from this dream!

Ron's first time jigging for flounder made him a believer

Daybreak on the Eastern Shore


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Josenhans FF ~ Mid-Bay Rockfish

6 07 2011

Quiz with a 27 inch 'Maryland' rockfish

Sunday, June 26 was a travel day for me – so to speak. So far this season I have been spending most of my time fishing Tangier Sound out of Crisfield, mainly due to the fantastic rock and flounder fishing that we have been experiencing. I had a request for a trip out of Oxford, on the Choptank River, from friend Jim Lee and his buddy from Florida Jim ‘Quiz’ Quisenberry who was in town for a little striper fishing. Seems rockfish are in short supply down in the Sunshine State. After launching at the free public ramp in Cambridge, I pointed the Jones Brothers downriver for the short run to the Oxford Ferry dock. After picking up Jim and Quiz we continued west towards Tilghman Island. Since the forecasted five knot winds were blowing at a brisk 15 to 20 out of the northwest, I decided to head through Knapps Narrows and begin the day fishing in the lee of Poplar Island.

Jim showing off a nice striper

We spent the first hour casting to the rock out-crops on the eastern side if Poplar and Quiz was able to catch his very first striper, a fat 20-inch fish that went in the box for dinner. We drifted around some nearby trollers without success and proceeded to work our way south as the winds slowly subsided. Around mid-morning, as I was cruising an edge a few miles south of Poplar the screen of my Lowrance sonar unit lit-up with good-sized marks. We dropped our jigs and almost immediately hooked up with a nice grade of rockfish. For the next several hours we were able to stay with the school, all-the-while boating fish to 31 inches. Five-inch Bass Assassin Saltwater Shads and six-inch Storm Wildeye Shads were the ticket today. Quiz had a blast, and actually out-fished us Maryland boys on our home waters. The wind dropped off to nothing and gave us a much better ride in than we had coming out.

Quiz having a blast with rockfish - We're not in Florida anymore!

Jim hooked-up again!


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Josenhans FF ~ Wind, Wind and more Wind

6 07 2011

NW 15-20 dropped off to flat calm - The reward for perseverance

I absolutely love fishing the Chesapeake Bay’s lower eastern shore. The shallow water fishery that we have here is, in my opinion, unequaled on any other portion of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. Acres of eel grass flats, underwater stump fields and wild marsh islands teeming with bird life all add up to an angling experience unlike any other. That said, there is one element that can quickly ruin the fishing on these shallow waters – the wind. Depths of six feet or less quickly become roiled by a stiff breeze, making it necessary to search in earnest for clean water. I always tell my clients that I look for several things when searching for fish; clear water, moving water (tidal current), baitfish, structure (grass, stumps, etc.) and deep water nearby. The deep water is not always necessary, but it helps when looking for bigger rockfish. 

In addition, a strong breeze  immediately reduces the number of locations that I can try during the course of a fishing trip. This is not always a bad thing, as it makes me work the fishable areas more thoroughly. This sometimes pays big dividends. It also allows me to try places that I don’t usually fish. Thursday, June 23 through Saturday, June 25 were three days where the wind just wouldn’t leave us alone. I wound up cancelling one day and shortening two others. The point of this short story is to show that there are times when the wind just plain beats me. I appreciate the effort put forth by the unfortunate few who happened to get stuck with this lousy patch of weather. As they say, we’ll get ’em next time…


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Josenhans FF ~ Share a Trip for 1/2 the Cost!

3 07 2011

Just a quick note:

I’ve had a few requests from my regulars to share the cost of a guided trip. If anyone is interested in a cheap way to go fishing, please let me know and I will try to hook you up with a partner. Early morning rockfishing is good and flounder fishing is great! We can do a 1/2, 3/4 or full day trip. Send me an email at kjosenhans@aol.com or call at 443-783-3271 if interested. Thanks!!


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Josenhans FF ~ 160+ Years of Experience

3 07 2011

Werner Gruber from a previous trip

On Wednesday, June 22 I fished with probably my favorite fishing companions in Jack McKenna and Werner Gruber. Jack mentioned to me in between casts that between the two of them I had over 160 years of experience on the boat! Jack will celebrate his 80th birthday this summer and Werner reached that milestone a few years back. You wouldn’t know it by their youthful approach to fishing. In fact, I have to do my best to keep up with the both of them, they don’t take many breaks!

The fishing this day wasn’t spectacular, but we accomplished what we set out to do. Electing to forego the stripers in anticipation of some tasty flounder fillets, we decided to head right to the flounder grounds. We were greeted with about a half-dozen other boats that had been thinking the same thing. It appeared everyone was playing nice, so we entered the drift as a slot came open and started to pick at the flounder. Werner was first with a nice-looking 20 incher, and as he brought the fish to the boat, the net man (guess who) flubbed it. Air ball! I could have sworn I had that fish in the bag, but the evidence proved otherwise. Sorry Werner. I made out better with the next two, including a beautiful 23 inch fish. Then the fishing slowed.

Jack can fly fish with the best of them

With all the competing boats it was taking longer than usual to cover the good areas of the drift, so we departed to try for some blues, a favorite of Werner’s. The bluefish were by no means thick, but we did have a flurry or two and some hard pulls from blues averaging three-pounds. Jack managed a nice 20-inch fish on his G. Loomis GL3 9 wt. There was just enough action this day to keep things interesting and with the great company we all had a great time. Enjoyed the trip guys!! No photos from this day, but here are a couple from past trips.


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Josenhans FF ~ More Rock and Flounder

1 07 2011

Tuesday, June 21 began with the promise of a beautiful early summer day, and it did not disappoint. Don Harrison and daughter Amy met me before sunrise at Somers Cove Marina with the promise of some early topwater action on a flat, calm Tangier Sound. The cruise south to the fishing grounds was smooth, and halfway to our destination we were greeted with a fabulous sunrise. We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day.  I pulled up to the exact spot where we did so well on the previous Saturday and everything looked just right. On Don’s second cast with a Stillwater popper there was a massive blow-up on his lure, and after a good fight he landed a fat 32 inch rockfish! Don was all smiles and I was secretly counting off in my head a number well into double digits as to how many stripers we would catch & release today. Don had another strike a minute or two later and landed a nice 23 inch fish. Amy got in on the action with a small schoolie and all was right with the world. Then the unexpected happened.

 

Don's 32 inch rock on a popper

Everything went quiet. No blow-ups, no current movement, no wind, no nothing. The fishing came to a screeching halt after just ten minutes. No problem I think. As I had dropped anchor, I just figured that we’d reposition the boat a little and find the school. Hmn! It was like Don’s big rockfish had swum off and warned all his friends. Granted we had a few more hits on poppers, caught a few fish on shads, but the place just went still. With one exception. There were cow nose rays cruising everywhere. I hadn’t noticed them before, but now I had plenty of time to look. Call me paranoid, but I’m a firm believer that when large numbers of the big (30 pound plus) rays take-over an area the rock and specks skidaddle. I’ve seen it happen too many times to be a coincidence in my books. After about two hours of moving around with limited success, we decided to head to the flounder grounds.

Don and daughter Amy with the day's catch

This has become a routine for me of late. Rock on top early then jig bucktails for flounder. Even the diehard fly fishermen love to see the flounder come aboard. We got rigged up for the flounder and Don and Amy immediately went to work. I enjoy taking folks flounder fishing as they are always surprised at the size of the fish when it lays there shimmering just below the water’s surface. For the next couple of hours we had steady action with beautiful summer flounder from 18 to 23 inches and one very nice croaker. All-around, it was a great day on the bay for this father and daughter team.


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Josenhans FF ~ Great Topwater Rockfish

30 06 2011

Dave with his 32 inch topwater rockfish

I would have been satisfied with the terrific topwater action we had with rockfish on the morning of Saturday, June 18, but to round out the day with a nice catch of good-eating flounder, and then some hard-fighting blues (all squeezed into a six-hour trip) well, it was a great day. I was fishing with Tom Hylden, John Camp and Dave Lonnquest on the lower portion of Tangier Sound on a morning to remember. The only blemish on the day was when the guide (yours truly) failed to tie on a heavy enough leader for John which caused him to cut-off a very nice striper. Boy I wish I had a mulligan on that one. Sorry John! Still, a great day was had by all.

Tom started the day off right!

We started off the morning with a very early start at Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield. After about a 30 minute ride to the fishing grounds the guys began to cast Storm Chug Bugs and Stillwater Smack-it! poppers along a favorite stretch of shoreline. The G Loomis IMX spinning rods were a perfect match for these larger poppers. Almost immediately the water exploded on a popper that Tom had cast. Tom boated a nice rockfish and the race was on. Poppers were flying here and there and everyone got into the act. Some very big stripers were in the mix, with the biggest, caught by Dave, stretching the tape to 32 inches and twelve pounds. That fish hit Dave’s popper going away and put on a drag-screaming, topwater display that would have done a member of the tuna family proud! Nice catch Dave.

Dave showing off a colorful flounder

After the rockfish bite slowed, we decided to try our luck with flounder. The day before had been a bonanza for the big flatties, so I was chomping at the bit to give it another try. Once again the flounder did not disappoint. Dave had the hot hand while Tom did his best to keep up the pressure. The guys took home some beautiful flounder for a delicious evening meal. The hot lure this day was a Li’l Jimy bucktail with a Berkley Gulp! chaser.  We had an hour or so remaining in our morning so I suggested we try for a few blues. Not to be left out of the party, the blues cooperated and we ended the day with some great light tackle action on these hard-fighting speedsters.  Fine fishing and great company; it was a good day to be a guide.

 

John putting his G.Loomis to the test


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Josenhans FF ~ Li’l Jimy and Big Flounder!

30 06 2011

On Friday, June 17  I fished with George Lenard of Specialized Baits fame and friend Dave Gedra.  George’s hand-tied Li’l Jimy is one of the most beautiful – and effective – bucktail jigs on the market. The Li’l Jimy is also a very versatile lure, as was evident by today’s trip. Rockfish, big flounder and jumbo croaker all succumbed to the tantalizing action of the Li’l Jimy. Flounder to 25-1/2 inches (six-pounds) and croaker to 17 inches were the highlight of the day. Fishing in Virginia waters we managed limits of big flounder all around. The flavor of the day was what George refered to as his Finger Mullet pattern  in gray/white, with the 3/4 ounce weight being the top producer when jigged just off the bottom. Instead of running-on at the keyboard, I’ll let these photos do the talking.

George Lenard is on to something with the Li'l Jimy

Dave Gedra had the Li'l Jimy talking to 'em!

Capt. and Dave with a 25-1/2" flounder and 17" croaker

George made a believer out of me

 

 


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Josenhans FF ~ Speckled Trout

24 06 2011

Eric's speck

June 14, 15 and 16 brought a nice change of pace, in that we boated a few nice speckled trout, a rare catch of late. Granted, we have not been searching too hard for specks – what with the rock, flounder and bluefish action to keep us busy – but the windy conditions of these three days forced our hand. On Tuesday, Luther Carter, Albert Dulin and Eric Krouse met me at Somers Cove, along with a very stiff NW breeze. After some debate, we decided to give fishing a try along a protected shoreline of the Big Annemessex river. This was to be a pay-as-you-go day, and I can tell you that the meter didn’t run very long. After just two hours we  had had enough of the constant bombardment of the 25 knot winds and called it a day. But not before Eric was able to pull a colorful speck out of a semi-protected grassbed. Thanks for keeping the skunk out of the boat Eric.

Paul E. with a fat rock

I had an evening trip on Wednesday with Ray Leety, Paul Sirochman, Dave Stover and Paul Eichelberger. Ray brought his boat along so we weren’t crowded and together we made the long, bumpy (wind again) trip to lower Tangier Sound. The water was fairly clear in the lee of an island and the wind died a bit as the evening progressed. The guys were able to catch a few rockfish on poppers as the waters calmed and the sun set much too fast to the west. Ray had a pair of rock at 20 and 23 inches that exploded on his popper and gave him a good fight. Paul E. and Dave were fishing with me, and together they landed maybe a dozen fat stripers while casting four-inch pearl shads. It was a nice, pleasant four-hour trip and I enjoyed the company of four very good fishermen.

Ray and Paul S. with Ray's five pound speck

The same group met me bright and early on Thursday for a half day morning outing. This time Ray and Paul S. rode with me. As we rounded the “five-legger” (buoy at mouth of Little Annemessex) I had every intention of beginning our day where we ended it the previous evening. A couple of shots of salty spray to the face from a strong southerly breeze quickly erased those thoughts from my head. I opted for the west side of Smith Island where I believed that I could find some clear water. Casting a Storm Wildeye Shad to some rocky structure quickly netted Ray a beautiful, fat, five-pound speckled trout. I don’t know about Ray but that one fish made my day.

Paul's speck hit a popper

 Between both boats we were only able to scratch up a few smallish rock, as the wind was really making things miserable. We bit the bullet and pounded our way back across the sound to the Big Annemessex river. We found some pretty grass flats in the lee of some islands and Ray managed a small rock but little else. As we were heading towards Paul E. and Dave in the other boat I saw a large splash and Paul with his rod bent double. My first thought was that he had snagged a large cow nose ray, but as we got closer we witnessed Paul posing for the camera holding a speck that was almost a carbon copy of Ray’s. The explosion of water I observed was the speck crashing a popper on Paul’s first cast. It was a fitting way to end the morning, and a shake of the fist to the ever-present wind.


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Josenhans FF ~ Flounder Have Arrived!

20 06 2011

Matt with the tip of the iceberg

Boy am I behind with the fishing reports! I have been on the water every day, with the exception of Sundays, and I just haven’t gotten around to my blogging duties. Sorry about that!! The big news on the fishing front of late has been the arrival of good numbers of BIG flounder. Jigging Berkley Gulp! and Li’l Jimy bucktails from Specialized Baits in 1/2 to 3/4 ounce  has produced limit catches for those willing to take a break from the rockfish-bluefish scene. More on that in a minute. Here is a rundown on some of the fishing we have enjoyed of late.

Wednesday, June 8 – Barry Portnoy, Doug D. and Matt Roach gave it their all after a breezy morning that roiled the water just enough to slow the bite for the day. Where we had been catching rock and blues with abandon, we settled for two here and three there at each spot that we tried. The bite was even off around some deepwater structure that I have been fishing, and while the rock were showing well on the finder, they just weren’t in a feeding mood. Matt finally decided to try the fly rod with a smaller bait and that did get the interest of a few more schoolie stripers. Matt also hit on something that he probably didn’t even realize at the time, in that he discovered the tip of the iceberg to a flounder bonanza. Matt fooled three big flounder with a four-inch pearl shad and it took until the next day for me to realize that he had hit on something special. I owe you one Matt! All-in-all a fun day on the water with three good friends!

Aaron with his 23 inch flounder

Thursday, June 9 – An early start-time for a chance at some big stripers paid off for Bernie Kemp and son Aaron. Stillwater Smack-it! poppers did the trick with several nice rockfish and Aaron landed a beauty at 31 inches and eleven pounds. After this bite slowed we tried the blues again with only a limited amount of success. After a bit, I decided to test Matt’s flounder discovery of the day before with a theory I had and boy did it pay off. Jigging Chartreuse Berkley Gulp! Swimming Mullet baits on 1/2 ounce jig-heads, Bernie and Aaron managed a nice limit of flounder from 18 to 23 inches. The flounder were aggressive and inhaled the baits like they were flounder-candy. Much to my chagrin – and Bernie’s amusement – I quickly discovered that shallow rubber nets and big flounder are not a good mix. See, flounder don’t stop swimming once they’re in the net, and I felt like I was landing these big flatties with a trampoline. I had flounder flying all over the place. But I digress.. Anyway, I think I might be on to something here..

Aaron's 31 inch shallow-water striper on a popper

Paul with average-sized flounder

Friday, June 10 – Paul Anderson, son Matt and Eric Green met me bright and early at Somers Cove ramp and the first thing Paul handed me were several packs of Berkley Gulp! baits. He said they were from Bernie and that we would be needing them. I crossed my fingers and hoped he was right. First things first, so we proceeded to the striper grounds for some early topwater action. The rock were active and the guys managed to land a couple of 24 inch beauties after some savage strikes. After the topwater bite slowed we were off to the bluefish grounds once again. The blues cooperated better than they had in days and we enjoyed some great light tackle action with the two to three-pound fish before turning our thoughts to flounder. I informed the guys the tide was about right, so we pulled in our lines and headed to the flounder grounds. For the next three hours Paul, Matt and Eric enjoyed our best day to date with some truly unbelievable flounder fishing. The guys took home their limit of big, fat flounder ranging in size from 18 to 22 inches. While the day was already a success with the rock and blue action, the flounder simply added icing to the cake. All were in agreement that they had never before witnessed flounder fishing of this quality on the Chesapeake Bay.

Eric showing off the days catch

Tom with his early morning striper

Saturday, June 11 – Tom Hylden and Shelley Davis were met with tough conditions caused by the seemingly ever-present winds. Tom managed a heart-stopping strike on a popper, and after a game fight landed a fat 24 inch rockfish. Another explosive strike near the boat and that was it with topwater for the day. A slack tide and slightly turbid water made the morning fishing conditions less than ideal but Tom and Shelley both hung in there and gave it a brave effort. Their persistence paid off, and after the tide changed we ended the day with a flurry and perhaps a morning total of twenty stripers and blues. A nice mid-day lunch of fried soft crabs on Tangier Island capped off another beautiful summer morning on Tangier Sound.


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