On May 1, Team PropTalk/FishTalk traveled by land yacht to Deale, MD, for a day of trophy rockfishing with Ebb Tide Charters. We boarded the Ebb Tide from Happy Harbor Restaurant with Captain Billy Gee and first mate Kenny Boswell of Chesapeake Bay Fishing Charters at o’dark thirty. The morning’s attire of winter hats and boots quickly gave way to short sleeves and flip flops by the time the sun came up – you couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful spring day on the water.
The first trophy fish of the day, a 40-incher, was reeled in by editor Beth Crabtree, around 7 a.m. Less than an hour later, we hooked up again, this time with a 42-inch rock. Marketing coordinator Lauren Mahoney reeled in the monster of a fish – it was her first charter fishing trip and her first trophy rockfish.
To make sure everyone got an equal chance of reeling in a fish, we devised a schedule where every 10 minutes, a new person would come up. And at 9 a.m., it was advertising sales rep Eric Richardson’s turn, and he scored the biggest fish of the day – a 44-incher!
Maryland’s trophy rockfish season goes through May 15, so there’s still time to get out on the water and catch the fish of a lifetime. Trophy regulations stipulate one fish per person, per day, minimum size 35 inches. From May 16-31, the regulations state: two fish per person per day between 20-28 inches or one fish between 20-28 inches.
The latest update from the MD DNR is that the new minimum size requirement of 19 inches for the summer and fall fishery has been approved. For more details on the updated regs, click to 2018 Maryland striped bass regulations. Learn more about the Ebb Tide at fishebbtidecharters.com; Billy and Kenny are sure to show you a good time. Find more charter captains around the Bay at proptalk.com/charter-fishing.
