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 ~ 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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