By Jim Baugh
Reporting from the Flybridge
This month's title says it all. Already during the month
of June we have seen some of the best bottom fishing we have seen in several
years. The hot spot has been around the Hampton Bar and fishing up the James
River. Two-pound Croaker is being boated constantly and there have been plenty
of keep Flounder caught off of the Bar. Be sure to check out Charlie Coats
column this month about our Sportsman's Magazine children's Croaker trip on
board the Ocean Eagle. Great day and loads of fish.
Fortunately this July is shaping up to be an excellent time for offshore fishing.
This spring we had little rain, and the tuna and Dolphin bite has already
started at the Fingers and the Cigar. For GPS info for a lot of our popular
mid Atlantic offshore hot spots, just log on to our GPS page at jimbaughoutdoors.com.
Our web site also has a lot of great charter information that can take you
bottom fishing, or to the Norfolk Canyon, which ever you prefer.
My favorite species that I like to target in during July is of course any
bottom fish, Cobia, and Dolphin. The Dolphin is one of the prettiest fish
in the sea, and maybe one of my all time favorite fish to eat. Fresh thick
Dolphin bronzed up on the grill with some lemon, wine, garlic, and butter
sauce, is really hard to beat. So this July and August, we will be targeting
a lot of offshore waters looking for our favorite fish Dolphin and Tuna.
July is also when we will be looking for Mr. Bad himself, the Bluefish. Nothing
quite fights like a Bluefish. These fish are found a lot in the 26-mile area
offshore as well as around structures like the towers. Bluefish blackened
is one of the best all time dishes you could ever prepare, just fabulous!!
The summers can get quite hot on the Chesapeake Bay. Don't forget to take
plenty of water out with you and stay hydrated. It is also a good idea to
fish early in the day as well as late afternoon. The mid day sun is what the
swimming pool at the Radisson is for.
Speaking of hot weather, we finally installed our second AC unit on the Trojan.
This unit we ordered from Boaters World and the installation was done by Lamy
marine from Norfolk. Lamy also did the installation on the Pursuit last spring.
The AC installation on the Trojan was fascinating to watch. Lamy ducked the
entire boat from bow to stern. We even ran new air into the forward head.
This means that now we have two 16,000 BTU air conditioners on the 36 foot
Trojan. She will cool down fast. When we come back in off the water, it sure
is nice to have some air on the boat. Air Conditioning can be put on most
boats, even as small as 24 feet. For more info on how to cool your boat down,
just contact Lamy Marine. Boaters World has everything you need air conditioner
wise, and they even sell those cool hatch mounted portable air conditioners.
Lots of boaters have these at Customs House Marina, they work real well for
sailboats and powerboats.
We hope to see everyone in downtown Hampton for the weekly Saturday night
block party held on Queens Way. Lots of good bands all weekend in the downtown
area. For docking info contact the Hampton Public Piers, Bluewater Marina,
Sunset Boating Center, or Joys Marina. They are all located on the Hampton
River and are great places to keep your boat. It is the busy season, so if
you want to book a room at the Radisson, call early. A great place to stay
and is central to everything that is going on at the waterfront and downtown.
Jim Baugh Outdoors has finished up our second quarter run on Comcast Sports
Net. Look for other airings on The Sportsman's Channel, Outerbanks Sky TY
4, WTKR ch 3 CBS, and Hampton city channel 47. Many programs can be streamed
from our web site and the 2004 DVD set of all our new programs will be ready
to order late this month
Tight Lines,
Jim Baugh
www.jimbaughoutdoors.com
Sponsored by:
Suzuki Marine, Hampton CVB, Sunset Boating Center, the Radisson Hotel Hampton,
Boaters World,Marine Fabricators, Berkley Big Game Fishing Line, Sea Search,
KWC electronics