Fishin' the Flats

Taking out Seth's new fishing boat on Red Point, we fished for whatever would bite and that's exactly what we got. The day prior I went out with Seth he found himself pulling in a huge carp that he caught by it's dorsal fin. We caught a few small white perch, a yellow perch, a catfish and I was lucky enough to pull in a nice fighting rockfish on my top and bottom rigged with a blood worm just off the Susquehanna Flats. It was a cold but smorgasbord of a day on Seth's new boat.

Opening Day for Trout Coming Soon...

The premiere of trout season is coming to a river or creek near you. On March 28th, after several weeks of stocking, it will be open season once again for trout. Last year we got to Deer Creek at the crack of dawn and staked out a spot under the bridge. It was as black as it could get, even our headlamps barely helped as we tried to navigate over the rocks around the base of the bridge. It was long after the sun started to rise that the bites started coming. We stayed their for a good while and caught some nice looking and tasting trout.

The Keeper of My Heart

On Memorial Weekend of 2008 we headed out for some flounder fishing on the Assawomen Bay. We drifted off of a small island behind 9th street and I hooked into a big flattie. When it crested the surface I knew it was my biggest ever but was it a keeper. With the new flounder regulations set at 17 and 1/2 inches I wasn't sure but as we measured it I was proud to have landed the Happy Ours first keeper at 18 and 1/2 inches. I fileted it with a little help from some old fisherman friends and wrapped it in the crabmeat from the crabs we caught the day before. It was one great meal that made me feel like a Marylander. Check out a variety of the catches we've had in our Happy Ours Fish Pics Gallery http://picasaweb.google.com/mattworks88/FishPics#

Captain Don with Kerry the Catch

For Kerry's bachelor party in April of 07 we spent the day reviving Maryland's maritime past with a little rockfishing on the Chesapeake. We left from Chesapeake Beach and met Captain Don, our fishing concierge. It was a phenomenally beautiful day to be on the water and we pulled in 4 big ones! Unfortunately, my rod didn't quiver but it was exciting watching Kerry and the others pull in some giants of the deep. I believe our biggest was a nearly 40 inch Rock. Check out all the photos here http://picasaweb.google.com/mattworks88/KerrySBatchlerParty#
I just called Captain Don and it looks like we'll be heading back out on the bay in search of some beautiful rock in April/May of 09'.

Crab Bag

What a great 08'of crabbing. We started with 10 pots and caught a few dozen and then decided it was time to upgrade to 20 pots. With the help of Captain Aiden and two days of crabbing, we were able to eat a 4th of July crab feast of around 40 plus crabs. They tasted that much better, knowing we were the ones catching them. Can't wait until Captain Noah joins us on the starboard reeling them in.

FIshing Log

Date	Fishers	Fish Caught	Size	Time and Tide	Location	Bait/ Rig	Weather	Water Temp
7/03/07	Sharon	1st Fish on the Happy Ours Flounder	10 inches	???	Behind Assesteuge Island	Squid / Spreader Rig	Sunny
8/07	Gary, Matt	11 Black Sea Bass			11 (11 Marker) Robin Run	/Spreader Rig
		1 Puffer Fish			11 (11 Marker) Robin Run	/Spreader Rig
		2 Sea Robins			11 (11 Marker) Robin Run	/Spreader
10/19/07	Greg, Matt	21 BlackSea Bass	6-9 Inches		11 (11 Marker) Robin Run	Squid /Spreader Rig	Sunny 82
10/20/07	Greg, Matt	10 BlackSea Bass	6-9 Inches		11 (11 Marker) Robin Run	Squid /Spreader Rig	Sunny 81
5/25/08	Gary, Matt	3 Flounder	18.5*, 15.5, 16.5		(2) Behind 9th St. Island, Thorofare	/Bottom
		5 Black Seabass	4-8
7/04/08	Gary, Matt	6 Flounder
8/15/08	Glenn, Greg, Matt	None (fishing for Flounder)		8 AM – noon		Live Spot on Bottom of Top/Bottom Rig
8/15/08	Greg, Glenn, Matt	None (fishing for Rockfish)		Fished for 1.5 hrs 8 AM High Tide	Anchored South of the 50 Bridge	Gotcha Plug; Swimming Shad
8/15/08	Greg, Glenn, Matt	9 Black Sea Bass	4-8	8AM High	Anchored South of 50 Bridge	Squid
	Greg, Glenn, Matt	1 Bluefish	11.5	10 AM High	Thorofare	/top
	Greg, Glenn, Matt	8 Flounder	7-12	8 AM -noon High	S. of 50, Behind 9th St. Island, Thorofare
8/30/08	Gary, Matt	1 Flounder	8 Inches	11 AM-3 PM Outgoing to Low		Squid Shinder Combo /bottom
		3 Crockers	6-8 Inches
		4 Black Sea Bass	5-7
8/30/08	Gary, Matt	None (fishing for Flounder)				Live Spot /on Bottom of Top/Bottom Rig
8/31/08	Gary, Brice, Matt	5 Black Sea Bass	4-7 Inches	2 PM-5 PM	11 (11 Marker) Robin Run	Squid Strip	Sunny80	72 Brown-green dirty
		3 Crockers	5-8 Inches	Low (Slack Tide)	Thorofare	Squid		72
10/17/08	Gary	Sand Shark	18 in.	Outgoing	Inlet south of 50 bridge	Squid /Top of Top/Bottom Rig	Rainy 63	65 Brown-green
	Matt and Gary	3 Flounder	7, 11.5, 12	outgoing	Drifting past 9th St. Island	Squid/shiner combo /Top of Top/Bottom Rig	Rainy 63	65
Saw 4 Dolpin in Inlet and schools of bluefish but we didn’t have a bluefish rig	Gary, Matt	None (fishing for flounder)			Inlet close to the ocean	Squid/Shinder combo /Top/bottom and spreader	Rainy 63	65