Thursday, July 02, 2009
Bill Cochran's Outdoors: Saltwater fishing slow
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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During a recent trip to Virginia’s Eastern Shore, I found the fishing to be unproductive. Sorry would be a better word.
The impact was evident at motels, which had the kind of sparse crowds you’d expect in the dead of winter. Tackle shops also were hurting and you didn’t have to worry about finding a parking space at launching ramps.
What’s going on? Was it the economy, the weather or a scarcity of fish?
“I suspect it’s a combo of all three,” said Bob Hutchinson, who writes a weekly fishing report for Cherrystone Campground.
Lee Tolliver, outdoor writer for the Virginian Pilot, adds yet another factor: regulations. The 19-inch minimum size limit on flounder has been a killer, he told me.
“The charters are catching 50, 75, 100 -- one boat had 180 fish in one day -- and if they are lucky a handful were keepers,” said Tolliver.
With all the throwbacks, there should be tons of 19-plus inch fish next season, he predicted. But that doesn’t help this season.
One way to get a handle on the fishing is to check the trophy fish program of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. How has it done now that it has reached its halfway point?
The citation count for 2009 is about 200 fewer than for the same time period last year, which was the eighth best tournament in the 50-year history of the event. Much of the decline can be credited to a slower spring black drum fishery in the Chesapeake Bay. The 2008 citation count is off by more than 230 black drum from the same time period last year. Red drum are off by about 65 and striped bass are down just over 100.
On the positive side, bluefin tilefish citations are up 284 as this newly discovered fishery continues to take off. Speckled trout also have been enjoying a decent year, with about 400 citations so far. That’s four times the number in 2007.
A reduction of 200 citations isn’t any big deal this time of the year. A good run of any one of several summertime species could catch things up fast, and that would be no surprise. Eight of the top 10 tournament years have occurred from 2000 to 2008.
Let’s look at some of the factors that could be slowing the pace of angling:
THE ECONOMY: Boat fuel prices aren’t anywhere near as high as they were last year; still the uncertain economy is impacting angling more so this year than last, according to my observations. People have had to cut back on their fishing, out of reality or fear.
THE WEATHER: All those fronts that ushered in an abundance of rain this spring brought with them wind and lightening, which kept anglers off the water many days. The World Champion Black Drum Tournament out of Cape Charles, for example, had to be cut a day short because of rough water and heavy rain. Lost fishing days are difficult to make up.
REGULATIONS: The hefty 19-inch flounder minimum size limit has been frustrating to anglers and to those whose business it is to serve flounder anglers. Some fishermen have cut back on their flounder pursuits.
While it has been difficult to catch 19-inch flounder, the number of trophy-size flounder also has been declining. This time in 2007 the citation count was 110; last year it was 44; this year it is 37.
THE FISH JUST AREN’T HERE: That’s been true of black drum, but it is too early to say the same about most other species. Summer species -- marlin, dolphin, amberjack, cobia, spadefish, croakers -- are just beginning to kick in.
So what you have is less fishing pressure because of the economy, fewer days to fish because of rough weather and, in some cases, slimmer number of fish when you do get on the water. That can make for tough fishing.
