Offshore flounder fishing and filming the Parramore Reef and the SS Monroe wreck with Captain Jack Norman

Jim Baugh Otudoors hooked up with Captain Jack Norman to complete our two part flounder show. Leaving out of Wachapreague our crew also consisted of Bret and Jack's nephew Hayden who already is a master shark catcher.

Clear skies and fair sea conditions made for a beautiful trip out of the inlet and our first stop was the offshore reef called Parramore. This is one of the artificial reefs that is constructed by the Virginia Artificial Reef Program and has provided massive habitat for marine life and excellent places for the sporting angler to navigate to.

 

Parramore Reef

 

Prince of Peace

The Parramore is made up of many structures including military vehicles, subway cars as well as the 85 foot 24 foot beam trawler the Prince of Peace. This wreck has a relief of about 20 feet off the bottom.



Prince of Peace Sinking

 

Subway cars sunk as a part of the reef program

We were fishing with Jack's favorite flounder baits and it was not long before we hooked up. The bite was not as fast or as often as we were hoping for so Captain Jack headed another 10 miles offshore to the SS Monroe for some exciting wreck fishing.

Sea Bass off the Parramore Reef



Next Stop the SS Monroe

SS Monroe launched 1902

SS Monroe Postcard early 1900's

The history of this wreck dates back to 1914 when the SS Monroe foundered.  Off the coast of Wachapreague in heavy fog the northbound SS Monroe collided head on with the steamship SS Nantucket. The Monroe sank quickly in under 15 minutes, 41 souls were lost. 

Member of the crew SS Monroe during inquiry

An inquiry after the accident found both captains at fault. After the sinking, the mast of the Monroe protruded from the bottom depths of 80 feet and was visible above the water. This was a navigation hazard and later the ship was demolition underwater leaving the stern the highest part with a relief above bottom of nearly 25 to 30 feet.

JBOTV Underwater Cameras Dive Into The SS Monroe

Here you can see the hatch our camera descended through capturing the deck beneath holding fish

This was a wreck that I for sure wanted to film so we got out one of our JBOTV underwater troll pro cameras and rigged it with a heavy weight and 100 feet of line. Once cameras running and overboard it soon came to rest on the top deck of the Monroe approximately 60 feet under our boat. The wreck sits in 80 feet of water.

Sheepshead

 

 

Within a minute, luckily we repositioned the camera line and our underwater troll pro found it’s way through an open hatch and proceeded to sink down into the deck underneath. This gave us some incredible video and pictures of what has rarely been seen for over 100 years. We also found that fish just love living inside this wreck.

 

Inside the SS Monroe

JBOTV Toll Pro Camera ascending from the SS Monroe


Fishing The Monroe

 

 

After pulling off a flounder and also a sea bass off the Monroe it was time to try some spade fishing off a couple other wrecks closer to shore. Luck was not with us on the spadefish however a quick stop by buoy 10 did provide some interesting results.

 

On The Way In



Dolphin

Chum Bag

We happen to come across lots of small fish and a stray dolphin that did not want to be caught. After quite a few cast it was pushing the end of the day and we headed back in.

Great day on the water and a good time was had by all. Look for our video feature with Captain Jack and Captain Meriwether Payne coming up in our 2016 season. We will also post segments online on our YouTube Channel.

Tight Lines!

Godspeed,

Jim Baugh

Jim Baugh Outdoors TV

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