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HAH! I have never been accused of being unenthusiastic, I guess!! LOL!

Don't judge a book by its cover!! Believe me, they do taste great - the meat is kind of like a cross between a walleye and a rockfish, very firm and white.

Good point, but it's really tough to do in this sort of venue. There are several methods that work, my fav is to snip the tail off close at the bade, insert the hook under the skin, and rotate it downwards until the point comes through along the bottom. A lot of guys like to leave the head on and go in through the mouth, especially for bluefin. Bottom line is any way you can bury it in the fish will work as long as it doesn't cause the bait to spin. Good luck!!

LOL the one thing, right?!?

Hey Stans - you're certainly entitled to your opinion regarding design and pricing, but as for overnighting we wouldn't hesitate to spend a long weekend aboard. Galley-wise, the boat we were on wasn't outfitted with it but there is an option available for a cabinet with freshwater sink, 12-v refrigerator, and stove.

Hope it helps!!

RIGHT!?!

No doubt!!

@@southernsteel4476 surely you can find them online but check your local tackle shop. I got this one at my local west marine.

We haven't heard anything about that at all and don't think that's likely since the ASMFC action covered all of the Bay, MD, VA, and the Potomac as well.

We're not sure there really is a good way to do it, especially since handling them up close and presonal is dangerous thanks to that stinger - on my boat usually I just crank down the drag and break them off. We did crank the drags once a ray was positively ID'd and sometimes they did break off but if not, the captain and mate opted to use the gaff. In the wings this isn't necessarily fatal but in the body of course it's a different story; if you do injure one fatally note that while they aren't good to eat cow nose rays are great crab bait.

It still works great! We did have a battery issue arise and it was only using half capacity, but the dealer swapped it out.

He's a cool dude!!

We haven't had photo-evidenced confirmation from there as of yet but they certainly should be around there by now and we'd expect it to come any day.

Thanks!

Yup, that was 40 lb fluoro and Capt Marcus says 40 to 60 is fine.

You'll want about 20' from the planer to the hose. Most guys will put a ball-bearing swivel in halfway and a second swivel in front of the hose. They do create a ton of twist otherwise.

A good bit farther north, outside of the mouth of the Choptank on the west edge of the Sharps Island flats.

Can't say I've ever heard of anyone catching them from the beaches of the Bay, I'm afraid...

We sure hope so!! But... we keep crossing our fingers every season.

We were fishing at the Tilghman and Cooks Point reef near the mouth of the Choptank. Check out fishtalkmag.com/blog/chesapeake-bay-fishing-reefs-guide

Not at all. This is the only way to go until you reach Cape Charles

Definitely makes the captain's life a LOT easier!!

That's the BEST part of fishing the reefs, for sure!!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Right!?! Check out ccamd.org for more info and to find out when you can help build reef balls!!

As of now (summer 2024) yes. The motor we have was the first of its generation.

You can catch them as far up as Poplar Island some years, though usually they're only around that far north for a couple of weeks. They also make a pretty good midsummer showing near Solomons. That said the best zone in MD waters for them is off Point Lookout and near the Target Ship. They generally are around to some degree in those areas the entire season (which runs June 15 to Sept 15).

Nice!! Well heck, whatever bites a bend n the rod is an awesome feeling - And we love those fiesty pickerel!!

Hi - we don't want to speak for the captain/crew here and I'll ask them to chime in, but just for the record, it's difficult/dangerous to handle them, they have a stinger on the tail that can do some serious injury if you bring them into the boat. They're also very overpopulated, and while they aren't good to eat, do make a good crab bait.

That's a chunky reel so maybe something like a Tallus PX Spinning, but rod/reel matchup choice is really more personal preference than anything else. We'd always recommend walking into the tackle shop and mountng the reel on several different rods to get a feel for what the combinations feel like in your hands, before making any decisions.

Glad you enjoyed it!!!

Nope, it was fresh. We've used frozen before with success but fresh is always better.

The appear to but they actually don't - that's just the skin! When you fillet them you'll notice there aren't any scales, and you can cook them with the skin on can't even notice it.

Yamaha F150 4 Stroke

Cunt your lucky stars!!

Right?! But once they're on the line it sure is a whole different ballgame - much less when they hit the oven!!

We were in about 20 feet of water.

Go get 'em, Johnny!!