[MVP]

Received invite to fish with Bill - ytuna and his group of all star toggers
(Eric- Mortgageman, Henry - jigemup, Dave - DROD)
to Fish Ocean City, MD on 5/4- 5/6. We had good forecast for all three days so expectations were high.

5/4 Capt. decided to stay in closer rather than making the long run as it seems like fishing has been more consistent for him in shallower water After about a 45 min run lines were in and the anticipation of the Bite was at a fever pitch. Fish started to come over the rail at a nice pace. Henry was using a 1.5oz. banana jig and was putting on a clinic catching them at a fast pace. We were all catching put Henry was catching them at least at double the pace of the rest of us. If you did not believe that jigging for blackfish produces, I can tell you that under the right conditions they can be deadly in the hands of a skilled angler. Ended the day filling the box with some really nice quality 4-7 pound blackfish highlighted by Eric's 9.5 lb. pool winner. As a bye catch we had caught about a dozen nice cod that made it to the box and some nice seabass that were released do to closed season.

5/5 Had some higher winds predicted for day two that would not allow us to make the long run so stayed in sight of land and had another productive day with even more action then the day before as I believe most of us must have had at least double limits + of keepers. Again all nice quality 4-7 pound fish topped off by DROD 10 pounder. Ended the day keeping our 28 blacks and another dozen or so cod. As a group we decided to through back many of the bigger fish as well as each of us releasing many of the female keepers. These fish are currently on the spawn so wanted Momma to have chance to make more babies so we can continue to sustain this great fishery.

5/6 This was the day we were all waiting for as conditions were mint to make the long run to VA. 2 hours later we were anchored near some commercial guy working his pots who told us he speared a nice 23 pounder out of this area recently. If that does not get your juices flowing then there must be something wrong with you. Cod started coming over the rail much more so than blackfish. If we fished clams I am sure the cod catch would have been even better but we were not here for cod and were in search of the ONE. About 35 min. into the trip I get the bite that i have traveled thousands of miles and have spent 10's of thousands of dollars for over the years. I get about 3.5 cranks on him on my Australian loads up and is bent over in the shape of a U. Fish has me in his hole and can not get angle on him to budge him. Put reel in free spool hoping he/she swims out like my last trip i had in April but no such luck. After several a long wait of trying to entice him out fish has other plans and i cry uncle reel down and bust him off. I normally fish longer leader about 16- 18" which when fishing wrecks that have deep drop of puts me at disadvantage with that longer leader rather than the traditional shorter snell or snafu. Wish I could have gotten a few more cranks on this one to truly access what was at the end of the line. Will never no if this was the ONE. If you catch huge tog with 18" 60 pound leader tied to 5/0 owner hooks and a little green glow bead please make sure not to call me.
When fishing slowed Capt. made move to second wreck which had similar action. Towards the end of trip Henry gets bit on his traditional bait rig and lands the highlight of the trip which weighed in at 16 pounds and his PB. Could not have been happier for for him as he truly has put in his time.
We did not limit out on blackfish this day but did go home with more cod. Told the guys on day 1 that if i only caught 1 fish all three days and it was 15+ pounds or better i would consider it a successful trip. At this point i love the action but it is more about the hunt for double digits that keeps me coming back for more.

Always willing to share info to help others improve their catch. Been tog fishing for about 30 years now and still learned a few things on this trip.
1. Jigging for blackfish under the right conditions can be very effective.
2. Experimented on different ways to hook crab which improved my catch.
3. Was getting hits using 8 oz sinker but fish would not commit to bait and give me something to swing at. Dropped down to 5 oz. and had 3 fish in a row.
4. Do not be afraid to cast around to find the bite. Fish will follow your bait as it is settling into zone. Get more bites this way when fishing slows down.
5. A little movement is not a bad thing
6. Do not fall asleep with MVP and DROD around. Bad things can happen.
7. Reason why MD fishing is so good as is there is little pressure on these fish as I saw a total of three boats out in 3 days with 2 of them being commercial guys. Can you imagine being anchored up on the sandy hook reef in the middle of November and not seeing any boats around you.
8. DROD does not even smile when holding up a 10 pound blackfish
9. Should go on the corn hole circuit to help pay for my fishing trips
10. Went through a lot of trouble and expense to bring whiteleggars on this trip. Do not think they made much of a difference this time of year vs. the greens.


Big fish honors go to:
Henry - 16 pounder

Honorable mention:
Drod - 10 pounder
Kane- 10 pounder
Eric - 9.5 pounder

Even though everyone produced and added to the box on all three days my MVP award goes to Henry for his jigging prowess on day one and his 16 pound female that was released to swim another day. Could not have asked for a better group of guys to fish with. Looking forward to the next togging adventure.

MVP