[Fish Tank]

Friday morning we left the dock at 6:00 am with a group of hardcore bottom fishermen. When i say hardcore, i mean it. Unless these guys can bounce their sinkers on a rock or a wreck, they ain't goin'. I promised them we would check the bass first thing in the morning and then go bottom fishin'.They were well aware that sea bass, blackfish, and fluke were closed and they may wind up goin' home with empty coolers. That was no problem, they just wanted to bend the rod. OK, let's do it! A couple of minutes after breaking the inlet we came across a pile of bunkers, tossed jigs for a while and moved on. This scenario was repeated several times as i ran up the beach. Plenty of bait but no bass. These gents are sharp. After getting several miles up the beach, they knew we were getting into prime bottom fishing area. It didn't take long for one of them to ask when we were going to drop the hook. I knew that was going to happen, told them to cut the jigs and rig up. First drop was really good, started out with some really nice ling followed by a really nice pick of seabass and togs. Gave each one of the seabass and togs a nice kiss and released them. Tell you what, with those big lips on the togs, they make great kissers. Guys wound up with plenty of tasty ling fillets for dinner.A fun day on the water and i was pleasantly surprised at the numbers and size of the seabass. Looks like another cancel for tomorrow with four to six footers predicted. Been a tough spring but appreciate the days like today. Turned out to be a three ling circus. Take care, captain tom joseph