Tautog

It's not the most popular fish around and it certainly isn't the easiest to catch. In fact, the tautog is downright ugly and slimy, but it's wonderful to eat and certainly gives the angler an excellent fight.The tautog, also called a blackfish, is a member of the wrasse family. Though it somewhat resembles a sea bass, they are not related.With the cooling water temperatures, the tautog are moving from offshore waters into the inlet areas. The Ocean City Inlet and the Indian River Inlet are the best places to find this crafty, hard-fighting fish.

Gary Halbeisen will be eating his state record this weekend with a little garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Last Saturday, the Bel Air angler reeled in a 9-pound tautog -- small by ocean standards but the largest ever recorded on the Chesapeake Bay. "It was quite a surprise," said Halbeisen, 58, a defense contractor in Anne Arundel County. "It's just beginning to sink in." He was one of a party of nine fishermen aboard Capt. Jim Brincefield's charter boat, Jil Carrie. They were chumming at the target ship at the Middle Grounds, just off Point Lookout.

Gary Halbeisen will be eating his state record this weekend with a little garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Last Saturday, the Bel Air angler reeled in a 9-pound tautog -- small by ocean standards but the largest ever recorded on the Chesapeake Bay. "It was quite a surprise," said Halbeisen, 58, a defense contractor in Anne Arundel County. "It's just beginning to sink in." He was one of a party of nine fishermen aboard Capt. Jim Brincefield's charter boat, Jil Carrie. They were chumming at the target ship at the Middle Grounds, just off Point Lookout.

OCEAN CITY -- In mid-November, the sights and sounds at the south end of the boardwalk are in sharp contrast to those at the peak of the tourist season, when the parking lots are chock with cars, the promenade and beaches are packed with sun and junk-food worshipers and the smells from the Thrasher's french fries stand thicken the breeze.Tourists are so few the municipal parking meters have been removed.But in the nearshore waters, at the inlet and for a short distance into the back bays, there is a lightly used recreational fishery that might have the potential to send crowds of hardy fishermen down the ocean.

This time of year anglers can expect good catches of flounder, as the fish begin to migrate out of the bay. They will be leaving slowly, so there should be plenty of fish for the rest of the flounder season, which ends Oct. 10 on the Atlantic side of Maryland.The best tactic for anglers is to fish the high tide, starting in the east channel, using large, live minnows; strips of squid, bluefish or spot belly; live spot; or frozen shiners as bait.Fall's sometimes windy weather can put a damper on flounder fishing, but anglers find that the fish bite well before a weather front moves in and the barometer is falling.

North Laurel resident wins Del. fishing tournamentA North Laurel resident reeled in a 9-pound, 6-ounce tautog fish last month to win a fishing contest off Delaware, earning $380 and a sports fishing citation from that state.Roland Lee Miller, 51, caught the tautog about 2.5 miles offshore in the Lewes Harbor Marina Fishing Tournament. He was aboard the Angler when he made the catch Oct. 2. The tautog has been described by fishermen as a "sea bass with an attitude.""You see, it has big teeth -- big teeth that could bite off a finger," Miller said.

Ocean City has seen its first flounder. Bob Coolick, from Ocean Pines, picked up three flounder up to 16 inches in the Thorofare area last week. He was drifting in his boat with strips of mackerel. Another man had a catch of four the same day.Barbara Glinka of Bahia Marina was surprised when a rental boat came in with three "keeper" flounder on Saturday. The anglers were drifting outside the commercial harbor with shiners.The first flounder of the season are always caught in the deeper water.

Anglers awaiting the arrival of the bluefish were moved to abrupt action as a huge school of fish suddenly appeared at the Ocean City Inlet last Sunday afternoon. The Inlet came alive with boiling bluefish, chopping at almost anything thrown at them. The fish, running 2 to 4 pounds, were taking bucktails, plugs, spoons or bait.Mark Fleming of Delmarva Sporting Center grabbed his boat and found the blues boiling around the Old Railroad Bridge. Casting chunks of bunker and herring, Mr. Fleming and a friend caught 30 blues weighing in at 5 to 7 pounds.

Flounder fishing in Ocean City can only be called fair. A couple of large fluke were weighed in, proving there are some big fish, but these doormat-sized flounder are few and far between.Captain Dave from Bahia Marina found the catches unpredictable. "Some trips out on our party boat Tortuga we may catch 25 small throw back flounder along with a couple nice ones," he said. "The next day we may only catch one small flounder along with a few keepers."It was hard to rate flounder fishing over Memorial Day weekend.

Within the next few weeks, large numbers of suckers will begin spawning in Deer Creek, Little Gunpowder River and other clear, cold Harford County streams.Although this species is extremely bony, the meat is firm, flaky and has an excellent flavor. It can be prepared using a variety of methods, but like most fish, it tastes best when skinned and filleted.Catching suckers isn't difficult. All you need is a lightweight fishing outfit, a pack of small hooks, a few pieces of split-shot, a dozen worms and lots of patience.

North Laurel resident wins Del. fishing tournamentA North Laurel resident reeled in a 9-pound, 6-ounce tautog fish last month to win a fishing contest off Delaware, earning $380 and a sports fishing citation from that state.Roland Lee Miller, 51, caught the tautog about 2.5 miles offshore in the Lewes Harbor Marina Fishing Tournament. He was aboard the Angler when he made the catch Oct. 2. The tautog has been described by fishermen as a "sea bass with an attitude.""You see, it has big teeth -- big teeth that could bite off a finger," Miller said.

Terry Miller, 47, who turned his love of the theater, his devotion to Greenwich Village and his fondness for obscure facts into an eclectic, though hand-to-mouth, career as a writer, photographer, collector, archivist, researcher and historian, died Tuesday in Manhattan. He was 47.His family said the cause was complications from AIDS.Mr. Miller, who shunned 9-to-5 employment and always struggled to make a living, was essentially a hobbyist of such intensity that his passions became his profession.

Fishing begins anew on Labor Day weekend as fish sense the coming of winter and the time to migrate south or farther offshore.Schools of trout and croaker congregate one to five miles off the coast off Ocean City, getting bigger with each cool night. Last week, the fish were running on the small side. Anglers have been able to keep maybe one in 10 trout, but many of the croaker have been legal. Croaker must be 9 inches and the cruel limit is 10. This could change at any time.Party boats from Ocean City were catching trout, blues and croaker right outside the inlet Thursday, but gale-force winds kept most of the boats in over the Labor Day weekend.

The Ocean Pier, which juts into the ocean parallel to the Ocean City Inlet, saw a smorgasbord of fish last weekend.Though low tide can be a slow period of fishing, the higher incoming tide can give a fisherman action like we saw last Saturday. Coming over the railing were sand sharks, snapper, bluefish, skates, flounder, trout, croaker, spot and even a released striper. The bait of choice was bloodworm sandwiched with a strip of squid.The Shantytown Pier is actually a bulkhead and dock with bright lights looking down on the water on the west side of the U.S. 50 bridge.

Within the next few weeks, large numbers of suckers will begin spawning in Deer Creek, Little Gunpowder River and other clear, cold Harford County streams.Although this species is extremely bony, the meat is firm, flaky and has an excellent flavor. It can be prepared using a variety of methods, but like most fish, it tastes best when skinned and filleted.Catching suckers isn't difficult. All you need is a lightweight fishing outfit, a pack of small hooks, a few pieces of split-shot, a dozen worms and lots of patience.

This time of year anglers can expect good catches of flounder, as the fish begin to migrate out of the bay. They will be leaving slowly, so there should be plenty of fish for the rest of the flounder season, which ends Oct. 10 on the Atlantic side of Maryland.The best tactic for anglers is to fish the high tide, starting in the east channel, using large, live minnows; strips of squid, bluefish or spot belly; live spot; or frozen shiners as bait.Fall's sometimes windy weather can put a damper on flounder fishing, but anglers find that the fish bite well before a weather front moves in and the barometer is falling.

OCEAN CITY -- In mid-November, the sights and sounds at the south end of the boardwalk are in sharp contrast to those at the peak of the tourist season, when the parking lots are chock with cars, the promenade and beaches are packed with sun and junk-food worshipers and the smells from the Thrasher's french fries stand thicken the breeze.Tourists are so few the municipal parking meters have been removed.But in the nearshore waters, at the inlet and for a short distance into the back bays, there is a lightly used recreational fishery that might have the potential to send crowds of hardy fishermen down the ocean.

Ocean City sees some of its best fishing in the fall. Anglers line the beaches, able to surf fish all day. No longer are the fishermen subject to time periods and regulations. As long as the fish are biting, anglers fish.The main objective on the beach is catching bluefish. These fish begin to migrate south, feeding on schools of finger mullet, shiners and alewifes. Bluefish are fat, mean and sassy, giving anglers lots of sport. The average-size blue in October is 2 to 6 pounds, with big blues coming in periodically from 9 to 20 pounds.

Mako sharks have arrived offshore in Ocean City.The first one was taken by Douglas Patterson of Rochester, N.Y., while he was fishing aboard the MoJo charter boat out of the Ocean City Fishing Center. The mako weighed 124 pounds and was caught east of the Jackspot in 40 fathoms of water. It took a mackerel bait.This fish was followed by a large number of other mako sharks. The boat U B, also out of the Ocean City Fishing Center, landed one of the larger fish. It went 264 pounds and was taken by E. J. Mehalck of Baltimore.

Ocean City sees some of its best fishing in the fall. Anglers line the beaches, able to surf fish all day. No longer are the fishermen subject to time periods and regulations. As long as the fish are biting, anglers fish.The main objective on the beach is catching bluefish. These fish begin to migrate south, feeding on schools of finger mullet, shiners and alewifes. Bluefish are fat, mean and sassy, giving anglers lots of sport. The average-size blue in October is 2 to 6 pounds, with big blues coming in periodically from 9 to 20 pounds.