Blustery Day and Slow Catching at Wachapreague, 7/20

[Rivercat09]

July 20th Don & Kate at Wachapreague

Summary
Kate and I took a trip to Wachapreague on Friday the 19th, and went in search of flounder on Saturday the 20th. Instead of keeper flounder, we found 15 to 20 knot winds, extremely fast drifts, and biting flies. We did make the best of it though, and we avoided the skunk. We enjoyed a great meal at the Island House Restaurant on Friday, and on Saturday, we caught northern kingfish, Norfolk spot, and an extremely lucky flounder just shy of legal size. We went home with an empty cooler, but we vowed to return.

This Was One Lucky 15½ –Inch Flounder!


Conditions
The water temperature was between 78° and 82° depending on where in the back bay we were being blown. The winds were out of the south at steady 15 knots, and often gusted to 20 to 22 knots. The air temperatures were in the high 80’s, and it was hazy and partly cloudy. High tide on the bay side was at 7:19 am, and low tide was at 1:27 pm.

A Relaxing Trip and a Great Dinner
Kate and I packed the car Friday morning, and had a leisurely ride across the Bay Bridge to Kent Island and on the Eastern Shore. We arrived in Wachapreague at around 4 pm, and settled in. The humidity was so thick that one could cut it with a knife, and those same yellowish green flies (I think that they were greenhead flies)that had plagued Norm and me on the bay the previous day were in abundance. Instead of taking the walk in town that we had planned, we stayed in the room and relaxed. Kate read and did a Sudoku puzzle while I swapped in some flounder rigs. We walked across the street at about 5:30 to the Island House Restaurant and had an incredible dinner which we washed down with a couple beers. We got our walk in after dinner, and retired at about 10 pm with visions of flounder in our heads.


File Photo

A Slow, Blustery Start
We arose at 6 am, ate breakfast, and were heading out onto the blustery flats in our rented skiff at about 7:30. The skies were cloudy, and there was a stiff breeze out of the south. We made good time out to the fishing grounds in the narrower channels, but when the water widened, we had to slow down to avoid getting soaked. Before we knew it, we were on the fishing grounds and were setting up for our first drift.

These Are Nice, Stable Skiffs


Over the next hour or so, we did numerous drifts in several locations, and we did not get a single hookup. We did get some possible bites during our morning drifts, but nothing came tight; it was hard to be positive of any bites due to the speed of our drifts. We got more than our share of bites from those green flies on the flats, but bites from fish were hard to come by. At one point, I commented to Kate, “Between you and me, I haven’t seen a soul reach for a net, or a net reach for a sole!” We were one of about 10 boats, and eventually, we saw one undersized flounder landed and released by a charter boat.

We could never set up a decent presentation all day, as our drifts were anywhere between 1.4 and 1.9 miles per hour. While the wind largely shut down the fishing, it did offer some relief from the flies. Amongst other birds on the flats, we were treated to American oystercatchers and black skimmers flying inches above the water and sand flats.

American Oystercatcher

Birdsasart-blog File Photo

Break Time
Around 11 am, we needed to visit the facilities, so we ran back to town. While Kate was in the restaurant, I saw and chatted with Hillbilly Boater (Jack) for a while. He advised me that the fishing would be better on the incoming tide, which would be later in the afternoon. Jack told us of an area which could hold croakers and wished us good luck, and Kate and I were soon heading back to the fishing grounds.

Black Skimmer

Dan-Pancamo File Photo

A Stranded Boat
On the way back out, we stopped and checked out a boat that had run aground in the shallows on a sand bar. Those back bays are nothing to trifle with, and one needs to exercise caution and honor each and every channel marker. When we returned to the fishing grounds, we saw that the small fleet of boats had dispersed. So, we continued our fast drifts, and changed locations every one or two drifts.

One Cannot be Too Careful In Those Back Bays


Kingfish and Spot
A little over an hour after we returned, we changed methods and started targeting croakers with a cocktail of bloodworms and squid on double bottom rigs with spinner hooks. Soon after we switched tactics, we caught the day’s first fish. “Don, I think I’m on!” Kate announced, and I looked over to see her with bent pole in hand. Seconds later, Kate was slinging a feisty northern kingfish over the side. We were fishing a 25 foot deep trough near a barrier island with 2 to 3 foot shallows on either end. Soon, we were each bailing one or two fish on each drift towards the end of the drift in 6 to 10 feet of water. We were catching 6 to 8-inch spot, and Kate caught one additional kingfish.

Northern Kingfish


The Target Species
On about or third or fourth drift, I got another hookup:”I’m on again, but this feels different,” I announced as Kate looked on. The fish on the end of my line felt different from, and was fighting more than the spot that we were catching. Additionally, it did not hit with the force of a freight train like a croaker would. “Hmmm, I wonder… …could it be?” I thought as I retrieved the fish. Soon, the fish came into view. “Flounder! Kate, I got a flounder!” I yelped. Kate then grabbed the net, slipped it under the flatted one and hoisted it aboard. After a quick picture, the 15½” culinary delight was released to grow to legal size. Like all of our other fish, the flounder was caught towards the end of our drift in shallower water. I think that the combination of squid, bloodworm, and spinner-equipped snelled hook turned the trick.

A Bad Tangle
Next, we repositioned for a new drift, and we both resumed fishing a flounder rod with a squid and minnow offering. Additionally, we each continued using our bottom rigs with the squid and bloodworm combo. As it turned out, each of us fishing two rods was a mistake. During the next drift, Kate caught one more spot, but on the following drift, my two rigs became horribly tangled. We wasted the next 20 minutes trying to untangle the rigs. I eventually cut the lines, put away the bottom rod, and re-rigged the flounder rod only.



Breezing Up and Packing it in
We did two ore three more drifts at this spot, but by now, the wind was blowing close to 20 knots sustained. Despite the incoming current picking up, the wind and the resulting 2-mile-per-hour drifts shut the bite down like a light. We then tried two other areas in search of some lee, but there was no lee to be had. It was now almost 4 pm, and so we packed it in and headed back to the Wachapreague marina. We returned to the dock at about 4:30 pm after a slower ride back to avoid the spray.

These Flies Were a Thorn In Our Sides All Weekend

File Photo

Unwinding, Cooling Off, and Heading Home
Once we arrived back at the dock, we offloaded gear, washed rods, and transferred the gear to the car. We were tired, hot, and covered with salt from the spray kicked up by the wind. Plus, those nasty yellowish green flies were still biting. So, with our gear all loaded for our trip home, we spent about an hour cooling off in the Island House bar. We each had one beer chased down with several glasses of ice water and we split an appetizer of calamari. We struck up a conversation with a gentleman in the bar about the fishing and the day’s conditions. Upon hearing of our modest catching, he remarked that we were probably “the top boat of the day”. We departed Wachapreague at a little after 6 pm, and arrived home after 9 pm, just ahead of an approaching thunderstorm.

Epilogue
The current was raging when we pulled lines, but despite this, the fish were by and large just not cooperative given the fast drifts. We did avoid the skunk, and while we were still in the bar, Kate commented that our throwback flounder was reserved for us next year when it would be a keeper. Our catching totals today were: 2 northern kingfish, 3 Norfolk spot, and one 15½” flounder. I want to extend a thanks to Jack (Hillbilly Boater) once again for the advice. We rolled craps today with the wind, but we will return to Wachapreague at a future date and we will bring home some flounder. You can pick the days, but unfortunately, you can’t pick the weather.

We Shall Return!