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#1 Dec-31-09 8:11AM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15564

12-30-09, CBBT

I will start by saying that the fishing at CBBT has changed and not for the better. Take the time to read Capt. Pete Wahlberg's post from Tidal Fish, it's post #41 in the thread: http://www.pacemakerfishing.com/forum/v … 18&p=2

But....we had a fishing expedition and here is how it went.

Charlie Hill met me at my house at 4:15 AM and we then picked up Mike Luparello in Merrifield and proceed down to Fredericksburg (not before we missed an exit....) to get Pete Pfotenhauer. The crew is in the truck and on to VA Beach we go with high anticipation and questionable expectations.

The weather: high of 40 with light winds, tidal flow was weak, water temps were 41-42 degrees and the full moon (a blue one at that) was in place. I have always said that I do not like fishing for stripers when the full moon is out. That is not a sermon, just an observation.

We arrive at the Lynnhaven Public Ramp and get bundled up and our get our stuff ready.  The motor cranks a few times and then nothing. Oh oh....this is not good.We get a couple of power Packs to jump it but hey are both dead. Now what? I go check the batteries and fiddle with the wires and when I try the starter again...poof....it starts!

The guys next to us was having trouble as well. He eventually got going.

My original goal was to be on the water by 9AM which we were but we were not able to get moving until around 9:30. Not bad considering we just drove over 200 miles!

What is this?

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0671.jpg

The ride to the bridge was a cold one....stinging is the right word.

Once we got there, it immediately warmed up. We went from a 0 wind chill to a balmy 34 degrees!

It certainly was not as rough as our trip two weeks ago. I was able to work the pilings below the 1st island and Charlie hooked up within the first 15 minutes....skunk is off the boat!

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0669.jpg

It took about 30 minutes but Pete nails the next one, a very nice fatty!

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0670.jpg

Charlie and Pete each got their 2nd one by noon but Mike and I were skunked. That's 4 fish in the 1st 3 hours....I was getting nervous especially after hearing non-fish reports on the radio. I was also in contact with a friend of mine who was fishing up the bridge a bit. He was also experiencing slow conditions.

Where are all the fish?

We moved up to the 2nd island and started working pilings again. There were NO birds to be seen so the pilings were the only game. The fish wre tight on the eddy side....many snags trying to coax these babies up today! Finally, I took my skunk off with this nice one!

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0673.jpg

Charlie and Pete continued to catch fish while Mike and I had to sit and watch!

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0674.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0675.jpg

A close up of the sea lice!

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0676.jpg

But then it happened......I hear "Fish On" and notice that Mike's rod is bent.....I reel mine in and get the net. I want this fish in the boat....it's like 2PM and Mike had not caught one yet. Mike catches his biggest striper ever....

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0677.jpg

A very nice 29 incher full of sea lice which would eventually slime up the boat deck! But he didn't stop there, he caught several more.....

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0678.jpg

....including this one that took a 9" bait!

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0680.jpg

We ended up with 17 stripers, all over 18 inches. The biggest was 29", we had one at 25", one at 23" and a couple in the 20 inch range.

We did see some other boats catch some fish....saw a big 40+ foot boat trolling with big rods. One boat was whoopin' and hollerin' thinking they caught a big one when in fact, they snagged one which made the pullage seem like a big one. We even had a boat move into a piling that we had some success on, I couldn't believe it. But they didn't catch any and after they left, we went in to the same piling and caught one...right in front of them. I must admit that I was going a little gloating at that time!!

When we pulled back at the ramp, there were 8-9 other boats coming in....all with sullen faces. We started asking around and found out that all of them had been skunked. the fellow whose boat was having issues when we put in came by and told us about how bad the fishing was. We told them about our 17 fish and showed him the two big keepers and he started screaming about our catch. Some of the looks we got were nasty!

Here is the bottom line: I honestly believe that Charlie, Mike and Pete out fished every boat that we saw at the ramp....they never gave up...they worked hard! Obviously, we felt good about the day despite the fact that it was atypical for the CBBT.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/Kiko13PB/IMGP0682.jpg

Now we had a long 200+ mile ride back home but a stop at Pierce's made it a bit better.

We dropped Pete off in Fredericksburg and as we pulled away, I hear a not so nice noise coming from the trailer. After an inspection, we notice that the left rear bearing has blown....we cannot go further. A call to Boat US gets things going and now my boat/trailer are in Fredericksburg at a 7/11 near Pete's house. We get back on the road an hour later and I pull in to my driveway at 11:20 PM. That is a long day but it was a great day with an outstanding crew. We had a good time!! As Pete said, " the truck rides were as much fun as the boat trip. Amazing that we caught fish when others didn't. Or then again, maybe it isn't so strange".

What a way to close out 2009....Happy New Year to all!


Time to go fishin' again!

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#2 Dec-31-09 8:34AM

CozUF2001
Patagonian Toothfish
From: Richmond, Virginia
Registered: Mar-26-08
Posts: 1419
Website

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Congrats - Much like 2009 it had its ups and downs, but for the most part, you all came out on top.


If it were easy, they'd call it catching!

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#3 Dec-31-09 8:42AM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15564

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Patrick- I take every day as a bonus especially after the way I ended 2008 and started 2009! This was indeed a good trip.

Watching Mike reel in his 29 incher and then watching him after he landed it made the entire trip a success....his hands were shaking!


Time to go fishin' again!

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#4 Dec-31-09 8:46AM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15564

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Just got a call form Outdoor Power Depot in Fredricksburg. The boat/trailer were towed in successfully. This was a much smoother operation than one might anticipate.

Now, let's hope the damage is not major.


Time to go fishin' again!

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#5 Dec-31-09 10:19AM

purpleworm
Northern Snakehead
Registered: Mar-06-09
Posts: 411

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Thanks for taking us out Ernie, I had alot of fun yesterday. Catching that big one was an experience I won't soon forget. If you call that a bad day, I can't even imagine what a good one is like. Glad to hear everything went smoothly with the towing, hopefully the damage won't be too bad. Thanks again for a great trip and Happy New Year!

http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu153/mikelup82/Fishing/DSCF1661.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu153/mikelup82/Fishing/DSCF1660.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu153/mikelup82/Fishing/DSCF1662.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu153/mikelup82/Fishing/DSCF1663.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu153/mikelup82/Fishing/DSCF1664.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu153/mikelup82/Fishing/DSCF1665.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu153/mikelup82/Fishing/DSCF1667.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu153/mikelup82/Fishing/DSCF1666.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu153/mikelup82/Fishing/DSCF1669.jpg

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#6 Dec-31-09 10:20AM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15564

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Thanks for the nice pics!!


Time to go fishin' again!

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#7 Dec-31-09 11:40AM

redskinsfan360
Patagonian Toothfish
From: VA
Registered: Mar-10-08
Posts: 1389

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Thanks for the great trip!  IT was a lot of fun!

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#8 Dec-31-09 11:57AM

bmp
Member
From: State of Confusion
Registered: Jun-28-08
Posts: 5

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Very tough CBBT day, but a tougher group of fishermen. Usually it's work there taking the fish off the hook, not getting them to bite.

Thanks for letting me be part of the crew Ernie. I had a blast.

Glad to meet Mike, and his reactions after that striper were what fishing is all about.


bmp
Although they aren't real, the voices in my head have good ideas

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#9 Dec-31-09 12:15PM

Dominion Dan
Patagonian Toothfish
From: Falls Church, VA
Registered: May-24-08
Posts: 1059

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

very cool!

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#10 Dec-31-09 12:35PM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15564

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Curly wrote:

and that the bearings didn't go out on the way down there.

We're just glad we noticed the problem when we did, while parked. Had that axle let loose while on 95.....    sad


Time to go fishin' again!

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#11 Dec-31-09 1:06PM

Rob Allen
Member
Registered: Jan-16-07
Posts: 63

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Great report guys - Captain Ernie will work his tail off to get to where the fish are  - Glad you all had a great time - That trip is a great trip no matter the number of fish caught - The truck ride is fun - and watching how fired up Ernie gets about Pierces BBQ is well worth it too.

I am glad that your trailer did not fail at the "wrong" time - Hopefully you will get the boat back soon - and all will be well again.

Happy New year guys!

Rob

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#12 Dec-31-09 2:33PM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15564

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Rob Allen wrote:

Ernie will work his tail off to get to where the fish are

Dennis Fleming just informed me that there was a great bite in the afternoon between the 2nd and 3rd islands (closer to the 3rd which we never got near). We saw Capt. Chris Newsome hauling butt up that way. I should have followed him but I had these memories of birds working inside the CBBT on December 11 and wanted to stay nearby.

Rob Allen wrote:

I am glad that your trailer did not fail at the "wrong" time - Hopefully you will get the boat back soon - and all will be well again.

I am hoping for a Lake Anna run in the next month or so since the trailer is almost down there...we shall see.


Time to go fishin' again!

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#13 Jan-01-10 11:34AM

redskinsfan360
Patagonian Toothfish
From: VA
Registered: Mar-10-08
Posts: 1389

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

Hey Pete what were those 2 sites you were talking about for kayak fishing?

Mr. Rojas could you please email me those pics of me with the fish?

Thanks!

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#14 Jan-01-10 3:04PM

Ernie
Administrator
From: Ashburn VA
Registered: Feb-03-06
Posts: 15564

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

1. Tidalfish.com, kayak section
2. http://www.tkaa.org/
3. http://kayakkevin.com/


Time to go fishin' again!

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#15 Jan-01-10 3:32PM

bigjeffie
Patagonian Toothfish
Registered: Feb-24-09
Posts: 1456

Re: 12-30-09, CBBT

as good as the fishing was, relatively, i am glad you saved some room for providence to keep the weak trailer off of the highway.

i don't think those coincidences are coincidences

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