Fishing aboard the Morningstar
Ocean City, Maryland
March 14, 2004
The Sunrise over the inlet was the beginning
what was to be a great day of fishing and the start of the season for most of the anglers.
We all boarded the
Morningstar and the the captain and mate got us headed to sea
in short order. For those of you that have not fished on headboats or are not
familiar with the Morningstar, I will try to describe what a typical day can be
like. In this case we were in search of tautog. This fish is very hard to catch
and tends to draw a certain type of angler.
The trip is a great way to meet people and
learn about different types of fishing. The atmosphere is very friendly on the
boat and I quickly learned that we had some seasoned fishermen on board from as
far away as New York.
The captain and mate were both friendly,
courteous and quick to explain the various tactics, something that I am not used
to seeing on trips like this. Captain Monty has a long resume and is certainly
the top in his field in Ocean City but also among the top captains in the mid
Atlantic area. I have spoken to several anglers that fish from NY to NC and they
speak very highly of Capt. Monty.
After a short ride the boat slowed and made
the sweeping circles that indicate the search for structure.
The crew positioned
the boat and gave the order to drop. Within seconds, Bobby, the seasoned headboat veteran from New York landed a 21" cod! What a start to a trip!
Another difference is the Morningstar is the trend towards an attitude of
conservation and responsible fishing. We tagged 19 tautog and 2 cod on the trip
and got to see the tagging process first hand. We released all undersize fish
and some nice large females which were tagged.
Anglers had a very productive trip. The largest tog was 12 lbs and several were 10
lbs or more. One dedicated angler was a flurry of activity, catching 14 togs and
a 22" cod. Everyone enjoyed the trip and had a nice catch to take home.
See the rest of the pics of the fishing action here
The Morningstar website is here