I had told my
crew earlier in the week
that I didn't think it
looked good for the weekend
but I was leaving it up
to them. If they thought
there was a weather window,
I'd go. Johnny Boyd
was the only one smart
enough to say that it
looked too rough. The
others must have gotten
to him because dark and
early Sunday morning we
were all at the boat. I
asked if anyone had actually
looked at the forecasts
and they said yes, "it's
diminishing". It was too
dark to really see when
we left but I could make
out a line of white water
across the inlet. I said that
does not look good and
they just said that it's
diminishing. It did not
diminish and I need
smarter friends but we
did make it out there. Stan
Simmerman caught our
one sea bass to qualify for
trophy citation. The bluefish
were not as bad this
trip. We caught a lost
blueline tilefish which
was released. The dogfish
were worse but we still
managed a nice catch of
sea bass. We were met at
the fuel dock by VMRC
fishery personnel who
measured and weighed
our fish. We were then
met at the slip by VMRC
law enforcement who
counted our catch as we
offloaded it. Amazingly,
the guys had kept a perfect
count out there. This
February sea bass fishery
has to be the most closely
monitored recreational
fishery ever in Virginia.
We get a special permit.
We call before we head
out, call when we return,
are met at the dock by
VMRC and we also report
our catch online. If this
sounds like a lot, it is but
it really has not been a
problem at all. The VMRC
people, both fisheries and
law enforcement, have
been super friendly and
appreciative. They are
making up for decades of
zero federal "wave-one"
catch data during this special
fishery which has
turned out to be a big science
project. Being all for
science, my crew is
already messaging me
that next weekend looks
good.
