Chsp 4/21

[RavensDfense]

After getting fleeced by the local bait shop on green crabs, I was on the water by 9:30-10:00ish. Saw a few other snagged line guys out there but they left earlier in the day. The morning was horrible, stuck to the inner wall and fished all the way to the end. Nothing. Water was crap. Maybe 1 foot viability. Decided to take a lunch break around 1:00 and wait for the tide to get moving. After getting plotted on by a sea lion for the better part of an hour I went to the outer wall. Definitely rougher, but worth it. I found a nice little hole and pulled this little guy out.

14 in tog.jpg

Went right back to the same spot (which took FOREVER to get into because of the waves, wind, and current), and had one absolutely slam the crab. Set the hook and after a run or two landed my first decent tog. A fat 19 incher.

19 in Tog.jpg

After a slightly ridiculous celebration, I managed another short at 14.75.

14.5 in tog.jpg

I caught one more that didn't stay still for a pic. I lost 2 in the rocks after hooking up and whiffed on at least a dozen. If you were not directly over the hole, pulling them out was near impossible. Not a bad day for the first time fishing there. Glad I stuck it out. Sorry for the blurriness of the pics. They're thought a dirty dry case. For reference, the measuring trey is 19 inches.

[tufnik]

That one does look quite fat - almost like it had a tummy ache. Anyway, good job. I thought the Inner Wall should have yielded at least one catch. The east end is where a lot of togs are caught (that's not to say the other spots can't yield good catches too). Hope to get out there soon because there's only a couple of weeks left in the season. Thanks for the report.

Oh......any reports of flattie catches out there?

[Shady]

Very nice, looks like I should have tried harder to make it to the outer wall on saturday

[mytmouse]

WTG!! There is no such thing as an excessive celebration when it comes to catching a keeper Tog!! LOL I caught a nice 17"er when I was there last Thursday, had to wade through numerous shorts.

Tufnik, One of the shops was reporting guys from the beach were catching Flounder... I took my bucktails with me, but the winds were moving so fast I didn't even try.

[RavensDfense]

Oh......any reports of flattie catches out there?

I talked to a couple of guys in a boat who drifted around R. Inlet for a few hours before coming out. They didn't catch anything, but the water temp towards the end of the day was pushing 60, so I am sure there are a few around.

Mytmouse...glad to know I am not the only one who celebrates excessively. It bothers me when a guy has the same reaction to catching a big fish as he does when he is cutting the grass.

[chex]

A 19 inch tog puts up a great fight... totally worth a celebration. How much did you pay for the crabs?

[RavensDfense]

Yeah, I was really surprised at how hard they pull.

I don't wanna talk about it....But seriously, he charged me about $10 for 14 crabs. I didn't have any other bait on me and didn't know where the other tackle shop was. That dude saw me coming before I left Salisbury. Hahaha

[chex]

kinda steep... but totally worth it

[Goody]

WTG. Nice catch. They are super delicious. I can't wait to get some more.

[tufnik]

Yeah, I was really surprised at how hard they pull.

I don't wanna talk about it....But seriously, he charged me about $10 for 14 crabs. I didn't have any other bait on me and didn't know where the other tackle shop was. That dude saw me coming before I left Salisbury. Hahaha

Actually, that's not bad. Ocean's East II Tackle (near CBBT) charged me $1 per crab last week. When on sale at Lotte (Fairfax, VA), they're $2/lb (which equates to about $10 for about 13 crabs). I'm talkin' small/medium size crabs. I'm wondering if they're not going to get any cheaper in view of the expected availability (drums are eating them up in the Bay).

[Shady]

might be a bit of a ride from Salisbury, but I got my green crabs from Lucky angler in west OC. $4 for a whole bunch, not sure how many, but I had like a dozen left, when I was done fishing.

Are you guys using the whole crab? I was cutting them in half...

[tufnik]

might be a bit of a ride from Salisbury, but I got my green crabs from Lucky angler in west OC. $4 for a whole bunch, not sure how many, but I had like a dozen left, when I was done fishing.

Are you guys using the whole crab? I was cutting them in half...

I quarter the body of blue crab. For green crab, I use half crab. When I went on boat trips for togs, I noticed most of the tog anglers use half body (green crabs). Some use whole body with double hooks into the single crab body. Most also cut claws/legs off. Some guys keep claws/legs on. I prefer cutting them off.

BTW, frozen greens sell for $5/dozen at Oceans East.

[ComeOnFish]

RavenDefense,
Blue crabs are now available even in my town.
Was the water clear noticeably at the Outer wall?
Joe

[RavensDfense]

Joe,
I was referring to green crabs. And yeah, the water was much much cleaner on the outer wall. 2-3 ft more clarity.

[dson05]

Good hearing you got on them. That is one fat fish hahaha. I went out yesterday... I attempted to launch but gusts up to 30 knots yesterday had me going no where. Took on one final wave that filled my kayak with water and called it quits. Never hurts to try.