A heavenly sea bass trip out of Ocean City

I spent Monday catching sea bass on the Angler out of Ocean City, Md. I have been trying to get out for sea bass since the season reopened, but every planned trip was killed by the weather.

We were underway by 0600 and had our lines in around 0830 after running 30 miles east to a wreck. The mate had plenty of squid cut up, and as soon as my rig hit bottom I was into a fish. Mike Pizzolato was next to me and landed his largest fish of the day on the first drop. From then on it was drop and crank. Once in a while I would lose a fish on the way up, but most of the time I had one and often two fish on the line.

The only problem was many of the sea bass were short of the 12.5-inch minimum size. Some measured 12 inches, but most were too short to bother getting out the ruler.

The only fish I caught other than a sea bass was a spiny dog shark. Mike was really good at catching these fish and at one point pulled in a doubleheader. The captain, Chris Mizurak, would move the boat when we were attacked by dogs or when the keeper-to-short ratio became too great. The mate, Dean Lo, was right there when we became tangled or needed any help at all.

Every time we moved, it was typical sea bass fishing. The first few drops resulted in a good number of keepers; then it was more shorts until all the keepers were cleaned out. Only one or two big blues were caught, and I don’t think anyone had a sea bass bitten in half.

I’m not saying the other anglers were a bit long in the tooth, but the assembled group looked like recess at the old folks' home. The advantage of having old salts on board was just about everyone knew how to fish and no one got seasick.

On the way home, the mate cleaned all the fish, so Mike and I left with a big bag of filets. There were several fish over three pounds contending for the pool with Ken Yuen walking away with the money for his 3-pound, 11-ounce knothead.

Other fishing news

Rockfish have been caught in reasonable numbers from the ocean, with the hottest bite beginning in Bethany Beach and continuing down to Ocean City. Trolling with a variety of lures including big plugs, Mojos, double bucktails and umbrellas has been the most productive technique. If you can find diving birds and breaking fish you will have no problem filling your two-fish limit. Otherwise, it is blind trolling until bait and fish show up on the SONAR, then working the area to pick up one or two rock.

The rockfish continue to move south, but should remain in range for a while longer. Keep checking the reports and launch your boat from the port closest to the action.

Tog action remains good at Reef Site 10. I must admit some surprise that one small area continues to produce this well after being hammered for several weeks. Green crab has been the best bait.

Those who prefer to stay ashore during this cold weather can find good fishing for white perch in the Broadkill River and its tributaries. Petersfield Ditch off Route 16 close to Prime Hook is one location that has a reputation for good perch fishing. Bloodworms remain the best bait until the worm diggers in Maine and Canada get frozen out of work. Then you will have to try earthworms, grass shrimp, small minnows or jigs to tempt the perch.

Striped bass options

Over the past week I have had the opportunity to speak with friends in New Jersey and New York about the various options for striped bass management in 2015. It is amazing how many different opinions there are as to what the best management practices should be.

The surf-fishing community wants to keep the current one fish over 28 inches regulation in place. This is the same position as the Maryland CCA chapter.

Charter and head boat captains believe they will be put out of the striped bass business if the regulations don’t include a two-fish option. Their position is pretty strong as I too don’t believe many folks will go on a charter or head boat if only allowed to keep one fish. Even if the chance of catching two fish is slim, the idea that they can keep two if they catch them is what keeps customers coming back.

I fear this discord will cause for-hire owners to lobby for separate regulations from private recreational fishermen, and that will be very bad for all concerned.