What a weekend for fishing! In spite of the poor weather forecasted, once again we had beautiful weather with the winds expected from that tropical storm off of the Carolinas did not kick up till the afternoon hours each day. The final arrival of croaker has the fishing community excited. Those tasty little fish bring a lot of fun-fishing action for all ages. Plus they taste good, too, you just have to be real careful - they are boney! Anglers flound croaker in the Queen Sound area as well as trhe Canal, the Chincoteague Channel and a few in the Assateague Channel. Still out there in good numbers are spot and kingfish. Best baits for all the smaller fish are the FishBites Bloods or squid. Due to their small mouths, you've got to cut the baits in small pieces - about the size of your fingernail and use small hooks (a #4 long shank or a spot, mullet or porgy rig). Although you will work hard and go through about 40 - 50 throwbacks, the flounder are still out there. Last week we saw about a dozen keepers.REMEMBER TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE SEASON CLOSURE FOR FLOUNDER!!! THE NEXT TEN DAYS YOU CANNOT KEEP A FLOUNDER!! THE SEASON WILL OPEN AGAIN ON JULY 31st!!!
Offshore action is so hot that anglers are getting on each other's nerves!! There are so many boats at the Lumpy Bottom fishing for BlueFin Tuna, that the area is getting crowded, if you can believe that!! The bite is so good (Thank you, God) - fish averaging in the upper 80 lbs are almost a guarantee (if you know what you are doing)! In addition to BlueFin - the smaller YellowFin are showing up - which is real good since you can keep 3 YellowFin per person and only 1 BlueFin per vessel. Kinda offsets that cost you are paying for fuel! Chunking with butters and sardines are the preferred methods to bring these fish "on". Also, being caught are cobia, mackerel and maki-maki.

The wrecks are alive with sea bass, spadefish, sheephead and tautog. Clams, squid and sand fleas are the baits you'll need for the wrecks. Also, some huge flounder came in from the wrecks. Again, remember if you fish and catch flounder - you've got to throw it back regardless of the size or if you are outside the 3 mile limit in the federal waters, you've got to return to the Virginia jurisdiction and then you are in the closure area. Big Stiff Fines - Not Worth It!!!

We have the best butterfish found on the Island, so we've been told. Also, we have Bionic BallyHoo, rigged BallyHoo, sardines, all types of chums and good reliable info about the fish and where they are biting. Drop in on us. We are open at 4:00AM for you offshore guys on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On that note, I'll talk at ya later…

Donna

Richard & Barb are from Hagerstown, MD, most of the time and when tuna season is hot, they are from Chincoteague. Having a place on the island, Richard takes advantage of every moment he can get off from his postal job to be here fishing. AND HE CAN FISH!!! He is probably one of the top 5 people I know that is knowledgable about fishing just about every species in the ocean! Not the least bit proud or arrogant (you know, sometimes these offshore guys can be that way - face it, blue water fishing is all about attitude & know-how), Richard just goes out, fishes, cleans it, eats it… No bragging… My first tuna trip was with him and Barb on their boat "Little Shakey" & man, was it!! But, that's another story for the "cabin-fever" months because , believe me, IT WAS QUITE A STORY!!. Thank God - they don't have that boat any longer… And fishing with Barb is a trip in inself!! Again, another time, another story!! But, we love ya, Barb!!

Bob Ruppell and friend, Robert Byers had another banner day fishing the Lumpy Bottom. This tuna weighed in at 80 lbs.

Larry was real excited about this 21" flounder that was netted in front of Capt. Bob's Marina. He as using a minnow and fishing in about 9' of water.

Fishing from a kayak is a great deal different than fishing for tuna in the ocean. Josh Salter, our kayak tour guide, went fishing with Bob Ruppell, on the Karica II, last Thursday. They fished the Lumpy Bottom and came home with this nice 96 lb. bluefin. They were chunking with butters in 85' of water. Josh is going to be leaving us soon to go back to college in Georgia. He spent his summer working for NASA and Capt. Bob's. His dream and goal is to be a marine biologist one day. We will really miss him!

Bridget Cray, of Salt Point, NY, was fishing with Capt. Charlie, Island Queen Charters, in about 13 - 16' of water, in the Wallops island area, when she pulled up this 1-2 lb. kingfish! They were using for bait - WHAT ELSE??? - FishBites!!

Bringing in any flounder that exceeds a size limit above 12" is indeed a great catch since our waters have warmed up and the larger flatties move out to the cooler waters. Tony Cianci of Westminister, MD, caught this 24 1/2" flounder using minnows, while fishing the Queen Sound area.

Watch a catch - just goes to show that even a "captain's" wife knows her business when it comes to fishing. JoAnne, wife of Capt. Brett, and her friend, Vivian, had a great day fishing for kingfish.

Capt. Bob's Marina

Chincoteague Island, Virginia
www.captbobs-marina.com