Title: The Big Ones are back!
By Jim Baugh
Reporting from the Flybridge

This spring we never really got a break from the rain. Cool water temps in the Bay and offshore has made for a rather lack luster spring fishing season. Fortunately someone opened the floodgates above North Carolina and has now let massive Cobia into our Virginia Waters.
Cobia is THE fish of the month. The hot spot is of course in front of Hampton from the Back River Reef area to Bluefish Rock. Setting up a nice chum slick and floating live Eels in front of Salt Ponds would be a good way to put some Cobia in your boat. Huge fish up to 99 pounds have already been weighed in at Wallace's bait and tackle. The Cobia bite is just getting better and should last through August.
The traditional method for catching these brutes is to use chum and fish with live bait. My favorite rig is a balloon with about five feet of leader material at the end of your line. The balloon is a great float for live croaker and you can spot a bite easily. Often times you can hear the "pop" of the balloon once the cobia takes the bait and runs with it.

To find out the latest on the hot Cobia bite here are a couple of good tackle stores that have a lot of good information on Cobia. Wallace's bait and tackle 757 851 5451, Bucko's Bait and Tackle 757 728 1600. I talked to Barry at Bucko's and he informed me that they carry a wide varity of chum as well Menhaden oil. The store also just got in pre tied Gamakatsu Cobia hooks and plenty of live Eels, Spot and Croaker.

The Jim Baugh Outdoors Show Boat is now in Hampton and we have been fishing her hard. The 140 Suzuki Four Stroke engines pushes our rig about 32 knots at 5900RPM. The boat is rated for 450 HP and we will be putting on the new twin 225's once Suzuki makes them available this fall. The bottom line is this, the Suzuki Four Strokes provide awesome power. Everyone that gets on our Pursuit is amazed at how well the 140's push our 30-foot rig. Even with both engines running sitting at the dock, it is hard to even hear them. If you are in the market to re power, definitely consider the Suzuki four stroke engines. The 200-250hp models will be available this fall, for more info just log on to suzukimarine.com
July is going to be filed with plenty of offshore trips for JBO. We will be mainly targeting Yellowfin Tuna and Dolphin.

If you would like to book a charter for offshore fishing out of Hampton there are some excellent charter services available. The Big Minnow is a great boat with an excellent crew. You can reach Captain Paul at (804) 569-0431. There is also a new head boat now fishing out of Hampton called the Ocean Eagle. This is a cool boat with some beautiful Teak floors. The Ocean Eagle docks right by the new home of The Cousteau Society by the Hampton Public Piers. The contact number for the Ocean Eagle is 757 868 fish.
The Venture Inn is a well-known head boat that has been fishing out of Hampton for years. The big news is that the Venture Inn has now opened up their own restaurant called Sammy's Seafood. This place has the best soft-shell crab sandwich you will ever eat. I usually order the Jim Baugh Special for breakfast, that's a sausage biscuit with egg and cheese, home fries and a large coffee. You will not need to order lunch, that biscuit will hold you all day!!

The great thing about Sammy's Seafood is that you can call ahead and order fresh steamed shrimp and pick it up by boat. The restaurant is located right behind the Venture Inn docked at Sunset Boating Center. They also have picnic tables available so you can have your meal waterside. Give captain Sam a call at 757 850 8960. The tele for Sammy's Seafood is 757 722 7484. Call up and order your lunch or dinner, and dine by boat! For our big all day fishing trips we call up and order the club special and the Italian sub. Great STUFF.
I am getting a little hungry myself so I am now cranking up the Suzuki's and heading over to Sammy's Seafood for some steamed shrimp.
The Hampton River is the best!

Wishing everyone dry bilges, light SSW winds,

Jim Baugh
Jim Baugh Outdoors TV