Title: When to put the boat back in the water?
By Jim Baugh
Reporting from the Flybridge
I really do get this question every year from a lot of people. "Hey Jim, when should I put the boat back in the water?" My reply is always the same, "You took it out?

We are fortunate to keep our boats in Hampton Virginia located in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Our boats are regularly kept at Customs House Marina in front of the Radisson hotel, as well as Sunset Boating Center located just around the corner. Hard winters are something that is just not seen that much in our home base port. Sure it can get cold Dec-Feb, however frozen water and a foot of snow on the boat is something that is not real common.

Having said that, yes, the canvas on our Trojan did collapse with snow a couple of years ago, but that was mainly due to a poor brace design. Since then, we have upgraded the canvas enclosure and support system using Cooks Custom Canvas. This year I did put the lights in the engines rooms, and even winterized some fresh water pluming lines. We got threw the winter OK. I only had one small leak in a line on the Pursuit, which we fixed rather easily. That particular line did not have any antifreeze fluid in it, so I did learn a good lesson about filling all lines. Buy hey, that line needed to be replaced anyway. My point is, where we are there really is not an "off" season for fishing. Keeping a good eye on your boat is always a good idea during the colder months. I check the Trojan and Pursuit every week even if we are not shooting.

Let's see how the year breaks out for us fishing wise, this will just skim the surface a bit:
May-June\ Get your Spadefish rigs ready and keep an eye out for Yellowfins off of Hatteras. July-August\ bottom fishing time, all species, and keep an ear out for the offshore bite off our beaches. And don't forget wreck fishing!! Sept.\ Can you say, Trout? Spot? Monster Croaker? Oct-Feb\ Rockfish! Rockfish! Rockfish! March\ Tog Time and Catfish. This is just to give you an idea as to why we keep our boats in the water year round. There is just to many species to fish for. To be honest, the hottest months temperature wise (Like August) is one of my least favorite times of year to fish. IT IS TO HOT!! Except for to run for a good offshore bite, I would rather make a run for the swimming pool at the Radisson!!

If I had to pick downtime, it would be March and April. However these are the excellent Tog and Catfish months. The fact is these are also great months to get your boats worked on. Usually yards are at their slowest between Feb.- April. It can really make a difference in the speed and cost of the work being done. I usually will wait to do most of our boat work during March. Currently, I have an air conditioner, two marine stereos, and a marine head to install. Anyone want to help? Ahhh, I love boating. Only a boat can get one excited about proper waste disposal. In case you are wondering, yes I have had to once rebuild a marine head. I hope you remember the most important word, "once".

Year round fishing is really what we have here in the lower Bay. Although we have been targeting a lot of saltwater species, we are not forgetting our fresh water-swimming friends just up the James River a bit. Largmouth Bass, Crappie, and my favorite, Blue Catfish are all just a nice boat ride away from our home port in Hampton VA.

So when is a good time to put your boat back in the water?

The answer is in the lower Bay, as long as it is a fair winter, anytime. I think the most important thing is to have everything ready to go when the bite is on. I sort of gauge my "boat readiness" by the date of May 15th. This is around the time that Drum will start to be locating in the Bay. This is also when one of my favorite fish of all time, the Spadefish, with start to gather around the tower.

This year we should have a Hampton Spadefish run, everyone leave at one time. A mass exodus to the infamous light tower for a morning of Spadelishious pullage!
Anyone want to go? Feel free to mail me from our www.jimbaughoutrdoors.com web site. Late May would be an excellent time to make the run. I will update any responses in next month's column.
Have fun everyone, and get your boats ready. I am looking now at my new marine head sitting in the box in my office, thinking, "Now, who can I get to install this?"

Tight Lines,

Jim Baugh
www.jimbaughoutdoors.com
PS: Check out the new performance numbers on our web site for the new 225 Suzuki Four Stroke Engines. Next months column will be dedicated to reviewing the engines. They are awesome!
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Suzuki Marine, Hampton CVB, Sunset Boating Center, the Radisson Hotel Hampton, Boaters World,Marine Fabricators, Berkley Big Game Fishing Line, Sea Search, Customs House Marina, KWC electronics