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My brother in-law and I were out there Friday afternoon, with water temperature around 76, and ventured out to the outer wall by around 6pm. We only fished for about an hour or so because we wanted to head back before the sun set (being new to the area). We caught a few toads and my brother in-law caught a puffer. We could definitely see the potential of the outer wall and not to mention the amazing sites of Dolphins swimming less than 30 feet of you.
As we headed back we inadvertently veered off past the protection of the wall and got caught in 2-3 foot swells. This was a first for both of us to be in such deep water and high swells, but as you can see we made it back safely Nothing like rising above the water line 2-3 feet and then sinking past it for another 3 feet to get your heart pumping! That experience gave us major respect for such conditions which is why we decided to not venture out there Saturday with the higher winds.
Here are a few pictures from Friday...
Saturday was a great time with great friends. Water temps were colder at 74. I caught many small black bass, a few flounder, and endless toads including one that pulled drag. The keeper flounder was a funny experience because when I was trying to measure it in the net it came up short and I was about to throw it back. I couldn't get the hook out while it was in the net so I had to use the "boga grips" to get leverage. After I got the hook out, I said to myself, let me just measure it again just in case and sure enough it was past 17". Lesson learned: measure twice throw back once!
My observations this time versus in May was the flounder seemed to be around the perimeter of the pilings rather than inside, as they were then. I also found again that a three way swivel with a pre-snelled flasher kahle hook tipped with a live minnow, and a 2oz weight on the bottom, really produces fish. I kept bouncing the rod in my hand lightly up and down, but the deadstick I had on the other side was also producing (although slower). All my fish were caught on that rig around the pier.
CHSP continues to be a really nice place...
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Great report! That's a BIG toad!
I'm surprised you didn't catch croaker. There are usually millions of them around this time of year.
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I was surprised and disappointed actually! I was the only one out of the group that didn't catch croaker as a by product. I was actually looking forward to taking some home...
Bryan wrote:
Great report! That's a BIG toad!
I'm surprised you didn't catch croaker. There are usually millions of them around this time of year.
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I am showing my ignorance of fish species. Is the toad fish one of those poisonous fish that look like rocks? If so, do you have to be careful handling them?
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No but it has a full mouth of teeth. Down in eastern Va they take the top meat strip and make a flour / sugar coating for them and deep fry them. The menu lists them as sugar toads at Stingrays. They are very good. No belly meat is used and do not puncture stomach area as it taints the meat. Also tough to remove skin also.
Capt Mike
Last edited by captmikestarrett (Aug-20-13 3:50PM)
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Thanks for answering Capt Mike! I too am ignorant of that fish... all I know is it's slimy and annoying!
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captmikestarrett wrote:
No but it has a full mouth of teeth. Down in eastern Va they take the top meat strip and make a flour / sugar coating for them and deep fry them. The menu lists them as sugar toads at Stingrays. They are very good. No belly meat is used and do not puncture stomach area as it taints the meat. Also tough to remove skin also.
Capt Mike
That's awesome...I didn't know anyone actually served them. I tried it once and thought it tasted good but was kind of mushy.
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I recently saw an episode of bizzare foods (Rhode Island) where they discussed using trash fish like this (sea robins, etc) and served them at nice restaurants.
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I once had skate at a fancy restaurant in DC. They charged an arm and a leg for a thin slice. It was good but not out of this world.
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