Thursday, May 26, 2005
Bill Cochran's Outdoors: Wachapreague returning to its roost as flounder capitol
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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When I was a regular fisherman at Wachapreague 20 years ago, there was a sign posted in the Eastern Shore village that proudly stated: “Flounder Capitol of the World.” I didn’t see the banner when I returned last week after a long absence. It appeared to have been replaced by one that said “Little City by the Sea.”
That is catchy, but maybe someone needs to dig around in storage shed for the original sign. Flounder are making a comeback at Wachapreague.
The tidal creeks, channels and shallow bays that reach out from the town have been a hot spot for flounder fishermen during what has been a cold spring. It was the weather that sent me north on U.S 13 to the village. My preferred fishing spot of recent years, Oyster, has been stingy with its flounder this spring, something most anglers blame on weather that can be more like March than May.
The water off Wachapreague is a bit shallower and warmer, and has been considerably more productive than most other ports this season. It claims the biggest catch of the early season, a 11-pound, 7-ounce trophy taken where Hummock Channel merges into Burton’s Bay. The fish leads the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.
“They are tearing them up,” said Kathy Meadows, who was dipping minnows with an undersized net at her waterfront bait shop in Wachapreague.
Well, maybe not like in the old days, 20-plus years ago, when a fleet of 22 charter boats would dock with more than 100 fish per vessel. When there were so many anglers with boats in town that the toughest part of catching a fish was finding a spot to park your vehicle. The good fishing sucked in anglers for miles, even from the far reaches of western Virginia.
Then the fishery fell on hard times. It hit bottom in 1990 and has been making a comeback since, said Claude Bain, director of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Not just at Wachapreague, but at other Eastern Shore seaside ports, including Chincoteague, Quinby, Willis Wharf and Oyster, which are part of an 80-mile band of flounder real estate tucked behind the protection of the barrier islands. The fishing also has been improving on the Chesapeake Bay side, off Cape Charles and along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
The bay fishing generally begins later than the seaside fishing and last longer into the summer, but it has enjoyed a brisk start this season. Many fish have been caught off Cape Charles in the Buoy 36A area.
Bain credits the return of flounder to more restrictive regulations that help protect the stock. Anglers throw back a bunch of flounder nowadays, something that wasn’t always the case.
“I think we will see the state record flounder broken soon -- in 3 or 4 years, maybe sooner,” Bain said.
The record dates back to 1971 when C.E. Cross landed a 17-pound, 8-ounce flounder at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
There is no question, the flounder are getting bigger, said Randy Lewis, who operates Capt. Zed’s Bait & Tackle in Wachapreauge. Lewis grabbed a chart off a shelf and highlighted it, telling me where to navigate the wide, shallow bays and the deep, narrow creeks. He also marked the spot where Michael Behe, Sr. of Franklin, Pa. said he caught the 11-pound, 7-ounce tournament leader --i n 8 feet of water. The contest has been reporting that it was caught at Bradford Bay, which is wrong, said Lewis.
The Lewis name has been familiar around Wachapreague since 1636. Randy Lewis grew up on Eastern Shore, then, like the flounder, left for awhile and returned. He recommend that I fish Drawing Channel and Green Channel, which finger into Swash Bay.
You don’t need a big, fancy boat to fish here, you just need to watch where you are going so you won’t end up on a mud flat. In my early Wachapreague days, I fished out of my 16-foot bass boat. My family’s current 18-foot center-console is ideal. Lacking a boat, you can rent a skiff in town or you can sign on a charter boat that accommodates six anglers for about $450.
When we reached Drawing Channel a flotilla of flounder fishermen already had gathered, and that would grow as the productive afternoon hours approached. We drifted squid and minnows and landed about 20 fish, keeping seven that measured up to 21 inches. Most of our fish were caught at 4-to 5-foot depths, which is about as shallow as I’ve ever fished for flounder. The water temperature was in the mid-60s.
Flounder are flat as a doormat and wear perfect camouflage. They sit on the bottom, with their two turreted eyes sticking up, waiting to ambush any food that drifts by. They may appear ungainly but their attack is an explosion that sends them bolting from the bottom to engulf prey in a vice-like mouth that is heavily armed with razor-sharp teeth. They not only are fun to catch, but excellent to eat.
It was good to be back.
