Father's Day Fishing Special - June 16 (Late Entry)

Accompanied by daughters Elizabeth and Sarah, Capt. DiPaola headed to Love Point north of the Bay Bridge where the striper action had been consistent.  Summer like weather in the upper 80s complimented the incoming tide with less than a 1' chop in 27' of water.   Fishing with Liz and Sarah brought back memories of all 5 children pulling bluegill from a local creek or a small dogfish from a head-boat with shrieks and screams as I ran from rod to rod releasing fish, taking pictures, and re-baiting hooks.

The girls have grown into fine young women, but as I watched Liz relax in the Captain's seat with her pup, Riley, and Sarah catch the last of the afternoon sun; I realized that time has not changed the way we fish together.   I found myself dashing from rod to rod checking the bait, ensuring lines remained untangled, and notifying the girls when it was time to reel in their catch.  Regardless of the level of engagement, seeing the reel begin to spool and feeling the striper on the business end of the rig can still elicit shouts of joy from all aboard the boat.

Then...

 

The action was almost instantaneous.  Soon after we dropped anchor, the first two rods were getting hits before the bait settled on the bottom.  Unlike the 32" and 28" fish Capt. Felker and Capt. DiPaola hooked into at the same spot just 24 hours earlier, these fish while ravenous, were in the 18-21" range.  Less than 45 minutes from the anchor set we had landed 3 fish including 2 keepers.

Now...

Fillets from 21 - 24 inch fish are in my opinion some of the best eating.  The two keepers in our creel were in this range.  After filleting and removing the skin, I cut the flesh into 2 inch chunks.  After padding with a paper towel and dipping in egg batter, I coated the strips with cracker meal and a dusting of Old Bay seasoning.  A few minutes in a frying basket and there were Rockfish bites for everyone to top off a memorable Father's Day!

Tight Lines to all Dads and to the time on the water with friends, family and our kids!

Mikey D Fishing