Capt. Shaun Ruge and I left Taylor Point Marina on 5:30AM on Tuesday morning, hitting all the usual places in the West End of the Canal, but with only a few bumps and one chunky schoolie.
Luckily, we got a text from Captain Terry Nugent of Riptide Charters who called us in to tons of bird life and stripers crashing “finish nail” sized sand eels. We quickly reeled up and headed his way to find Terry’s charter tripled up. Not a bad way to kick off the season.
The seas were a little messy, but fine for a larger bay boat like Terry’s. Thanks to the tip, we quickly joined in on the action and Capt. Shaun landed a fish close to 32” shortly thereafter. A big THANK YOU to Terry for calling us in.
We then shot off to check out rock piles to shoot some catch and release video using the SI Squinnow Jig, my favorite jig for inshore ground fish. My favorite catch of the day was the GIANT sea robins that I’ll cook tomorrow night. If you haven’t tried them, you should. (Stay tuned for some Salty Cape cooking tips and videos!) There was also a plethora of large sea bass and MONSTER scup. The welcome mats are rolled for the sea bass opener this Saturday, the 21st.
NOTE: Capt. Terry Nugent had a cancellation for Wed. and Thur. of this week. Would be an awesome time to book him for the inshore action that is hot and heavy right now! Send an e-mail to info@riptidecharters.com for more information.
