June Walk On Notice

31 05 2016

I’ve had a few requests to run some walk on trips as a cost sharing measure. I have two dates open for two or three anglers to get together to split the fee. They are Monday, June 20 and Tuesday, June 21. This will be for a full day (8 hour) trip out of either Crisfield or Cambridge (Location is negotiable). Depending on location, targeted species may include rockfish (stripers), speckled trout, bluefish and possibly flounder. Cost for two will be $275 each, for three $185 each. License, tackle, ice and cold drinks included. If interested, please call me, Capt. Kevin Josenhans, at 443-783-3271 or email kjosenhans@aol.com. It’s a great trip, don’t miss out!


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Josenhans Fly Fishing – July Newsletter

12 07 2013

The month of June has seen a stretch of windy weather unlike anything I have experienced since, well, May? In point of fact, the first half of 2013 has been the windiest six-month stretch of my 20-year guiding career. I am really glad I have my trusty Jones Brothers underfoot to soften the ride.

20130712-123626.jpg Regardless, we are experiencing yet another outstanding season with speckled trout. As anticipated, numbers are down slightly from 2012 but the average size is greater. To date, we have had many more specks of 23-inches and larger, with several in the 27-inch range. I look for a super fall with some really big fish!!

Redfish, or puppy drum as they are known hereabouts, are slowly increasing in numbers. These hard-fighting bulldogs have grown as well. Most that we have caught have been in the 19 to 22-inch size range. I can honestly say they’ll make you forget all about speckled trout. There’s no quit in a red.

20130712-125749.jpg Stripers and bluefish round out the usual daily catch, with even a few weakfish (grey trout) in the mix. Flounder have yet to make a showing, but then the breezy conditions have not really been conducive to good flounder fishing. Take a visual stroll through some of this past month’s action.

20130712-132554.jpg Steve Smith nailed this healthy rockfish in heavy grass

20130712-132922.jpg John Lupenitti with a fly caught speck

20130712-133200.jpg Mark Nichols enjoyed another great day

20130712-133312.jpg Phil Bangert hefts a 27-inch speck

20130712-133704.jpg Jack McKenna had fun with the long stick

20130712-133849.jpg Jack’s trout were caught on his son Kevin’s hand-tied pink Cactus Striper

20130712-134211.jpg Burt Anderson’s custom-tied flies are works of art

20130712-134749.jpg ..and put to the test..

20130712-134904.jpg ..this bluefish proves they’re not just pretty to look at

20130712-135205.jpg John McMinn fooled this colorful speck on a fly

20130712-135752.jpg Kevin Gladhill enjoyed an outstanding day with big specks

20130712-135925.jpg Kevin released all of his trout to be caught again

20130712-140137.jpg Bob Clark became a believer in plastic jigs

20130712-140456.jpg Bob with another beauty!

20130712-193618.jpg Chris Harley proudly displays a nice four-pound trout

20130712-193913.jpg Spencer Schenking with one of several weakfish caught this day

20130712-194125.jpg Spencer’s dad Mike with a grey trout of his own

20130712-194423.jpg Spence doubles-up on trout with a fine speck

20130712-194619.jpg This good-sized croaker fell to Spence’s Clouser Minnow

20130712-194852.jpg Mike adds a speck of his own

20130712-195101.jpg Susan Kemp had the hot hand early with big specks

20130712-195242.jpg Susan’s 9 year old grandson Nick McIver was top dog for the day with his 24.5″ rockfish

20130712-200604.jpg Bo Hardesty and Steve Schad with a brace of specks

20130712-200719.jpg Steve had lots to smile about as he and Bo landed over 30 trout for the day

20130712-201159.jpg Howard Stinefelt braved windy conditions to land this fat speck


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Josenhans Fly Fishing – Speck Catches Ahead of Last Season

3 06 2013

lil_jimy_MPPDespite a constant and relentless breeze, speckled trout catches are ahead of last season’s record pace. It looks to be another fantastic season for this spotted member of the drum family. While I have yet to have any puppy drum come aboard my boat, I have heard of a few starting to be caught in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay. We have had the best success casting Bass Assassin 4-inch Sea Shads rigged to a 1/4 or 3/8 ounce Specialized Baits Jig head, something brand new in an already excellent line of speciality lures from creator George Lenard. George’s old standby, the Li’l Jimy, is as effective as ever when trying to coax a fat speck out of the grass or stump-field.

John Nelson shows off a big spring speck

John Nelson shows off a big spring speck

Chris Mitchell with one of nine specks to 24-inches

Chris Mitchell with one of nine specks to 24-inches

Jack McKenna in perfect form with his G. Loomis 8-weight

Jack McKenna in perfect form with his G. Loomis 8-weight

In addition to specks to 24-inches, Jack nailed this fine flounder in skinny water

In addition to specks to 24-inches, Jack nailed this fine flounder in skinny water

Benjy Duke took a break from guiding for trout in Wyoming to fish for the salt water variety

Benjy Duke took a break from guiding for trout in Wyoming to fish for the salt water variety

Reddi Duke, following in her brother's footsteps as a guide, adds a nice speck to the days catch

Reddi Duke, following in her brother’s footsteps as a guide, adds a nice speck to the days catch

Not to be outdone, dad Ben Duke gets in on the action

Not to be outdone, dad Ben Duke gets in on the action

Phil Kerchner hit it right with the high catch of the young season - 35 feisty speckled trout between he and walk on partner Chen Sun

Phil Kerchner hit it right with the high catch of the young season – 35 feisty speckled trout between he and walk on partner Chen Sun

Chen showing off a perfect cast after lessons from Lefty Kreh

Chen showing off a perfect cast after lessons from Lefty Kreh

Rob Leatherbury braved the wind to land this fat speck

Rob Leatherbury braved the wind to land this fat speck

Rob's son Jake with his first fly-caught speckled trout

Rob’s son Jake with his first fly-caught speckled trout

Long time client and good friend Maurice Klein hefts a pretty speck

Long time client and good friend Maurice Klein hefts a pretty speck

While fishing with Maurice, Gene Jones ups the ante

While fishing with Maurice, Gene Jones ups the ante

Gene nets a nice rockfish for Mom

Gene nets a nice rockfish for Mom

Tangier Sound sod banks serve as avenues for specks and stripers

Tangier Sound sod banks serve as avenues for specks and stripers


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Josenhans FF ~ Tangier Slam!!

4 09 2012

Tangier Slam – In the world of flats fishing, a ‘slam’ is oftentimes considered three, maybe four different species of fish, caught by a single angler, with a specific type of gear during a given day. Well, how about six species! That’s just what has occured several times during the past couple of week’s on board my Jones Brothers while fishing here on Tangier Sound. In fact, five species seems to be the norm rather than the exception.  Stripers, bluefish, speckled trout, flounder, redfish and croaker are common catches while casting artificial lures on light spinning tackle or fly gear. On a recent outing with Don Harrison, his friend Doug Portner and Doug’s son Connor, while we didn’t quite reach six-species, sheer numbers made up for the species count. We began the day casting to breaking bluefish in the 12 to 17-inch range, enjoying action in which triple hook-ups were common for perhaps ninety minutes. We switched gears to look for specks, managing close to a dozen for the day up to 21-inches. Mixed-in with the trout were perhaps fifteen nice rockfish to 24-inches. The day ended on a hot note as the guys simply tore-up the puppy drum, landing maybe 50 in the 12  to 17-inch range, with a couple just shy of the legal 18-inch limit. All told, over one-hundred fish were boated giving the three anglers a day to remember. And to make his “slam” something really special, young Connor also accomplished several “firsts.” As is first striper, first bluefish, first speckled trout and first redfish! Way to break-out on the saltwater scene Connor!! Tangier Sound has always held a nice variety of game fish during the summer months and six or more species in a days fishing is not unusual. I look for this fantastic shallow water angling to continue right through the fall months.

Speckled trout continue to grab most of the attention here on the sound. Daily catches averaging ten-specks-per-angler have been the norm rather than the exception. Now that September is here, I look for the speckled trout top-water bite to really take-off! Last season, our top fish was an eight-pound beauty that exploded on a Stillwater Smack-it! popper.

Share a Trip  – Once again, I am in need of several anglers to share the cost of a guided trip. The details are as follows:

Trip 1 – I need a fly fishing angler to share a full day (8 hour) trip with another fly angler. Cost per angler will be $225, all-inclusive.

Trip 2 – I need two spining anglers to share a full day (8 hour) or 3/4 day (6 hour) trip with a third spin fisherman. Cost will be $150 each for the full day, or $135 each for the 3/4 day trip. There is a catch (no pun intended) – My first available date is October 20. Speckled trout should still be around, along with stripers, bluefish, flounder and redfish. In addition to the 20th, I have open October 22, 23, 25, 27, 30 and 31. If interested, please email, or call me at your earliest convenience. My contact info is kjosenhans@aol.com or 443-783-3271. Thanks and good fishing!!

Nick Weber drove a long way to catch a speckled trout, and succeeded

Nick’s son Matt with a nice flounder

Not to be outdone by Matt, John Crowley bags a big flounder of his own

Matt LaFleur with an over-stuffed speck

Jerry Price adds a puppy drum (redfish)

Toby Godwin with a pretty speck

Darren Short found this big speck at the end of his line

Chris Mitchell surprised us with a 26-inch striper

Tom Phillips got in on the speck action

Chris adds a nice speck to his rockfish catch

Andrew Lepczyk caught this fine striper under working birds near Sharps Island

Pete Rolph has been trying to make this speck trip for two years – it paid-off!

Mike Johnson has his arms full with this hefty spotted trout

Elliott Pochettino can barely hold up his big speck

Owen Pochettino shows off his big fly-caught speckled trout

Don Harrison with a speck on his way to a Tangier Slam

..Likewise for Doug Portner..

..and Doug’s son Connor!

Doug boats a nice rockfish

Connor adds his own big striper

Connor with one of his many redfish

Terry Tubman with a fine Tangier Sound speck

Keith McGuire ran his boat over from the western shore to catch specks

Scott McGuire shows-off a specks canines

Scott with a nice spot tail


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Josenhans FF ~ Big Flounder Make A Showing

10 08 2012

We took advantage of a brief lull in the speckled trout bite the other day and jigged up a few nice flounder. Total catch in a couple hours of fishing was ten, with eight keepers from 18″ – 24″. Big, beautiful fish!!  Terry Tubman and Bobby Shenton did the honors. Nice catch guys!! The flatties were hitting 3/4 ounce bucktails, hand-painted & tied by Bobby’s friend and Choptank River fishing legend Chuck Prahl.

Terry Tubman with his pool-winning 24-inch flounder


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Josenhans FF ~ Hot August Fishing, News

4 08 2012

What a summer of fishing this has been! Hot weather  and even hotter fishing, especially for speckled trout. Right after my last blog entry, I took a planned two-week mini-vacation for some much need R & R. I had been running full-steam since the beginning of flats season. It was time for a break. In addition, my Yamaha made a trip to the doctor to have her fuel injectors cleaned. Seems they only do this in Florida. After a few extra day’s wait for shipping, I am happy to report the prognosis is excellent; as the 150 HPDI once again purrs like a kitten. Now back to the fishing report…

The last trip before my break Dave Elvin, Mike Nolan, John Scott and his son Troy enjoyed a banner day catching 30 specks ranging from sixteen to twenty-one inches. Thrown in was an assortment of rock, blues and croaker and, needless to say, it was very hard to take time off. It didn’t help matters when my first day back I was greeted with 15-20 Kt winds that roiled the shallows, yielding  but a brace of specks. The next day I traveled to the quaint township of Onancock, Virginia. My clients for the day had rented a private home just on the edge of town, so I agreed to meet them at the town dock. The fifteen-minute run to the bay down Onancock Creek provided a picturesque cruise past a mix of stately old Eastern Shore homes, smaller shore dwellings and miles of unspoiled shoreline. I think I could retire happy living on Onancock Creek. In addition to the beautiful scenery, fishing’s not bad either. Final tally for the day was 23 specks to twenty-two inches, a baker’s dozen of feisty bluefish and a handful of rockfish. Once again, all was right with the world. During the past two weeks, speckled trout catches have been as high as 35 per day, with a handful of days in the 20’s. Flounder catches are still well off last years pace, but the few times we have tried has yielded some nice fish to 24-inches.

Late-Summer and Fall Bookings are running way ahead of last season’s pace, so if you want to enjoy some of this fabulous speckled trout fishing please don’t wait to reserve a date. I have been blessed with many new clients this season and for that I am truly grateful. And to my long-time friends, words alone cannot express my gratitude for your continued support. 

Share a Trip – I occasionally receive requests to find a fishing partner(s) in order to share expenses. This way, you get the full trip at half, or even a third the cost. I will act as your booking agent and make all the arrangements, in advance. If this trip arrangement interests you, please let me know. Enjoy some photos from the past two weeks.

Randy and family began their trip at the Onancock, VA Town Wharf

Julie holding a beautiful spotted trout

Randy’s daughter Kylie loves to fish and her smile shows it

Somers Cove Marina at sunrise – Crisfield, MD

Scott shows-off a puppy drum – I think it’s going to be a fun fall with redfish

A first for my boat. At five-pounds, this Smooth Puffer put up quite a fight..

…not so much when swelled-up!

Troy with his largest speckled trout to date

Mary with an awesome speck

Michael with a nice speck of his own – what a morning this was!!

Troy with one of his six biggest specks to date – all caught on my boat this morning

After 28 specks to 23″ in just four hours, Terry T. and Bobby S. enjoyed the view on the ride home (No, it wasn’t quite that close)

Rodney Sunday with his first fly-caught speckled trout

and, while he’s at it…

..his first fly-caught bluefish! I think he’s hooked!!

Not to be outdone, Rodney’s dad Corey landed this pretty trout

Let’s not forget there are some nice flounder out there!

George Lenard of http://www.specializedbaits.com fame fooled this fat 22-incher with his Blue Crab pattern

Dave Gedra with a nice flatty on a Specialized Baits Li’l Jimy

Redfish like Li’l Jimy’s, too

 

 

 


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Speck Fishing as Hot as the Weather!!!

8 07 2012

Bring on the heat!! Even with the sweltering temperatures of late, there has been no let-up in the speckled trout bite! Given decent weather and a break from the wind, on most days we are catching 20 – 30 fat, healthy specks on a variety bucktail jigs, soft plastics and flies. Specialized Baits Li’l Jimy’s, Bass Assassin 4″ Sea Shads, Clouser Deep Minnows and Cactus Stripers are all gobbled-up like cotton candy at a carnival. I have seen stretches of good speck fishing in my 30 years of fishing Tangier Sound, but never have I experienced such a prolonged period in both size and numbers. The specks are averaging 17″ – 21″, and this past Monday, Dennis Dame boated a gorgeous five-pound, 25″ specimen on fly. With a little luck, look for this incredible fishing to continue right through October. On the flip-side, the fantastic flounder fishing that we had last summer has, so far, failed to materialize. That said, I haven’t been putting in a lot of time trying, for obvious reasons.. Bluefish to 20-inches are available if you want a hard-fighting gamefish to put a bend in your light spinning or fly rod and a few stripers are always around. I have less than a handful of dates remaining open in July, and August is fast becoming booked as well. Drop me an email or call if you would like to get in on some hot summer fishing. If a full day sounds a bit too long in this heat, the less-expensive six-hour trip is plenty of time to fish a tide, and we will be off the water before the oven cranks up!  

Walk-on Notice

On the subject of guided trips, I am in need of one or two anglers to share the cost of one or two days fishing with another angler. The date(s) requested are July 26 or 27 and August 20, 21, 22 or 23. This will be a full day, 8-hour trip. Cost will be $150 or $225 per person, subject to total number of anglers. Specks, blues, rock and maybe even some flounder should be available. I look forward to seeing you on the water!!

Troy Scott with a beautiful speck

Sam Dame caught this 23″ beauty on fly

Dennis Dame and his 5-pound, 25″ speck on fly

Laura Wolf is all smiles with a gorgeous speck

Happy Father’s Day to dad Dave Wolf

Chris Wolf gets in on the action, as well

One more for Dad!

Barb Long had the hot hand early

Doug Curtis boated this healthy speck

Ron Long adds a nice rock

Doug with a nice rock of his own

Scott Evander with a big speck

Mike Long shows off a good spotted trout of his own

George Lenard of Specialized Bait fame shows the Li’l Jimy in action

Rob Allen cradles a fat speck

Rob fooled this nice striper on a Stillwater Smack-it!

A colorful speck for Trey Blackiston

Ginni Bowen with her 11 pound rockfish – nice catch Ginni!!

For the catch of the week, Trey pulled in this 32″ cobia! The fish was released.

Justin Matoska with a windy day speck

Justin’s friend Kenny with a speck of his own

Cam added this nice flounder after the wind finally won out


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Josenhans FF ~ Specks Still Going Strong!!

14 06 2012

Speckled trout catches show no signs of slowing down! During a recent five-day stretch my clients boated a total of 100 trout!! That’s an average of 20 per day if you don’t have your calculator handy 🙂 While we’re not seeing quite the number of big females that we had several weeks ago, the mostly male specks have been averaging 16″-21,” so no small potatoes there. Every so often a roe-laden female will push the tape to 23-inches. In addition to casting the shallows for specks we have tried jigging-up some flounder with mixed results. Dave Wilmoth, Rob McColligan and Rob’s son Jeremy managed two beautiful flounder of 21″ and 17,” in addition to 18 specks to 22″; along with a 32-inch rockfish caught by Jeremy. On the very next day, Lou Pochettino, his son Dave Pochettino and Dave’s son Alex, along with Lou’s son-in-law Gus McKee and Gus’ son Mac were patient enough to boat four keeper flounder of 18″ to 19-1/2″. Eight pretty speckled trout to 21″ were also brought to the boat. Lou was treated to seeing his two grandson’s out-fish their dad’s. We are hoping for a repeat of the super flounder fishing that we had last summer and it appears that things are right on track. Specialized Baits bucktails and Berkley Gulp! Swimming Mullet did the job on the flatties. I look for continued good fishing for specks and the flounder should get better with each passing day. It looks to be a great summer here on Tangier Sound!

Michael Avara and Steve Malan with a brace of specks

Jim Davis landed this nice speck

Glen Cooper fooled this fat trout on a very windy day

Glen and Jack Cooper with one of a dozen trout caught by 9 a.m.

Tim Riley showing off one of 24 specks boated

Tim even threw in a nice rockfish

Jeremy McColligan and dad Rob shows off Jeremy’s 32-inch striper

Jeremy getting in on the speckled trout action

Dave Wilmoth with a nice speck

Alex Pochettino struck first with a nice flounder

Mac McKee shows off his first speck with Grandad looking on

Dolphin gave Alex and Mac a show as good as Sea World!

Mac and dad Gus with a big flounder


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Josenhans FF ~ Flats Update

7 04 2012

A quick update from the Susky Flats.  Wednesday – Arrival date. By the time I got the boat launched and tied in the slip it was almost 6:00 p.m. Didn’t have anything else to do, so I decided to spend the last two hours of daylight looking around the flats. Wound up with some schoolies to 25″ and a surprise 15-pound striper that hit a six-inch Chartreuse BKD. Nice evening, wish I had had some guests on board. Thursday – Phil Bangert joined me for a day trip and we fished hard to land maybe 35-40 rock to 25-inches. No big fish this trip. Phil did manage to break out the fly rod and he proceeded to out-fish the spinning outfit! Fun morning. Took my Dad out for the evening trip and we hit a nice stack of fish east of the battery, most falling in the 16″ to 22″ range. Then I hit a drag-screamer that put the Stradic’s teflon washers to the test. I slowly pumped it back in and quickly measured a 36-inch, 22-pound beauty (sorry, no photo – didn’t want to keep her out of the water after such a game fight). With a healthy swat of the tail she was on her way, no worse for wear. That’s the appeal of the flats; one cast can be a 20-inch schoolie (don’t like the word dink, doesn’t do these fish justice) while the very next retrieve can bring on a drag-burning twenty-pounder. Friday – Bill Enos and his friend (also Bill) were the unfortunate recipients of a strong northerly blow which turned the flats the color of chocolate milk. There were two or three really big fish caught but not on my boat. A few schoolies around also, but many skunks to report as well.  We elected to call our trip at noon. There are some really nice fish around and I think things will pick up once the waters settle a bit. Home for Easter with the family and will be back at it bright and early Monday morning. Happy Easter everyone!

Fly fishing the susky

Bill Enos with a Folly Creek flounder from earlier in the week


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Josenhans Fly Fishing ~ More Flounder, and Walk On Trip at the Susky Flats

31 03 2012

Chris with a good-size Metompkin Bay Flounder

The Susquehanna Flats has come alive while I’m off flounder fishing – but I don’t miss it! The wind has blown all week. Couple that with a few cold nights and the water in the back bays along the Virginia seaside has seen a marked drop in temperature. While it was 61 degrees before the blow, a friend fished all day Wednesday with the meter reading a cool 51 degrees. We were more fortunate yesterday, as my gauge read a steady 58 all afternoon. My fishing companions this day were Chris Cianci, Chuck Prahl and Jay Harford. While the action wasn’t off-the-charts hot, it was steady; and we ended the afternoon trip with ten legal flounder up to 20 1/2-inches.  Most were in the 18-inch range. Good weather, friends and great conversation made for a very pleasant way to spend a spring afternoon. Three more flounder excursions then it’s off to the flats. I’ll try to keep the reports coming, but I’ll need to bum a computer to do so. Fishing everyday at the flats might not give me much time to write, but I’ll at least try to send some photos – bear with me..

Jay had the hot hand, and finished the day with a flurry

We all thought Chuck had the pool winner, but this clearnose skate proved otherwise

Susquehanna Flats Walk On Notice – I have two spots available for a half-day evening trip on Thursday, April 12. I hope to be casting poppers to BIG rockfish!! The total cost per person is just $115.00, which includes fishing license, quality G. Loomis rods, Shimano Stradic spinning reels, tackle,  ice, drinks and light snacks. No hidden fees!! We’ll start at 3:00 PM and fish until dark. I’ll meet you at my slip at the Havre de Grace City Yacht Basin next to the Millard Tydings Memorial Park. There’s nothing like seeing a ten to twenty-pound striper smash a top-water lure as it skips across the calm surface of the flats. First two calls are in, so don’t delay! Email is kjosenhans@aol.com or call my cell at 443-783-3271.

 


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