Typical blackfish haul this time of year. When the water temps hit below 58 degree the blacks move in and stay to around 48 degrees. Minimum size is 14" and no max. You can keep up to 10 per angler per trip.

This trip got us 18 keepers out of 35 or so fish we boated with the largest at 18 inches. That's about 4 pounds. The season's just started so we expect them up to 10 or so pounds in the next few weeks when we get up to 100 landings per trip. The beauty is you can catch blues, striped bass and weakfish (seatrout to you guys) on the way to the blacks. We also catch black sea bass, porgies and other fish with the blacks. We fish wrecks and rocky bottom locations in water depths from 30 to 75 feet. That's only 1/4 mile to 3 miles from the beach. Obviously Loran/GPS and a good color depth finder (mine's a Sitex CT 106) is imperative.

We use #15 test on my boat, and limited stretch line is the best. The rods are 6' with a revolving spool setup. Terminal tackle is simple. A loop is tied at the end the main line with a dropper loop 6" above it. The sinker goes on the bottom (usually 3 to 5 ounces) and a 12" leader with double snelled hooks goes on the dropper. The hooks are #4 Virginia (long shank) style about 4" apart. The preferred bait is green crabs which look like mini stone crabs. All legs and claws are removed, the shell is removed and the body is clipped into smaller pieces.

Blacks feed like Sheepshead working on mussels, barnacles, etc. They crunch the bait first, then suck in the meat. Therefore they are tough to hook because you lift hard on the "tug" not the "nibble." You expect many missed opportunities. They are mean fish when you hook them - sort of like a pit bull playing tug of war. It's set the hook, lift the rod high to stop their attempt to get back into the racks and the limit the runoffs.

The meat is excellent. I guess the best comparison is a grouper in both taste and habitat. Blacks grow very slowly and a 10 pounder is probably 20 years old. Thankfully, their environment prevents mast harvesting by netters so it's a recreational exercise.

One final note: Live Blackfish are a Japanese delicacy going for up to $1000.00 per fish in Tokyo. I know they taste good but...

Enjoy the warm weather,