2015 Year in review

[5th Tuition]

There was nothing to do except rig tackle and wait for the thaw. New shads went on the umbrellas and I hang all my chutes on an old wooden clothes rack.

[5th Tuition]

Thank goodness, the spring thaw finally got here and it was time to splash the boat and do a shake down cruise with six lines.

It's always good to see the motor peeing strong after sitting all winter

[5th Tuition]

The water was cold, but there were a few (damn few) big fish coming up to spawn early.

Doug (Capt. John's mate) Captain John, and I found a few. The bait wasn't hear during preseason (Fishfinder #1) but by opening day, it was getting better (Fishfinder #2)

[5th Tuition]

The first week of the trophy season was slower than normal because of the cold water and late arrival of the big fish, but some were found (if you looked hard enough)
My opening day was marked by getting run over by a Grady White, But Bill jumped on getting me a new motor cowling and did the fiberglass work pronto. I think I was out of the water for about four days

It's good to know the owner/manufacturer of your boat Thanks Bill Judge!!

Lou, Mike, and I had some good days

[5th Tuition]

I hate to bring back bad memories, but remember how bad the winter jellies were
I was running all tandems and singles off my boards, but the snot would get caught up right where the leader meets the lure

Capt. Charlie Schneider suggested running small umbrellas off the board lines to "catch" the snot at the umbrella and keep the lure clean longer

I switched over to all umbrellas, and it worked like a charm.

We had a group of Judge owners working in cooperation down off of Deale this spring, and it increased the hookups dramatically. Bruce (Hook 'Em), Jeff (Justified), Lolo (Gypsey Danger), Alex (Overcooked), Mark (Mlag), Jason (Rockin Robin) and I (5th Tuition), even let prior Judge owner Tawn (Lucky Strike); join in on the action

[5th Tuition]

Trophy season saw us with the slot limit Many of my fish went back to spawn (75%); so I guess it was a good thing after all

But everyone was looking forward to the end of trophy season when we could keep two fish

I know a couple of Navy helicopter pilots flying out of Pax. River who wanted to catch some fish, so I got them out before I left Tawn's slip in Deale.
Tawn was gracious enough to let me use his slip for his 27 Judge because he was spending all his time on his new Markley; making money

Then; I can't forget my sailboat trip to Martha's Vinyard with my pastor in Early June

[5th Tuition]

I moved my boat back to my home slip (Bodkin Creek) and was pleasantly surprised to find all the fish moved north with me Fishing above the bridge was off the hook.

Jeff (Justified) turned me on to red hoses last year, and they were hungry for the again this year.

Below are some random shots of the type of fish we were catching up north.
I even got Mark (Mlag) to go with me to pick off a few upper bay fish. He forgot he was on my Judge, and kept taking the wheel

Fishing was so good, Capt. John asked me to mate for him on an upper bay trip to show him the ropes up north. Obviously, we had a good day!