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CBBT 7-12-14, Sat
Met HokieDJ and we were on the water after 8 am. Nice day, mostly sunny with low winds. Current was a bit tougher later part of the afternoon.
Targets were sheeps, spades and flounder. I jigged some using a tandem rig with bucktail and Gulp, but I mainly soaked frozen sand fleas and clams. We went out to the first island. We could not hook up with any sheep or spade. Kept hooking up with croakers and toads. Listened to the marine radio; it seemed like a slow day. The yakers and boaters I saw seemed to catch only croakers, toads and sea bass.
My catch:
397 croakers
Dozen toads (one hooked by the tail ?!?!)
One keeper flounder (16.5")
Gargatha 7-13-14 Sun
I couldn't help the timing, and was on the water after 7 am and caught the incoming. When I reached the beach area, the current was at a good pace going north. I tried the drift, but it was a haul coming back. I gave up after two short passes. Even when I called it a day and headed back in during the afternoon; it was bad timing. I caught the outgoing tide, not to mention a good wind pushing against me. It was tough working the drifts. In fact, I didn't want to fish the drift because it would be too much work getting ground back. I spent most of my time fighting the current rather than fishing. I did manage a bunch of croakers and one short flounder using bucktail/Gulp though.
Around noontime there was a helicopter flying low around the beach area. It made several passes over a 2-3 hour period. "What is going on?," I said, and continued fishing.
Later, I headed back in. All of a sudden I heard a loud steady thundering blast. I looked over my right shoulder into the sky and saw a rocket zooming up. I could see the bright white rocket blast. It took several seconds before I realized I should take a pic.
Using x-y axis in the pic, starting from the lower left, you can see the white dot at x=8, y=5. I've also attached an enlarged pic of the rocket.
I later learned it was a rare Antares rocket launch from the Wallops Flight Facility about 10 miles away. Cool. It was the first time I ever saw a rocket launch.
When I was about halfway in battling the outbound tide and headwind I stopped to rest at the channel side. I saw a bunch of fiddler crabs on the mud bank. "This is excellent sheepie bait," I thought.
Anyone try to keep these things alive? Probably not worth catching and raising them for the next sheepie fishing trip. I guess I'd rather just stop by a bait shop. Anyway, they're sort of small, but you can see their claws in the pics.
Happened to meet Hanover at the ramp. He didn't catch any flounder either, but he had his son (9 yrs?) on the Hobie PA out there. His son really enjoyed the launch.
Well, it was my second trip here, and I'm going to have to learn how to better fish this place. Bad timing on the tide flow, not to mention the wind.
CBBT pics
Met HokieDJ and we were on the water after 8 am. Nice day, mostly sunny with low winds. Current was a bit tougher later part of the afternoon.
Targets were sheeps, spades and flounder. I jigged some using a tandem rig with bucktail and Gulp, but I mainly soaked frozen sand fleas and clams. We went out to the first island. We could not hook up with any sheep or spade. Kept hooking up with croakers and toads. Listened to the marine radio; it seemed like a slow day. The yakers and boaters I saw seemed to catch only croakers, toads and sea bass.
My catch:
397 croakers
Dozen toads (one hooked by the tail ?!?!)
One keeper flounder (16.5")
Gargatha 7-13-14 Sun
I couldn't help the timing, and was on the water after 7 am and caught the incoming. When I reached the beach area, the current was at a good pace going north. I tried the drift, but it was a haul coming back. I gave up after two short passes. Even when I called it a day and headed back in during the afternoon; it was bad timing. I caught the outgoing tide, not to mention a good wind pushing against me. It was tough working the drifts. In fact, I didn't want to fish the drift because it would be too much work getting ground back. I spent most of my time fighting the current rather than fishing. I did manage a bunch of croakers and one short flounder using bucktail/Gulp though.
Around noontime there was a helicopter flying low around the beach area. It made several passes over a 2-3 hour period. "What is going on?," I said, and continued fishing.
Later, I headed back in. All of a sudden I heard a loud steady thundering blast. I looked over my right shoulder into the sky and saw a rocket zooming up. I could see the bright white rocket blast. It took several seconds before I realized I should take a pic.
Using x-y axis in the pic, starting from the lower left, you can see the white dot at x=8, y=5. I've also attached an enlarged pic of the rocket.
I later learned it was a rare Antares rocket launch from the Wallops Flight Facility about 10 miles away. Cool. It was the first time I ever saw a rocket launch.
When I was about halfway in battling the outbound tide and headwind I stopped to rest at the channel side. I saw a bunch of fiddler crabs on the mud bank. "This is excellent sheepie bait," I thought.
Anyone try to keep these things alive? Probably not worth catching and raising them for the next sheepie fishing trip. I guess I'd rather just stop by a bait shop. Anyway, they're sort of small, but you can see their claws in the pics.
Happened to meet Hanover at the ramp. He didn't catch any flounder either, but he had his son (9 yrs?) on the Hobie PA out there. His son really enjoyed the launch.
Well, it was my second trip here, and I'm going to have to learn how to better fish this place. Bad timing on the tide flow, not to mention the wind.
CBBT pics
Croaker is my fish for 2014. I can't seem to catch much else.
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