Fishing Highlights

Congratulations to Sean Vitovich for landing this citation 48-lb. 8-oz rockfish yesterday. This completes his requirements for laying claim to an Expert Angler Award from the State of Virginia.

In the last 365 days, Sean has boated citations in all of the following six different saltwater species: speckled trout, redfish, cobia, blue tile, sea bass, and striper.

In case anyone doesn't already know, Sean is the son of Chris Vitovich and helps his dad put on the annual Steve Gambill Cancer Classic at West Landing Marina.

Eddie Sapp probably is best known locally for his bass fishing prowess, but as I learned a couple weeks ago, he's spending at least part of his time nowadays in pursuit of crappie. And, as a result, he has gone out and gotten himself a second boat, so he can do the job right.

Here's the new craft, as photographed earlier today by my friend, Skip, that Eddie is running around in these days when chasing crappie.

Skip and I shared a good laugh about how long either one of us probably would last standing on this boat's raised platforms. I jokingly told him they'd probably find both of us floating belly-up on the water near an old carp or grindle.

"They're bitin'," was the word I got from Bob Glass when we stopped and chatted for a couple minutes while I was at the marina earlier today. Bob told me he had gotten five in only a couple hours on the water. On one other recent day, he boated a dozen.

In case you're wondering, crankbaits have been Bob's go-to lures during recent trips, and that has been standard fare for nearly everyone I've spoken to in recent weeks. Crankbaits are hard to beat this time of year around here.

I sincerely envy everyone who has been getting out here lately, 'cause Bob is spot on--they really are bitin'. Now that I've got another boat to get set up like I want, though, it's likely to be a spell yet before I get to wet another lure of any kind. My first priority is to get the boat ready, so I'll be able to go come spring.