As the days get shorter so does the time that we have left to try and catch a few fish. Mother Nature has still provided us with some unseasonably warm weather and relatively calm seas over the past several days. The results have been more fishing trips for this time of the year than we would normally see, but these days are now numbered.

As I write this we have only five scheduled days left of bottom fishing for the Blackfish and only one more solid week for Stripers before we shut down for the ’04 season. Our weather does seem to be taking a slight turn for the worse as of now and it is anyone’s guess as to what the upcoming week may bring. Our crowds have seemed to be tapering off over the past couple of weeks.

Since my last report I have managed to fish on every scheduled day except for this past Friday. Our Tog fishing has been somewhat typical for this type of fishing. I have seen the good, the very good, the bad, and I have seen the downright ugly! I am proud to say, that even I have been able to catch a limit of Tautog on a couple of occasions this past week, so you know they must have been thick. There have also been a couple of times that you couldn’t have paid me to put a line in the water trying to catch one.

Conditions have been the key. Most of our better catches have been made at the beginnings, and at the ends of the hard running tides. Situations where the winds were against the tides made it very difficult to try and put a catch together. These past couple of day’s, hard running currents associated with the backside of the moon have also played a big role with our production. Anglers at times have had as much as a pound of weight on the end of their line just to hold bottom.

Despite some adverse conditions we really have seen some good fishing over the past few weeks and at times I can’t help but to think that we could just continue to keep on fishing. Then I look at the calendar and it brings me back to reality. It’s almost Christmas, what are we doing out here? Don’t we have better things to do?

We had a real dose of reality on Saturday’s trip when the wind was blowing at 20 knots and it was only about 50 degrees outside with a cold rain falling. It wouldn’t have been that bad if the fish were biting a little better. Sunday’s trip was similar with a cold breeze and a strong current. It was tough just trying to stay out on deck.

It won’t be long before we put the ropes on for good and the 2004 season will be all but history. This upcoming week will be our last week of running for both the Stripers and for the Tog. I do not expect to start up again until at least mid February or early March. We are now in the process of making out our schedule for the upcoming season. As the new dates become available I will try to post them to keep you informed. I am certain that a couple of 18 hr. trips for big Sea Bass will be the first trips scheduled in 2005 followed by our daily fishing for Mackerel.

If you would like more information about our trips sailing out of the Wharf please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.