This was an interesting and successful tournament once again put on by the Mid Atlantic Rockfish Shootout. Now completing it’s twelfth year the Shootout has become the largest Rockfish tourney in the
A big change was in the mist for this years tourney. Due to
the lack of ocean Rocks swimming within three miles of Virginia Beach , the tournament staff decided
to open the event up to the Chesapeake Bay Season. This made a lot of anglers
very happy, and some others, maybe not so much. The bottom line is it only
makes sense to open up the tournament to where the fish are and the fish were
in the Bay, not near the shores of Virginia
Beach .
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| Day 1 |
There were some awesome fish weighed in and the top winning
prize went to team LeGrand Slam taking in $25,896 in cash for their awesome
three fish catch of 125.80 pounds. There was also a sizable Calcutta that participating anglers benefited
from.
Different this year was also two weigh stations, one at
Kings Creek Marina in Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore, and the other in Virginia Beach . Most all
of the quality fish were caught near the Eastern Shore
and the preferred lure was live Eels. Only a few fish were weighed in at Virginia Beach and to
quote one of the tourney staff, “Not significant size”.
Both weigh stations were accommodating to the anglers
because fisherman were traveling from a rather large area. This meant more
staffing and planning on the part of the event organizers and they did a wonderful
job as always.
Currently new regulations for the 2015 season are underway
and we will soon see what the commercial and recreational regulations will be.
Rockfish have been reported on the decline from what they were five to ten
years ago so brace yourself for some changes in the recreational take. This is going
to happen however to what degree is yet to be determined.
If you are interested in fishing tournaments, the Shootout
is one to defiantly consider. It is very professionally run and has an
excellent track record of pay outs.
Rockfish are some mighty tasty fish, for excellent Rockfish
recipes check out or Galley Blog. Our number one overall most requested recipe
is Rockfish tacos, they are awesome!!
Congrats to the winners, tight lines and Godspeed.
Jim Baugh
Jim Baugh Outdoors TV
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| Final Board |
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