A near-perfect day of fishing on the Angler

On Oct. 31, I was up at 3:30 a.m. and out the door around 4. I had packed my breakfast and lunch the night before, and emptied the ice maker in my refrigerator into plastic bags that were ready for my fishing cooler, so all I had to do was get dressed and head out the door. 

I am always amazed that people are on the road at 4 a.m. I know that all of them can’t be going fishing, and some are driving delivery trucks, so I understand why they are up. I guess the rest are coming from or going to work. I’m glad I am going fishing.

The drive down to Ocean City, Md., is very pleasant and most of the traffic lights were green. The friendly police officer in Bethany Beach awaits those who think they can speed through because it’s so early in the day.  My speed control is locked on 35.

Once at the Talbot Street dock, I unloaded my gear, picked up my ticket, No. 26, and boarded the Angler. I found a seat at one of the tables and discovered my tablemates and I have a friend in common. They are from Cambridge, Md., and know Chuck Praul. Chuck and I have known each other for many years, and I am happy to hear he is still fishing and making bucktails at 92.

We were away from the dock at 6 a.m., and two hours later, I made my first drop to the bottom. I used a top-bottom rig made by Chris, the mate on the Katydid, and it was baited with Gulp! As soon as the rig hit bottom, I had a solid hit and cranked up one of the largest sea bass I have ever caught. The second drop resulted in another nice sea bass, just a bit smaller than the first.

After that, nothing. Guys around me were steady catching, and I couldn’t buy a bite. I couldn’t believe my beloved Gulp! was letting me down.

I decided to make a change, but then the decision was made for me. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only one on the entire boat who got snagged on the bottom. Capt. Chris was working the deck and came over to break me off and tie on a new top-bottom rig. I baited up with salted clam, like everyone else, and started catching, like everyone else.

Capt. Chris kept moving from place to place. There was hardly any wind, so the drift was perfect and we used 8 ounces to hold bottom. Fishing was not drop and crank. Sometimes we went a few minutes without a bite and then, wham, hooked up.

If we stopped on a spot and everyone cranked up shorts, Chris would move right away. With sea bass, the big fish bite first. Of course, when you crank up two 12-inchers, it feels like a really big fish. Then you are disappointed when those little guys come over the rail.

I had my 15-fish limit in my cooler before noon. After a quick lunch, I started catching again. If I caught a bigger fish than one in the cooler, I would replace the small fish and give it to someone who didn’t have their limit. I believe I did that seven times before we headed back around 2 p.m.

I must say, that was as close to a perfect day of fishing as I have ever had. The weather was warm, the seas were calm, the wind was light, and the captain and mate were the best in the business. On top of all that, I caught a lot of fish! I hope I am around this spring when sea bass opens and I can get back out on the Angler.

Lewes Harbour Marina

There have been a few changes at Lewes Harbour Marina. Amanda Morris has sold the business to Bill Swords. Amanda and her husband Joe started there 30 years ago and built up a devoted clientele through hard work and excellent customer service. Having known Bill Swords for several years, I expect the same from him. 

I knew something had changed when I walked up to the store from the parking lot and all the chairs by the cleaning table matched. No more broken-down old men on broken-down old chairs. Now, at least the chairs are new.

In talking with Bill, I found he has plans to not only improve the fishing tackle and clothing areas of the shop, but also the boating supply inventory. With so many boats in JB’s yard, it only makes sense to have the supplies they need right there at Lewes Harbour Marina.