Josenhans FF ~ November Wrap-Up

19 12 2011

And a windy November it was.. The greatest challenge of the past month was not catching fish, but juggling the schedule to accommodate everyone who wanted to fish. A stiff breeze was relentless! I know some of you were moved three times before we were able to hit the water. Thanks everyone for your patience and flexibility. Now on to fishing.

An early November trip brought Tim and Matt King down to Crisfield for some late fall rockfishing. The water was ‘slick cam’ in the morning, with some very nice rockfish caught around the sod banks of Smith Island. Someone flicked the wind switch around eleven o’clock and we hit zero to 25 in the blink of an eye. Made for a fun ride home. “Part of the adventure,” Tim said. Oh, Tim did manage to catch a “Diamond Jim” fish, but when he called the number on the tag he was told the tournament had expired. Sorry Tim.

Matt King with the season's last speckled trout. What a year it was!

Tim with "Diamond Jim"

 

Matt King enjoyed the fight of rock like this beauty while using the feather-light G.Loomis Pro Green series spinning rod

 

Monday, November 7 brought Karl Bernetich and Bernie Kemp together for a walk-on trip. This has been a popular cost-saving program, while at the same time giving fellow anglers a chance to make new friends.  I’ll act as your booking agent and make all the arrangements at no extra cost to you. Since the program’s inception, several clients have made repeat requests to fish with the same angler. 
Karl Bernetich picked a good day to fly fish the creeks of Smith Island
Wednesday, November 9 was a wild day, weatherwise. Dave Fetterman, his son Cory, along with Dave’s brother Kurt met me bright and early at the Somers Cove ramp in Crisfield, only to be greeted by a blanket of fog. While visibility was limited, we could see far enough to avoid a collision, so off we went. It was kind of neat actually, the GPS helped point me to a shoreline location that I wanted to fish, the sod bank would appear out of the haze, and more times than not there were rockfish waiting for our offerings.  It was fun fishing and gave us a sense that we were the only boat on the sound. Later in the morning, as the sun burned-off the fog, we chased surface-feeding rockfish in the bay out near the target ship. A great day on the water with three great friends.

Dave Fetterman was happy with his Smith Island creek striper

   

Kurt and Cory spot working birds through the lifting fog

On Saturday, November 19, it was a treat for me to take Mark Horst and his three boys fishing out of Crisfield. His sons Kent, Shannon and Delvin turned out to be very good with the spinning rods. After a slow, cold morning – and a boat trip that seemed to cover Tangier Sound in its entirety – we found breaking fish right out in front of Crisfield at the infamous “Puppy Hole.” The boys had a blast pulling in rockfish to five pounds. Thanks for hanging tough guys! 

Kent handles this rock like he's done it a thousand times

 

Shannon shows off a nice rock

 

And the big fish of the day goes to young Delvin! Nice catch!!

 

Mark and his sons after a fun trip!

On the day after Thanksgiving, Frank Shipper, along with his two sons Chris and Ford, met me at the docks of Somers Cove Marina for a six-hour trip in search of breaking rockfish. It took a good ride in the cool morning air, but we finally found the stripers just east of Tangier Island. The guys had a fun time jigging soft plastics and Li’l Bunker spoons by Specialized Baits, all-the-while catching rockfish averaging 17″ to 22.” After a couple of hours of steady action Frank says “let’s get lunch.” A hot crab cake platter at Drum Point Market in Tylerton on Smith Island was the perfect ending to a fun morning.

Chris and Ford catching two at a time

On Saturday, November 26, Justin Matoska and friend Kenny Fletcher enjoyed catching schoolie stripers on both fly and spin-tackle. We ran into working birds pretty much everywhere we tried, which was pretty much everywhere.. Kenny managed to master the fly rod and catch his very first saltwater fish of any kind on a fly. Thanks for being a quick study Kenny.

Birds working over acres of rockfish - a common sight in November!

 

Justin trying out the G.Loomis NRX 9-wt. A real gem to cast!

 Jack McKenna was one of my final trips of the year out of Crisfield and he enjoyed a mixed bag of breaking rockfish early, followed by a few shallow water stripers around the banks of Smith Island. Finishing-off the year in the creeks of Smith Island was the perfect way to end a terrific season on Tangier Sound. Now it’s off to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel for a last fling at some big sea-run rockfish. At least that’s the plan…

My Lowrance HDS-7 helps to keep tabs on the rockfish when the birds take a break

 

One final creek rockfish for Jack


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Josenhans Fly Fishing ~ Snapshots of Autumn

23 11 2011

 

Creek fishing for fall rockfish

We have switched to full rockfish-mode here on Tangier Sound and fishing has been very good when the wind allows us to get out. While there are still a few rock swimming the creeks of Smith Island, as they search for killifish and small mud crabs, the majority of stripers have schooled along the edges of the sound’s deep channel. Look for bird activity – gulls, pelicans and diving gannets – to signal feeding rockfish. While most of the rock have been running 18″ to 26,” the occasional fish over 30″ is always a possibility. This run-and-gun fishing should last through mid-December, but you need to bundle-up. Enjoy some snapshots of ‘Fall on Tangier.’ My best always, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Paul Eichelberger fooled this creek rockfish with his custom-tied fly

 

"Paul's Fly" was the ticket!

 

Ray Leety having fun with the 'long wand'

 

Paul with another striper on the fly

On Halloween day, Jack McKenna had a special morning while looking for rock in the tidal creeks of Smith Island. After a dozen or so nice stripers at our very first stop, we rounded a bend only to find rockfish exploding on the surface along the edge of a shallow flat. Jack tied a small popper on his 8 wt. and for two solid hours had rockfish from 18″ to 23″ jumping all over his topwater offering! Fly fishing doesn’t get any better than this!!

Jack McKenna in fly fishing heaven

 

Crab shanties of Smith Island

 A trip out of Madison on the Little Choptank yielded acres of breakers for Margaret and Doug Worrall and long-time friend Ann McIntosh. Fall is where the fish are!!

Margaret Worrall with one of many Little Choptank rockfish

Tom Weaver, Dave Wood and Nick Shuck, USMC Col. Ret., enjoyed a beautiful fall day fishing the creeks and bayside shorelines of Smith Island. One secluded spot in particular brought a flurry of action with bigger stripers that kept this captain hopping like a barefooted kid on a  hot tar road.

Tom Weaver shows off a healty rockfish

 

Nick Shuck enjoyed the action of the light G.Loomis spinning rods

 

Dave Wood had the hot hand at the 'big fish' hole


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Josenhans Fly Fishing ~ After the Wind

11 11 2011

October usually provides me with a day off here and there, what with the odd cold front pushing its way through. Well, beginning on the 19th a strong front kept me off the water for three straight days. I thought this just might do it for the specks, as we had some fairly cold nights mixed in with the wind. See the results for yourself..

Saturday, October 22 – I moved north a bit and met Tom Hylden and Shelley Davis in the small town of Nanticoke on the upper portion of Tangier Sound. This is a short portage for Tom and Shelley, as they wanted to tryout the fishing closer to home. We fished the shallows of Fishing Bay, Bloodsworth and Holland Islands. A cold morning it was..

Shelley landed this 24" rock on a brisk morning out of Nanticoke

Tom managed to get in on the action with his fly rod

Sunday, October 23 – Keith Campbell and Bill Martin flew into the Salisbury airport where I picked them up for the thirty-minute trip to Crisfield. We spent a beautiful fall day on Tangier Sound casting shads and Bass Assassins to the stumpy points and creeks of Smith Island. The morning started off a little slow, but as the tide ebbed in the afternoon the fish came alive and both Keith and Bill had good success with stripers to 24″ along with five speckled trout. Looks like the specks might hang around a while despite the cooler water.

Monday, October 24 – Boy, am I getting spoiled by this gorgeous fall weather. Matt LaFleur and Wil Goetz, along with Tammy and Tobey Godwin met me at Somers Cove Marina for a six-hour evening trip, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries I made a beeline for Fox Island. The tide was perfect for my favorite speck hole, and after catching a few yesterday, I wanted to see if our success was a fluke. The water temperature was down to 63 degrees, and though a bit on the cool side it was still  well within the specks comfort zone. It turned out to be a great evening of fishing with good friends and the speckled trout and rockfish proved eager to please. I think we finished the day with 15 specks to 20″ and a like number of rockfish to 23.”

Wil started the afternoon off right with this colorful speck

Tobey had the hot hand with the specks

Tammy got in on the action with this nice rock

Matt and Tobey double-up on specks

Wil took top honors on rockfish

 

 


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Josenhans Fly Fishing ~ Specks Go Out With A Bang!

8 11 2011

This has been some year for speckled trout on Tangier Sound. Perhaps the best in ten years. There seems to have been another successful spawn this season, with many juvenile fish showing in fishermen’s catches, so I’m cautiously optimistic that the speckled trout population has returned to its once great levels. The final test will be a good 2012 spring season. Lets hope that come May of next year, when the water temperature reaches that magic 62 degree mark,  everyone’s favorite trout will once again cruise the grassy flats of Tangier Sound. 

Thursday, October 13 –   Michael Avara and Mary Norton booked me for a half-day morning trip and enjoyed good action with rock  on poppers to 6-1/2 lbs. along with eight speckled trout from 16″-19.”  Nice mornings work!

Mary Norton holds her largest ever popper-caught rockfish

Michael Avara pulled this beauty from the banks of Fox Island

Monday and Tuesday, October 17 and 18 – Just as sure as the Monarch butterfly migration every fall, Maurice Klein and Gene Jones show up every October for a couple of days fishing. Well, fishing and eating Smith Island crab cakes. This year was no different as I enjoyed two beautiful fall days fishing with old friends. Monday was record-day, as Maurice and Gene eclipsed the existing two-person, single day record for the season by boating 32 speckled trout. The trout averaged   16″ to 21.”  Tuesday was for stripers, as we chose to concentrate our efforts on bagging a creel limit of rockfish. We succeeded, and then some, as we played catch-n-release for the remainder of the day. Another nine specks were added to the mix for a two-day total of 41 specks. Nice work guys!

Maurice and Gene with a net full of good-eating specks

Maurice with his homemade popper/clouser speck teaser

It's "lavender", not purple

Gene with a Smith Island "creek" rockfish


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Josenhans Fly Fishing ~ October Specks

5 11 2011

Friday, October 7 – Paul Anderson, his son Matt, along with Paul’s brother Mike joined me for a day chasing rock, blues and specks. At daybreak we had rock to 26″ on poppers,  hard-fighting blues to three-pounds mid-day and ended with a speck apiece ranging from 18″ – 20″ for three Tangier ‘Slams.’ It doesn’t get any better than this!

Paul, Mike and Matt with some Tangier variety

Saturday, October 8 – Chris Cianci, Chuck Prahl and Don Cochran took a break from their home waters on the Choptank River to put Tangier Sound to the test. We began the day with some topwater rockfish action, with many more blow-ups than hook-ups. Sometimes rockfish aren’t very good at eating poppers. The excitement of the strike though is well worth the effort. The surface action was interrupted when Don switched to a 4″ shad and began to hook speck-after-speck. It didn’t take long for the other guys to take the hint and soon all had boated a nice speck or three to 21.” Final tally on the specks was eight. I think we could have done much better were it not for the super pretty day, light winds and an abundance of Saturday boat traffic. A guide’s gotta have some excuse..

Don Cochran had the hot hand on specks

Monday, October 10 – Ed Roach, Doug D. and David Blorstadt enjoyed great daybreak topwater action on stripers up to six-pounds. The shallow-water rockfish really put on a show, smacking the Storm and Stillwater poppers all over the sound. The action died once the sun came up so we turned our attention to blues. While the size of the blues has diminished, there was just enough action to keep the guys entertained. After the blues quieted down, we went speck-hunting. While playing hard-to-get, we did land a few nice specks, with Doug’s 22″ beauty the prize of the day. We picked at school stripers for the remainder of the day while enjoying good weather and conversation.  Three nicer guys you could not fish with.

Dave Blorstadt had some early topwater success

Tuesday, October 11 – Jack McKenna had a day to remember with speckled trout. Overcast skies, calm winds, clear water and plenty of spotted fishes! To top it all off, Jack is a fly fisherman, and an eight-weight was his weapon of choice. Specks jumped all-over Jack’s pink Cactus Striper as he boated 22 trout to four-pounds! To date, a 2011 high for my boat. Great job Jack, and be sure to tell your son in Florida that speckled trout fishing is alive and well here in Maryland..

 

Jack McKenna with one of many specks on the fly

 

 

Another fat speck

 

The pink Cactus Striper was a speck favorite

 


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Josenhans Fly Fishing ~ Pictorial Essay 2

29 10 2011

Thursday, September 29  – Scott Lange and Gary Peters brought a strong SW wind with them so we were forced to fish the protected waters of the Big Annemessex River just north of Crisfield. Things didn’t turn out too bad. The water was clear and we were able to cast poppers for a good bit of the morning. Well, judge the results for yourself..

Gary Peters with his 8 pound speckled trout - The fish hit a Stillwater Smack-it! popper

Scott Lange showing off his 4 1/2 pound speck

Quite a few stripers to five pounds hit our poppers as well, and we ended up with 7 specks from 2 to 8 pounds. Not bad for a windy day.

Saturday, October 1 – Another windy day, this time from the NW. Chris Karwacki Sr. and Chris Jr. decided to brave the conditions for a try at the Annemessex specks. We found clear water on the north shore of the river, but the water temperature had taken an overnight plunge. Specks don’t like sudden changes. We caught a few rock to 19″ and had a great time on a beautiful river, regardless.

Chris Sr. and Jr. enjoying a brisk day on the water

Wednesday, October 5 – My third trip on the Big Annemessex River in a week brought Al Torney, Charlie Frick and Nick Nicosia together for another cool, blustery outing. To their credit, the guys elected to give it a try as a stiff NW wind kept me looking for clean water once again. We found a few rock to 19″ and Al landed the only speck during the half-day trip. Great conversation and a few fish made for an enjoyable morning. The water temperature has dropped ten degrees in a week and is now down to 62 degrees.

Al Torney managed the only speck on a windy morning out of Crisfield

Thursday, October 6 – Norm Bayer and his brother Joe teamed up with Bob Hedrick and Jim Haire for a six-hour trip to Smith Island. A fairly brisk NE wind pushed us to the west side where we found good numbers of rockfish to 26 inches. Joe Bayer landed a nice 17″ speck.  Morning clouds kept the rock in the shallows for a nice long spell and the wind was not a factor while fishing the lee of the island.

Jim Haire coaxed a 7 pound striper out from behind a submerged stump


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Josenhans Fly Fishing ~ Pictorial Essay

29 10 2011

Friday, September 23 – George Lenard (www.specializedbaits.com), Dave Gedra and Rob Allen joined me for a trip on Tangier Sound.

George Lenard found Tangier specks loved the Li'l Jimy

 

Dave Gedra showing-off the specks beautiful spots

 

Speckled trout canines

 

Rob Allen with his over-stuffed speck. Final tally for the day was 20 trout!

 

Dave with a nice rock

Sunday, September 25 – Justin Matoska and Bernie Kemp joined up for one of my cost-sharing trips and we traveled to the Choptank River for some great speck and rock fishing. Great to see the specks that far north again. Final tally for the day was 10 specks from 16″ to 21″, plus numerous rockfish on poppers.

Justin Matoska showing-off a fat Choptank speck

 

Self-explanatory!! Only on the Eastern Shore!


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Josenhans Fly Fishing ~ Rock, Blues & Specks Like the Old Days!

16 10 2011

Rock have been giving my clients a super top-water show during the early morning hours casting Storm Chug Bug and Stillwater Smack-it! poppers. Bluefish in the two to four pound range seem to be everywhere, and they will chase the same poppers – even with the sun high in the sky. But the fish that has everyone buzzing is speckled trout. We have had some fantastic speck fishing this fall, much like days of old. While most of the specks are running 16″ to 21″ there have been quite a few in the four-pound range, with one tugging the Boga all the way to the eight-pound mark! That big fish was fooled by a Stillwater Smack-it! Jr. popper. Some highlights!

Monday, September 19 – Don Harrison and Drew Clemens had some fun with rock on poppers early casting the skinny water near Tangier Island. A cold front during the weekend had dropped the water temperature at my bluefish honey hole from 80 to 68 degrees. Not good. However, after moving to the bay proper west of Tangier we found warmer water and school after school of hungry two to three-pound blues. Don and Drew had their hands full – and kept the captain busy – for the remainder of the trip.

Wil Goetz with a 29-inch skinny water striper

Tuesday, September 20– Matt LaFleur, Wil Goetz and Alan Fiekin joined up for a trip to the lower end of Tangier Sound. From the first cast it was non-stop blues and rock anyway you wanted to catch them. While Matt and Will battled it out with three to five-pound blues while casting Storm Chug Bugs, Alan kept busy in the back of the boat throwing a popper with his fly rod. At times, the blues would literally become airborne in a head-on charge, before landing choppers-first on top of the fly. Stripers to five-pounds were in the mix as well. I was kept busy netting, releasing and re-tying for a good three hours straight. Who says fishing is a non-aerobic sport! To finish the day, we hit the skinny-water for some fantastic rockfish top-water action.

Matt LaFleur enjoyed non-stop action with rock and blues

Alan Fiekin caught his fish on the fly

Wednesday, September 21 – Jeff Kaplan had a great trip with early morning stripers on top-water, followed by all the blues and rock he could handle out on some underwater humps in the main bay. The rock ran up to 28 inches while the blues averaged two to four-pounds. I was finally able to drag Jeff away from the non-stop action to head to the grass flats for a try a speckled trout. Jeff was not disappointed as he landed six nice specks from 16″ to 23″ during our final hour of the trip! What a way to complete the Tangier ‘Slam!’

Nice speck Jeff!!

 

Makes getting up early worthwhile!

 

Jeff with another nice speck

 

Don Harrison with a nice rock

 

Drew Clemens caught this fat speck to complete the 'Tangier Slam'

 
 
 
 
 
 

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Josenhans FF ~ Fighting the Wind!

6 10 2011

Me posing with Chris' fly-caught speck

Wednesday, September 14 – Chris Goldmark and Dennis McVey joined me for a day in search of speckled trout. Chris is a guide out of New Jersey, who also fishes for bonefish and tarpon in Puerto Rico during the winter months – I don’t believe he has seen snow for a while. Up to this point, my previous clients have been preoccupied with the fantastic bluefish action we have been enjoying, but when I could pull them away we have caught our share of specks. I was looking forward to a full day of speck fishing. As is sometimes the case, the Tangier shallows were slightly turbid due to an overnight breeze. While the water was plenty fishable, my experience with speckled trout is that they don’t take well to sudden changes in water condition, either clarity or temperature. During late morning I was able to locate some clean water with a moving current down around Tangier Island. We quickly picked up three specks (Chris caught two on his 8 wt.) but that was it. Along the way, we also picked up small stripers and blues, but for the most part, the day was a slow pick. It was still a beautiful day on the water and we caught enough fish to keep things interesting. Thanks guys.

Thursday, September 15 – Bernie and Susan Kemp enjoyed some fantastic light tackle action with bluefish in the two to five pound range. After a morning hiding-out in the Big Annemessex river from a stong southerly wind, we were able to venture south to the lower end of Tangier Sound where we had all the blues we could handle. Nearly every fish exploded out of the water on the strike and many jumped several times before being brought to the boat.  The morning hadn’t been a total bust, as small specks and stripers allowed both Bernie and Susan to complete the Tangier ‘slam’ on spin-tackle.

Saturday, September 17 – Nick and Caren Eckwerth were greeted with the first nor’easter of the early fall season. A steady NE wind and cool rain had caused a sudden drop in water temperature which did not sit well with the fish. The fickle shallows can be like that. Clean water was also at a premium. It was still an enjoyable day on the water, with Caren picking up a handsome speck and Nick adding a rock or two. With good company and a boat, who needs fish anyway!


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Josenhans FF ~ Tangier Slam is Alive and Well!

24 09 2011

The Tangier Slam – or one version of it – is usually considered catching a rockfish, bluefish and speckled trout on fly during the same day. Well, this is the time of the year to come on down and give it a shot. That is, if I can get you away from the blues once you get here. Yesterday, we had six of the prettiest speckled trout that you ever want to see from 16″ to 20″  that we caught during a quick stop on the way in from a very successful day of watching rock and blues knock our poppers all over the sound. When the weather has cooperated, the fishing of the past two weeks has been phenomenal! Here is a brief summary of some of the highlights.

Sunday, September 11 – I Fished with Gus McKee and his son Mac, along with Gus’ father-in-law Lou Pochettino and nephew Alex Pochettino. We found the mother lode of blues down near Watts Island and all hands had their fill. The 2 – 5 pound bluefish were all young Mac could handle on the light G. Loomis spinning rod, and the fellows sure kept the captain busy with the net! Great to see the younger generation get such a kick out of fishing. I believe Alex and Mac are ‘hooked.’

Alex and Mac with their trophy

Gus, Mac and Alex after a fun day on Tangier Sound

Monday, September 12 – Today I had the pleasure to fish with The Frederick News-Post Outdoors Editor Jim Heim. Jim writes the Casts and Shots column for the paper and I was hoping upon hope that the fishing this day would be worthy of a small article. Boy, did the fish ever hold up their end of the bargain. We started the day near Tangier Island casting Storm Chug Bug and Stillwater Smack-it! poppers to ravenous rockfish in four feet of water. Most of the rock were in the 18″ to 24″ range, and they really put on a topwater show in that skinny-water. After two to three hours of nonstop action, we traveled across Tangier Sound to find hungry two to five pound bluefish ready for an encore. Only difference here was that there’s no quit in bluefish. Same lures, same surface explosions, but each fight lasted several minutes longer. I think Jim’s arms were sore at the end of the day. That’s a good thing if you’re a guide… See Jim’s article at the link for Casts and Shots.

 

Lew completes the 'slam'

Tuesday, September 13– Lew Armistead and Donny McDougall brought their fly rods and were greeted with ‘slick cam’ conditions on Tangier Sound. We started off the day catching a few rockfish on sinking lines, but it didn’t come close to the top-water action that we had enjoyed the day before. With bluefish waiting to please, I pointed the bow east and told the guys to hang on. Upon arrival at a spot near Watts Island the guys were hooked up almost immediately. While Clousers and sinking lines worked well, both Lew and Donny quickly switched to floating lines and Gurglers for some of the most exciting top-water fly action that I have witnessed in a long time. Two to five-pound blues slashed, crashed and dove on top of the popping Gurgler, until both flies needed the occasional field repair. A simple piece of 15# monofilament was all that was required to restore the Gurgler to “nearly new” condition. Lew asked me what type of knot I had used to make the repair and I replied “lots of knots!” There’s no time for perfection during the heat of battle, therefore, I believe it was Lew who coined the name “Triage Knot.” I wonder if I should get a patent?? We even saved an hour at the end of the day to catch four gorgeous specks to 20″ up near Fox Island, thus, both Lew and Donny were able to accomplish the ‘Tangier Slam!’ Nice going guys.

Donny with a nice blue on fly

 

Not to be outdone - Lew with an average-sized bluefish

 

Donny 'hooked-up!'


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