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Boy,
how times and methods are a changin'.
As I gather the fishing reports each week from 8 saltwater reporting
stations and 6 freshwater, I'm amazed to find how the methods
and techniques for catching all of the fabulous species of fish
found in the Tidewater area are changing.
Salt Water
Cobia
I guess the most dramatic change to fishing techniques concerns
cobia. In years past I can remember, early on, purchasing box
upon box of bunker from a commercial fisherman, getting my yellow
rain suit on and spending many hours grinding our own chum for
cobia fishing. We would grind between 175 and 200 buckets of chum,
put them in several freezers we had, and then prepare our gear
for the season.
This entailed having the reels serviced at Queens
Creek Outfitters in Cobbs Creek; putting new monofilament on each
reel; checking the guides for nicks (it is a shame to lose a big
cobia because the line parted due to a nick in one of the guides);
tying leaders with heavy duty barrel swivels, fish finder rigs
and swivels; check out two chum buckets we carried on the boat,
with ample line to reach the bottom and have enough extra for
the bucket to stay fairly close to the bottom with the current
running (a 5 or 10 pound barbell weight helped).
Then we would check out our monstrous net for serviceability;
oil the deck chairs we used while chumming and then almost have
a nervous breakdown awaiting the first reports of cobia around
Grandview or Buckroe Pier. We had a half-dozen locations that
we would anchor on and would use them all during the season. Then
as the season started to draw to a close, the cobia would gather
around the buoy line and/or around the islands of the Chesapeake
Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) and most of the die-hards could then
be found easing along the buoys, sight fishing for the "man
in the brown suit".
As the years have passed, the methods of cobia fishing
have changed dramatically. Now you can find boats all over the
Bay with the primitive sight fishing towers aboard (that is a
10 or 12 foot step ladder, lashed to the hard top braces, with
one of the anglers near the top, seeking surface feeding cobia.
Although the sight fishing technique has been around for years,
especially on the Outer Banks, many of the die hard cobia anglers
are now either purchasing new boats with towers on them, or having
towers fabricated on their present craft.
As I reflect on the many hours spent sitting and
waiting for that beautiful clicking sound of a cobia picking up
an eel and heading for Miami, I have to believe that the surface
feeding animals were doing back then, exactly what they are doing
now. It is just that most everyone anchored and created a chum
line.
To prove my reflections, I can remember several
times, while anchored, a friend, enroute to the CBBT Islands,
would call on the radio to say they spotted several cobia swimming
near the surface. Again, in reflection, I guess we could have
saved a few dollars in eel purchases, while we idled around the
Bay sight fishing (and probably spend just as many dollars on
the fuel we saved while anchored).
Flounder
In my opinion, flounder fishing has changed almost as dramatically
as cobia fishing. I can remember sitting in my partner's garage
during the winter tying flounder rigs. We would visit many of
the fishing shows and stock up on different colored bucktail hair,
get a supply of various colors of plastic squid, check out the
stainless steel Kahle flounder hooks, pick up an ample supply
of plastic beads (which I learned many dollars later, could be
purchased at my wife's sewing supply store for about 25% of the
price at the fishing shows).
Our standard colors would be chartreuse, white,
and pink. Having a mini-assembly line going, one of us would snell
the hooks, cut the leaders, assemble the hardware and fittings,
and then we would both assemble an ample supply of each (times
two) and place them in small plastic, zip-lock bags. Then we would
get our minnow traps out, wash them off, check the hinges and
snaps, attach new nylon cord, and lay our plans as to where we
would set the traps.
We were fortunate in finding a friend who lived
on the Poquoson River, who was trapping loads of really big minnows,
and offered us the area around his pier to set our traps. We also
learned that we didn't have to get crabs to crush and put in the
traps for bait. Our friend was using dry dog food, purchased at
the Dollar General Store, and I'm here to tell you, it really
worked well. When we ventured out on our flounder trips, we would
pick up a couple of tube squid to strip and place on the flounder
rig with a big minnow.
For years, this was the most practiced method of
getting flounder. Then came the time I like to call the "Capt.
Craig Paige Flounder Technique". There were probably a few
anglers who were live baiting for flounder, but my first exposure
to the results were the pictures and captions I received from
Capt. Craig and his customers. Many, many, citation flounder,
with a number in the double digit weight class.
It wasn't long before many flounder anglers would
stock up on small spot or croaker before heading out. Then the
live baiting methods became so great, many of the marinas and
tackle shops located suppliers and began to stock live spot. In
addition to live baiting, the artificial lure crowd has created
another fishing fad. That is vertically jigging for the flatties,
using bucktails tipped with either Berkley Gulp of Fishbite plastic
trailers.
Croaker
Number wise, croaker is probably the most sought after species
the average angler in the area pursues. As a matter of fact, when
the fish are really biting, drive by the parking lot at the Huntington
Park boat ramp, at the James River Bridge, and see how many N.C.
license plates are there. There are so many croaker there, at
the heat of the season, that local anglers say you could walk
on them. The most often used rigs for croaker are the standard,
2-hook, bottom rig with a small sinker and two hooks.
The bait of choice varies. Some folks use bloodworms,
some use squid, some use shrimp, others use Fish Bite bloodworm
scent. One of my friends, George Wojcik, a member of the Mako/Mercury
Salt Water Fishing team, has often told me how he loves to catch
croaker, in skinny water, using artificial lures. I used to take
his tales with a grain of salt, until he offered me a trip with
him.
I found out what baits I needed, stocked up and
we headed out. I refuse to give up his "honey hole",
but I will tell you that we were fishing in water 4 feet deep
or less, using either 1/8 or ¼ ounce lead heads, tipped
with either a Fish Bites 3-inch paddle tail plastic trailer, a
Berkley, Nuclear Chicken 4-inch trailer, or any of a number of
white, pink or chartreuse trailers. We caught croaker, flounder,
speckled trout, and puffer fish. Had I not been there, I never
would have thought about fishing for croaker with a 1/8 ounce
jig. That is about as close to fresh water angling as you can
get.
I have traveled down memory lane enough for one
sitting. When you are out on the water, be safe, be alert, and
have a super time. Tight lines, sharp hooks and strong knots.
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