Morning Knotheads, from the Rogue's notes.

Headed home with limit met in record time! Somewhere on the Atlantic, 6/23/2018.

Well hey, hey, hey, I'll be screwed
Blued, and tatooed
Looks like I got me one of them
Fish on!       -Primus

   Planned trip with my fishin' partner, DP. Entire day planned around catchin' our limit of Black Sea Bass, alias, the Knothead. Fifteen per person, 12.5" minimum length. Early, fogged-in morning start (6:30 am...damn-it). Put out from the Ocean City Fishing Center. Three hour tour to the wreck site we'd be fishing. Approximately 35 miles out. Lil' bit of  rough trip out. Probably six to ten foot seas. Fog started burnin' off about halfway out. At the 20 mile mark we stopped to add block to an artificial reef "in progress." Captain Monty Hawkins of our charter, the Morning Star, is a huge supporter of the Ocean City Reef Foundation.

Mornin' instruction before launch. Below...trip out.

To this point he had dropped over 21,200 blocks and pavers, and sunk barges, wrecks, decommissioned military vehicles, and ships to add to the coastal habitats and preserve our oceans resources for generations to come. (Yeah I know, blah, blah, blah, plug). Upon reaching our highly classified "spot" we dropped lines. Baits included squid and clams. I'm tellin' ya, fish on almost every time you reeled in. Drop in, two fish. Drop in, another. Drop in, two more. For approximately two hours the whole boat was goin' like this. Gave a decent fight too, until about five feet from the surface and the pressure difference would cause their air bladder to push forward out of the mouth.

Reel 'em in. Fill the box.
Do it again. Pure Stoke.

The captain and mates Daniel and Taylor were amazed at how quickly each rod maxed out, even providing the extra fish for the crew. Smaller swell and bright sun provided the three hour smooth track back to harbor. Just enough time for the mates to clean all fish (26 head x 15 each). DP and I were stoked. Stoked with our catch. Stoked with the charter. Definitely gotta do this again.

Return trip. OCMD's view from the Inlet, 6/23/2018.

Safe harbour.

   Very same evening the Wife and I bagged 'em and put 'em on ice...'cept for four fillets. Paired these up with Key Brewing's Undertow. A Gose brewed with sea kelp and blackberries. Poured a hazy, copper-gold with a finger-thick, white head. Aromas of sea water and tropical fruit. Salty, acidic tart, citrus taste typical of a gose/sour with a refreshing, lightly bitter, dry finish. Outta Dundalk, MD, a real nice summer offering at 4.4% ABV. Sea kelp! I mean what better match-up? Rated a B+.

"Summer is so close you can smell

it. And it smells like bonfires, 

fishin', and cold ones." 

-E.Dibbles Jr.

Respect.

Murky Start, from the Rogue's notes.

Pumpin' out every drop; making the most of the murk 'n chop. Holidays break, 6/21/2018.

   Been a murky start to Summer. Overcast on Solstice day. Rain. Cooler temps. Onshore nor'east winds. Always chops up the whole affair. Although a sediment filled foamy green, the Atlantic's water continued to warm. Up around 70F. Rubber top and trunks much better than a suit. Less rubber is always better. Getting out a couple times a week. Feelin' better. More relaxed on take-off. Think less. Surf more.
   Drink more...beer. Couple of brews to clear the murk. Ballast Point's Manta Ray, a Double IPA just full of melon, tangerine, and citrus aromas. Pine and tropical grapefruit tang in the taste. Poured a hazy, orange-gold with a two finger, fluffy, white head. A sharp bitter sweetness in the finish that was more mellow than the 70 IBUs would indicate. This one would sneak up on ya as an 8.5% alcohol brew will do. Ballast Point is consistent. Not the best DIPA I've had, but a very good one. Rated a B+.

"Although I can still party like a

 rock star, it would appear I can't

recover like one."    -Anon

Picked up the next one as a sharable for those who aren't big IPA'ers, however upon first sip, I liked it. Found it very refreshing. From the town too big for one state, Beach Break Apricot Wheat outta Delmar, Delaware's 3rd Wave Brewing. Poured a bubbly straw gold with a thin fast dissipating head. Brewed with 16 IBUs worth of hops from Oregon's Mt. Hood. A refreshing dry bitterness with light notes of juicy apple and apricot, light malt and zesty pepper in the taste. Definitive smell of apricots, clove, and spice. At 4.8% ABV, I had one, and another and another. Rated a B.

Hangin' Out, from the Rogue's notes.

Skated into late take-offs to git 'em. Little right here, little right there. Holiday's break, 6/14/2018.

"It's sort of like a tribe, a group of friends 
you see all the time. You travel with them, 
you break bread with them. You're part of a
family in a sense. That's what surfing is..." 
                                               -Art Brewer

   Only one day out. Work around of the heavy rains from last weekend and earlier in the week. Clear evening. Very clean. Knee highs maybe. No push. Just break and die. Nice night though. Water had the slightest chill at 68F. Offshore winds light at about 5 knots. Got rid of the full suit.  Hangin' out with my nephew Cameron. Gettin' ready to head out to Californ-I-A to pursue his music biz dreams. Small surf made it easy to relax, catch a few rides, and kick around his plans. Chill sesh.

   Warm weather now startin' to hit. First somewhat clean, albeit small swell. Troegs First Cut Mango IPA was the perfect complement. Celebrating the newest hop crops of the season, First Cut pours a clear amber-orange with a finger and half eggshell white head. Notes of caramel malts, and grapefruit in the aroma. Mango forward with honey and biscuits in the taste. Nice, fresh, summer fruit taste with a 45 IBU, bitter-crisp finish. At 6.2%,  this was not an overly heavy beer. Very pleasant for the season. Rated a B+/A-.

"Ok learning juice, expand my brain..."

-Homer Simpson

Through The Juicer, from the Rogue's notes.

Really needed to run the swell through the juicer to squeeze any kinda nectar outta these rides. Knee-plus sections
from the latest nor'east frontal. 66th and Holiday's, 6/7/2018.

   Lately I get in the water and feel like my internal gyroscope has slipped. Everything feels unstable. Can't appreciate the feel of the board, the smell of the wax, the salt air. Even the sunset seems to have disappeared. Literally. Recent weather situation has set a cool front over the East Coast for the last few weeks. Supposed to improve soon. We'll see. Back to back surf last week. Conditions about the same both Wednesday and Thursday after work. Onshore winds about 10-15 knots. Tide goin' out. Minced swell, knee high or so. Drivel. Little better on day two. Managed a fairly decent backside ride that you could actually time on a watch. More than a couple seconds. Means better times 'a comin'...I hope.

Sloppy lefts, 65th St. 6/6/2018.

  Couple days of surf for first time in two seasons. Couple beers to proclaim the season. Frederick, MD's Flying Dog Brewery fills a gap with The Truth, an Imperial IPA that was pretty much an 80 IBU hop bomb thick with bready, resinous pine and grapefruit flavors and aromas of peach and citrus. Dry, bitter finish. Poured a clear lemon-orange with a thick, white, two-finger head. This bad-ass was full of itself at 8.7% ABV. Not many more than a couple. Rated an A.

My 2nd brew was a local concoction. Baltimore's National Bohemian, a Baltimore staple, that came out with it's first new beer in over 30 years. Crab Shack Shandy, a straw colored golden ale ringin' in at 4.2% so plenty could be thrown back in one sitting. Perfect for an afternoon on the beach, or boat, or deck, or whatever. Thin, fast dissipating head with aromas of a citrusy orange-lime mix. Tasted of sweet grains...overly sweet. And that's sayin' something for me. 15 IBUs means you will never confuse this with an IPA. Rated a C+ for originality. Summer's just about here.

"Be prepared to taste an entirely different
type of beer..." National Bohemian Ad.