Updates
Spring Tournament,
Major Changes Proposed: By the time of our meeting,
the main board of the MSSA will have voted on the proposal
of the Tournament Committee. The changes which will most
likely pass and be effective for the 2005 Tournament are
as follows:
New date - 4th weekend of April, the weekend after
opening day which will be April 22-24, 2005
New minimum size - 32" to the V of the tail.
Only 2 fish can be checked into the weigh in station
per day.
Eliminate the Bluefish Pools.
Add 2 more TNT's - $25 Skill Level and a $300 skill
level in addition to the 50, 75, 100 & 200 levels
- this is optional.
I think this is a positive move for the MSSA & will
give some information around the changes. The tournament
numbers have been decreasing (years ago it was over 800
boats & this year it was 548 boats). A couple of factors
play into this: we host one of the last tournaments for
the trophy fish, the upper bay really does not have any
fish checked. Now we will be the 1st big tournament of
the season. All areas will have fish & this should
help alleviate the pressure at some check-in stations.
As for catching the large females, we are allotted a certain
number of fish by the DNR & they have approved this
date for our tournament. There's really no other time
that they'll allow us to have it, as other tournaments
are already scheduled. The same people that fish will
be out fishing anyway & could take the big cows, again
we have a quota and are allow to do this. We did up the
minimum size & only allow 2 fish to be checked to
promote conservation. The bluefish pools were eliminate
as none were even checked in this year & having it
earlier will eliminate any chance of that. In place of
those pools we added 2 more to the rockfish division.
I hope this helps clarify & if you have any questions
please let us know. On a side note this should help us
secure even more rooms and slips in Solomon's next year
& given the timing we should be able to get the slips
together since many boats will not even be in the water.
The downside will be the weather - it won't be as warm
as last year but we will catch larger fish.
Awards Ceremony: The Tidelines will run a survey
in an upcoming issue so please take the time to fill it
out & send it in. They want to get more publicity,
look at different places & times (weekend vs week
night). Please let your voice be heard.
HMS Permit
Highly Migratory Species Permit
Don't forget to
get your HMS Permit (Highly Migratory Species) formally
the Tuna Permit. This is required if you fish offshore.
It's $22 for the boat and you can print it online at nmfspermits.com
or call at 888-872-8862.
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Chincoteague
Island, VA
Fishing Report
by Charlie Koski
Offshore report:
Well the Tuna bite is on and I mean really on. Yellowfin
made a showing in the middle of June with most catches
at the northern tip of the Norfolk Canyon but they have
since moved in closer to the Lumpy Bottom, Parking Lot,
Jackspot & 30 fathom line. Bluefin made their showing
this past weekend and I heard on the VHF Channel 68 both
chunkers and trollers were having multiple hook-ups. As
of June 1 thru July 1st NMFS has approved the Bluefin
keepers at a two fish per boat limit for recreational
anglers and three fish per boat for charter boats.
Inshore Report: Flounder are being caught
in Assateague Channel, Queen Sound, Main Channel &
Four Mouths but the keeper rate has slowed to about an
80-20 ratio. There are people limiting out but it takes
all day to do it. My best day on a four hour trip was
32 throwbacks and 3 keeper fish on June 17. Weakfish are
being caught in the evenings at Queen Sound Bridge with
chunks of Peeler crab used for bait. Croaker made there
showing early this year in the Canal in front of Curtis
Merritt Harbour and at Four mouths. The bigger horse croaker
should be here soon.
I tried spade fishing for the first time
with Paul Spalding on his boat the Fishaholic out of Occahannock
Creek, VA at a place called the Communications Tower near
Silver Beach, VA. They are tricky little fish and I was
baiting the hook more than taking fish of the hook. I
never boated a single fish but PeeGee landed a couple.
They are pretty fish, pretty enough to be in a fish tank.
See attached photos. We also fished for Flounder the day
before and I landed my biggest flounder ever a 24 incher
4 lb 9 ouncer.
Alltackle.Com:
The online resource for fishing gear at alltackle.com
has agreed to give Frederick Chapter Members discounts
on their already low prices. Call them at 888-810-7283
from 9am-9pm and tell them you are with the Frederick
MSSA to get special pricing, no shipping & no sales
tax. We hope to have them at the July meeting as well.
See attached photos. We also fished for Flounder the day
before and I landed my biggest flounder ever a 24 incher
4 lb 9 ouncer.
The Scholarship Foundation needs
a volunteer so if you are interested call the office for
details at 410-255-5535.
MSSA Lifetime Memberships
are available for $500, payable in four installments;
and, you will receive an MSSA Captain's jacket, MSSA license
plate and a print suitable for framing.
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Upcoming
Events
Overnight Bay
Trip
July 24-25 2004 Solomons Island Contact Bill
Johnson
Tournaments
Chapter Tuna
Tournament
July 17-18 2004 at Chincoteague
Contact Ken Wheeler
DelMar Offshore
Tournament
August 20-22 2004 Chincoteague, OC, Wachapreague. Chunking
is allowed.
Crabby's
Fishin' Fever
If interested in tuna at Oregon
Inlet, call Crabby for details at 301-253-9806
Frederick
Chapter Yearbook
Wayne Smith,
our photographer, requests photos of member's boats. His
email is:
or bring to next meeting. A book of all of the chapter
rigs will be on display at the meetings. This way we can
put a name with a boat.
For fish
pictures, complete a Fishing
Album Submittal Form
& attach picture of fish & submit to Wayne
Smith. Forms available at meetings & the website.
Offshore Corner:
Chapter Tuna Tournament
Frederick MSSA Mid-Summer Tuna Tournament July 17 &
18 at Captain Bob's Marina in Chincoteague, VA. Deadline
to enter is July 14. $125 per boat entry fee, sign up
in person, entry forms are available at the July 14 chapter
meeting. Chunking is allowed. Slips at Captain Bob's are
available for $15 per night or $26 for 2 nights. Slip
reservation and fees will be collected with the tournament
entry. Please contact Ken Wheeler or any chapter officer
for details.
Chapter Elections:
are coming this fall and we are expanding our positions
so the work is spread out and easy to handle. The chapter
really needs your help so please see Steve Shechtel at
the meeting or call him at 301-728-6600 and he can let
you know about all of the available positions.
Terrafin Offshore Temperature
Services:
at terrafin.com
or 800-993-0939 has a deal for $99 providing a 1 year
unlimited subscription. They also donated free services
that we will give away at the meeting In addition they
will be providing a 2 week trial period from July 7-21
with the following:
Fishing
Tips:
Real Chesapeake Bay NOAA weather reports (toll free)
Call: 866-247-6787
Clydes Sport Shop has 24 hr. Bay Fishing Report at 410-247-FISH
For more information on the bay:
www.thebayguide.com
www.tidalfish.com
www.saltwatertides.com
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