January Stripers
By Jerry Aycock

Sportsmans Magazine Feb. 04

What do you think of when you think of January? Well, I normally think of cold, wet and snow, but not this year! January started out in the upper 70s, breaking old records right and left. To be honest, I was thinking about the Sportsmanís 2003 trip to Mexico, that great sailfish and counting the days until May for this yearís trip.†††

I was driving down the road on Monday, January 5th, and received a call from Sheri inviting me to join Captain Hogg the next morning aboard the Smokiní Gun to fish for offshore stripers. Since I had a meeting on the 6th, I declined the invitation; however, the more I drove the more I thought about big ocean stripers. I called Captain Hogg and he said the weather was beautiful and the bite was on. I immediately canceled my meeting and started to plan for the trip.

I couldnít sleep that night for catching huge stripers in my dreams. Oídark-thirty rolled around before I knew it and I quickly dressed in several layers of warm clothes. Yes, the weather had changed. A cold, wet morning greeted me. During my drive from Hampton to Rudeeís Inlet in Virginia Beach, I turned on the radio to hear the weather guesser say we were under small craft warnings. What a letdown. Oh, well, a crisp early morning drive would be nice. Iíll just enjoy the scenery. But upon arriving at the dock, Captain Hogg greeted me with ìBe ready to go at 7:30!î

My buddy Jim Baugh pulled up and we swapped lies while waiting for the rest of the crew. We were soon joined by Sean Finnegan, cameraman for Jim Baugh Outdoors; Anthony Teta from Midlothian (if you are reading this on the Outer Banks, you can thank Anthony for delivering The Sportsman's Magazine), John Masters of Newport News; and Tory Firman, the Smokiní Gunís excellent mate.

We left Rudee Inlet and headed out in rough waters to just about two miles off Virginia Beach. It was interesting to see the huge swells and still be able to see the tall buildings along the shoreline. The Smokiní Gun is a 36-foot custom-built ìJ.C.î loaded with new radar, color plotter and color fish finder. It has a large enclosed area to keep you warm and dry. Did I say warm? Captain Hogg was wearing a tee shirt while the rest of us sat in a toasty interior dressed for arctic chills.

John Masters broke out the seasick tablets, but just a little too late. Yes, he was green and went out into the air just in time to get sick. Sorry, John, I had to tell it! That was about the time the action started. The fish came fast and furiousæthe biggest stripers I had seen in a long time. As olí Jim Baugh hooked into a nice double, I was thinking I'm glad it wasn't me because my arms were already weary from cranking 'em in. John was still green, but was standing with a rod in his hand with a Stretch 35 on the end. He mumbled, ìWouldnít it be nice to have one hit while holding the rod?î

No sooner said than done, he landed a nice striper and put the Stretch 35 back out. I was helping Tory get the other rigs out when ìsickî John hooked another one! He asked me to take the rod, but I had my hands full and couldnít help. He would have never forgiven me if I had taken it as he landed a 49-pound, 51-inch citation. Jimís cameraman, Sean, even got into the action. We had a limit and headed back to the dock by 10:30 a.m. After we docked, Tory cleaned our catch to an audience of hungry brown pelicans.

I drove home and marinated a couple of nice fillets in Vidalia onion dressing and put them on the grill for dinner. It was a day to remember and I am sure John Masters will never forget it.

Look for this trip to air on Jim Baugh Outdoors sometime in April. Thanks to Captain Chandler Hogg and his mate, Tory, for a great trip! They know where the fish are and provide the best fishing trips around. I am looking forward to some great tog fishing real soon on the Smokiní Gun.