Every October I hope for the Slammers

[Kris]

I get to go surf fishing in OC every year for a couple days in October hoping to catch the Slammers, Bluefish/Stripers, while they are passing by. So far, I have been extremely unlucky in hitting the right days. This year the locals tell me the water is still too warm for them to show up. It really gets to be frustrating.
I have sold off my 15' and the two 12' Daiwa Eliminators in favor of a selection of newer style, smaller diameter rods. I also decided to get rid of the 15' because my back hurt every time after I used it. I really enjoy using these rods.
I caught fish every day for the three days I was there. This year I was entertained by six to eight inch bluefish. Eight inches is the keeper length but I wouldn't keep the two I caught that were legal. Hell, One of my fishing rods is an Okuma Latitude 12' and sometimes I didn't know I had the fish until I pulled it in to change the bait. My other two rods 9' and 10' are a bit lighter duty and you could at least see the tiptop move. Although they were small there were many who committed hari-kari on my bunker and mullet offerings.
Two years ago I caught a fish off the beach that I called "a whole lot of ugly in one spot". Reeling it in was like trying to move a 30 gallon drum. Whole lot of weight that did nothing to help. I had never seen one before and I ended up breaking the hook off because I couldn't get it to open its mouth. I probably wouldn't have risked getting it out anyway because of the teeth I could see. I took a picture and rolled it back into the water with my foot. When I got back to the condo I saw a Friend and told him about how ugly it was. Luckily I took a pic with my phone and showed it to him. His reaction. "What did you do with that fish?" I told him I rolled it back into the water and he asked me if I knew what I had done. He said that is a Monkfish and is the only fish with the texture and taste of lobster. Don't care, I'm not messing with that ugly sucker.
Fishing in Ocean City, MD has been good to me over the years. Rockfish, Bluefish, Sharks, Monkfish and a few others have been a whole lot of fun to catch.
Maybe next year.

[Lipripper]

Thanks for the story and Kris and I'm with you Ugly. Except I did keep some Ugly looking Ling Cod from my trip to Alaska a few years ago they didn't taste like Lobster but they did grill up good.

[Kris]

Thanks for the story and Kris and I'm with you Ugly. Except I did keep some Ugly looking Ling Cod from my trip to Alaska a few years ago they didn't taste like Lobster but they did grill up good.

I probably would have kept a couple bluefish in the 12+ inch range for dinner but keeping 8 inchers would be like eating white perch. I love em but you gotta catch a mess of them to have a decent meal.
Cod is one of our favorite fish for dinner here. Nice firm white meat and tastes great. Ling cod are a little on the ugly side but that Monkfish is the winner in a two fish ugly contest. Used to think that award went to Tautog but not since I caught that Monk.

[Lipripper]

There are some strange and ugly looking fish in the ocean for sure and they are always finding more that are even uglier and stranger looking.

[PECo]

I know it's a haul, but maybe you should head north to Connecticut. I fish for stripers in the Housatonic River all winter (ice permitting), and stripers and blues in the Connecticut River in the fall. This year, September was better to me than October, but I caught a nice 33 inch striper in the Connecticut River on October 27:





Here are a couple of blues from September 22:

[FloridaFishinFool]

Nice! Rub it in! 

Love those stripers! Fight like crazy too!

[Kris]

Thanks for rubbing it in. lol
I used to fish the Long Island Sound when I lived in Bridgeport with my first wife. Caught some nice Blues and a few other species. It was a great fishing area up there. Don't do much saltwater fishing anymore now that my BIL sold off his boat. Thanks for the post and hopefully I will see the Slammers down here in the Ocean one year.