[Steve]

Chilly out there, rain, winds and seemingly fewer fish.
Or are there?
There are just as many out there as there were a week, two or three weeks ago, even a month ago. They ARE there.
We don't hear about it as much simply because fewer folks are going out and braving the wind, rain and sometimes downright butt-cracking cold!

Load up with some firewood and a few layers of clothes topped with Gore-Tex. Grab a pot of coffee or other favorite beverage along with some food and get out there!

There are far fewer people, you pretty much have your choice of where you want to fish.

This applies to the shore, back bays, rivers and other tributaries.
Remember, there are still hogs at the CBBT, so the stuff is out there!

Let us know about the conditions and how you stayed warm. And of course, any catch!

Enjoy!!

[Coop]

Fished yesterday from 1pm until 5pm from the beach...1 short.

[Critter Gitter]

Steve maybe you didn't notice but you got a bug on your keyboard.

[Steve]

I know Dave, I can't spray it though, might short out the laptop.

[Jsmoothie36]

Has anyone heard of any fish caught on the route 50 bridge in the last week or so. I was planning on making a trip down tonight and didn't know if it would be worth my while. I know it was pretty slow there most of december which is odd. I'm just hoping theres a late school of pigs coming through.
thanks,
Justin

[Sam]

I hope someone has some information on this. I am interested in how many have been caught and how many are usually pulled from the bridge this time of the year.

[Leemo24]

Sam,

I have a friend that works in the hotels in O.C and was catching keepers up to 42"s off the beaches between 18th street and the jetty entrance. Check out this link, its about illeagal fishing in O.C last week. Glad they got caught...

---

OCEAN CITY — A Dorchester County man has been charged for a second time in less than a week with illegal commercial fishing.

Natural Resources Police says they boarded the 80-foot trawler Mount Vernon after watching it drag a net Sunday about two miles from the Ocean City inlet. Police seized nearly 3 tons of striped bass. Those charged included 69-year-old Jack Colbourne, owner of Colbourne Seafood Inc. in Secretary.

Colbourne and two other men were cited for fishing between 6 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday, when fishing is off limits. Colbourne had already been cited last week for exceeding his seasonal allocation for striped bass.

Police say the catch was sold and the money is being held in escrow until the cases are settled.

Source: DelmarvaNow
Lee

[Pier_man0909]

Originally Posted by Leemo24 Sam, I have a friend that works in the hotels in O.C and was catching keepers up to 42"s off the beaches between 18th street and the jetty entrance. Check out this link, its about illeagal fishing in O.C last week. Glad they got caught... OCEAN CITY: Police seize three tons of bass in illegal fishing case | delmarvanow.com | The Daily Times Lee

sounds like someone needs to launch a kayak off the beach and catch a piggie. I may do that here in nc if we get another break soon.

[Sam]

That is crazy! There must be a crazy number of stripers out there.

I wonder what kind of fine this knuckle head will get considering it is his second offense in less than a week?

[ffemtreed]

$500 dollar max fine! That will sure keep those poachers at home.


Illegal fishing charged; tons of rockfish seized -- baltimoresun.com

[Jsmoothie36]

Originally Posted by ffemtreed $500 dollar max fine! That will sure keep those poachers at home. Illegal fishing charged; tons of rockfish seized -- baltimoresun.com

That is ridiculously cheap for something of that caliber. But i don't know much about commercial fishing, so i really don't have any room to talk.

[Steve]

It would be nice if they had an increment fine system. Second time caught? Double fine!

Second time in a set period of time?
Five times the fine!

Over yearly allocation and still fishing?
Ten thousand smackers!

Over yearly quota and had already been caught, now this is violation #3?
Confiscation of boat and EVERYTHING on it!

Basically, every time you violate, you should get strikes. These weren't accidental violations, he knew he was over quota, outside the time frame AND did it yet again.
Strike three, you are out!

Can you imagine all the fines they would cook up if a person on the beach had a shortie, and had his dog loose?

[Rocks&Reds]

Fished tues 1/6, on AI from9am until 3pm one short 25", didnt see another sole fishing. Winds were NE water looked fishy but NO keepers. At least no skunk.

[Jsmoothie36]

So I decided to head down to the 50 bridge on Wed night. Unfortunately the weather wasn't being very cooperative. On the ride down (only 30 min) i was hoping the rain would stop but no dice. Decided to stop at the Berlin walmart to buy a new rain suit. Then off i go with my brother. We get there and surprisingly there was another fisherman out there weathering the storm. We fished for about 2 hours with only 1 hit on my rod but i missed it , nothing for my brother. We did see 3 other guys come out but they only last about a 1/2 an hour. The wind was blowing from the SW at at least 25 mph. Fortunately the temperature was in the 50's so it wasn't too bad. I plan on making another trip over in the next week or so, hopefully I’ll have better luck next time. Story of my life.

[Sam]

That's tough fishing, man. At least you tried!