12-18-06 Fishing Report from Harbor Tackle

[btf]

Harbor Tackle’s Fishing Report, December 18, 2006

The big blues are still hanging around. Their sizes are ranging from 30” to 36”. Mostly big blues and small stripers in the surf and a few legal stripers being taken. Also, everyone’s favorite, skates and dogfish are a plenty. The fish are mostly hitting fresh bunker and live chowder clams. Did you hear about the 28” red drum caught last week at AI? Talked with the guy who caught it. He had no idea what he had until he saw the tail in the whitewater and still was not sure what he saw. Wonder if the fish was lost or maybe a few still around as the water temp has I heard that a 38” striper was caught at the bridge going over to Assateague. Lots of small stripers at the Rt. 50 Bridge and some big blues. I saw a picture of a 37” striper caught at the Rt. 50 Bridge on the outgoing tide. Nice shad at the Inlet mixed with a few big blues and short stripers. There are a few legal stripers being hooked. Little Gull is still producing legal stripers and big blues. If you are fortunate to catch a striper, I’m told that they are nice and fat. The baits of choice are live eels, spot, and black saltys. No reports on tog fishing as the season is closed until January 1, 2007. We will be open as long as bait is available and the fish are still biting.

Terry and I (from Harbor Tackle) want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We value your friendship and look forward to seeing in the New Year.


Harbor Tackle has fresh bunker, live eels, live chowder clams, and live black saltys

[DaveH]

Bev,Thankyou and merry Christmas toyou and yours

[DumBbaSS]

What the heck is a "Black Salty"?

[btf]

A black salty is a fresh water fish that is being used as bait to be a replacement for live spot. They are effective and more hardy than spot and less expensive. You can put 2-5 doz in a 5 gal bucket with an aerator safely. They will live 2 - 4 hours in salt water.

[lookinbeachie]

Hey Bev.....
Thanks for the fishing report and would like to wish you and Terry a very "Merry Christmas" and a great New Year !!
Ho~ Ho~ Ho ~~
Dianne

[DumBbaSS]

WOe I have never heard of them....Do u have a pic of them? They survive on the hook in salt water? I tried an experiment this fall. A friend of mine gave me a 50 gal fish tank . So I had the bright idea to net alewifes and see if I could keep them alive in the tank for the fall fishing. Got the tank all set up with new pumps and went to our local boat basin to net the little critters. Had great luck in just a few casts. Netted about 60 of the most perfect little alewifes purfect for a hungry rock fish. Came back and dumped them in the tank.....Thats when the problems started. Fist off I way overcrowed my tank. Way to many of them for such a small area. That first night I changed the filter probobly 4 times. I even went to the beach (Eastern Bay) with 5 gal buckets and small coolers to change the water i the tank.

In the matter of hours the water went from clean and clear to mucky and yucky. On the top of the tank there was this brown layer of bubbly film that really started to stink. At this point the wife came into the picture and asked if the garage was going to smell that bad for long. I asured her that something would be done. So I went fishing for the next few nights to bring the level of fihs down to a more managable amount.

At that point I had probobly 30 of them left in there for a few days. I knew they were doing bad cause they would swim to the top of the tank and float belly up to the bottom and lay there for a few minutes then repeat it.
The warm weather didn't help my cause out either. The garge smelled like a cess pool on a nice summer day. So I took the last of them out for a night fishing and at the end of the night let the remander of them free.

Man o man Great idea but a lot of messy messy work and the last time I try that one.
I think I need to find a friend with shore front property so that we can set up a pound net to keep them alive into the fall...........BB

[Sam]

They die pretty quick out of water anyway, don't they? I have tried using them and they are just too soft. Do you just drift them like spot or eels?

[DumBbaSS]

We use them from the boat and from shore here in the Eastern Bay and at Kent narrows inlet. Man when you have one of those babies on its like a Nice steak to fish vs. Liver.....They do die fast I use and Airator or a live box over the side of the boat..........