No Limits, session notes from the Rogue.

"Every single reef ever built off of Maryland, Delaware, or Virginia, every marine reef has been almost
instantly colonized by sea bass. In just a few days, or at most weeks: there they are."
-Captain Monty Hawkins, Ocean City Reef Foundation
Sunrise over the Atlantic, twenty-some miles east of the OC: the Bass Grounds. 10/13/2019.

   Fishing post. A trip that I believe is becoming annual. Last year's was in the Spring. This year in the Fall. Lessons learned... Spring loads the fish. Fall is more strategic. The schools start to migrate, or  hibernate. Or, just become quieter. Whatever happens, we experienced it last Sunday. Weather's been windy a with Subtropical Melissa off-shore. Tide, combined with a full moon, has been super high. Water's been cooling down below 70. Gettin' ready to be full-suit conditions. This trip, a cold autumn morning. I was feelin' it. Was ready. Had me a hoodie,and my Pelagic hurricane jacket. Chartered on the Morningstar with Capt. Monty, and headed thirty miles out into the Atlantic with my fishin' partners DP, and neighbor LP. Rough seas on our way, but a line always out to see what followed us. Crew did manage a False Albacore catch.

This near-record false albacore gave a real fight.

Bait ready...clams anyone?

 









     Five to seven foot swells continued through the entire route. Like I said, rough times, and it didn't let up the full time we were out. Even after we arrived at the first reef, the ship rocked and rolled all morning. All ya could do to keep your footing. Unlike last year, we had a number of guys lose their cookies this time around. Chummin' that didn't help too much. At our first locale, we were pulling Black Sea Bass up fairly consistently. Not a lot of keepers. A lot of borderlines. Wish we had kept more than we did. Next couple of reef stops yielded even less. Did have a couple of guys pull in some nice size Triggers. Nobody caught their limit. And all the movin' around made for a long day, (even longer for some). 4 pm. return. The Wife had been waiting patiently for our fish dinner. Was worth it! Next year however, I'm thinking we head out in the Spring again.

No limits met, but plenty of nice size fish. Morningstar return, 10/13/2019.

   A fishin' post, a fishin' beer. Well actually, as big as this beer was, more of an after fishing beer. Who else? Fin City Brewing, of course. They've just been full of fishing themed brews. A delicious DIPA in Double HUK. Poured a cloudy orange-copper with a less than two-finger, beige head. Thick, sticky lacing. Strong, dank aromas of pine and that signature grapefruit scent of plenty of hops with a toasted malt backbone. Taste was herbal, equally resinous as the smell. Good carbonation. Even more citrus. 88 IBUs of crisp bitterness and a rich aura of toffee to offset. Nice double IPA. Balanced, and strong though not boozy. At 7.9% ABV, a few of these and the fish will grow as much as the number caught. Rated an A-.

"Beer. It always seems like such a good

idea, doesn't it? Beer seems like an even

better idea after you've had some beer."

-Steven Hill