07.15.2007 Finicky Bass-Seasick TV Host

[Skylar]

Hi All,
High summer now, just had the first couple mahi today ~ warm water for that. Still haven't picked up a tuna on our 'coming and going' trolling lines. Seems like everyone that's targeting 'em is doing fine though. No worries, just fun when it happens.
Sea Bass are making us work extra hard to get a decent catch most days. Then, today, we had something I've not seen in a while ~ a few limits of sea bass plus the very first limit of flounder this season.
Don't know if the flounder are going to 'come on' or not. Hope so. I certainly think the limits of cbass were a fluke.
Shouldn't be too long before there's a few croakers around too.
Had a local TV fishing show aboard back in May. Caught 'em some pretty bass, a handful of tog and a few of the inescapable spiney dogfish. The host, Scott, confessed to having 12 beers the night before and was, oddly enough, a tad under the weather. A bit bumpy that day ~ always helps to magnify the worst of a good hangover!
Derned if they didn't film -and use in the show- the inescapable conclusion of events. Takes guts to spill your guts on TV.
So, perhaps a few pointers...
Don't -Do Not- get hammered the night before you're going out fishing. Fugetaboutit! No known cure ~ just education. I don't refund 'missed the boat' tickets, but you're way better off eating the ticket if you've been ushered out of a local watering hole at closing time.
For regular ol' motion sickness there's plenty that can be done. Ginger, in any form, is amazing to me. The cook on the O.C. Princess, Dick Ray, had great success getting folks back up fishing with the candied variety. They had it on the show "MythBusters" this past winter and it was the only non-medicine to work ~ and it works well.
Get the kids to have a piece going out and a few during the day.
For the truly susceptible, the Scopolamine patch is king. Available by prescription - it works. Otherwise, regular Dramamine and Bonine do fine for most. Take half of one the night before and the other before you come aboard. If it's rough, take another half 'bout 10 o'clock.
Cheap insurance.
Had a Reef Foundation fund raiser aboard the O.C. Princess, sakes, pushing ten years ago. Tickets for the event were a lot higher than the regular fare and a couple guys who'd just happened by were undecided whether to go. The one fellow was as tall and thin as Abe Lincoln was said to be. The other was, well, lets just say he was a really big fish in this sea of humanity. When he heard that the fare included all you could eat a cold glint came in his eye ~ I think he was out to hurt the Foundation! Several times we saw him with a cheeseburger in each hand, two jumbo snickers ~ lots and lots of food.
Somehow, images of famous volcanoes come to mind; Mount St. Helens, Krakatoa, Vesuvius - You get the idea. Man, it was not pretty! And, like the guy that hit the sauce too hard the night before, there's no known cure...
A few simple precautions and you're good to go.
We'll go look for some hungry or dumb sea bass ~ for the smart ones we'll have to wait until they're hungry! Might -just might- see a few flounder too.
See you on the rail ~ preferably sober and unvolcanoe-like!
Regards,
Monty

Capt. Monty Hawkins
mhawkins@siteone.net
Party Boat "Morning Star"
Reservations 410 520 2076
www.morningstarfishing.com

[Steve]

Ginger candy?
Where can it be bought and what do they call it?

[Sam]

That is too funny. I heard Scott talking about it on the radio show.

I saw that episode of myth busters as well and have wanted to try Ginger.