It’s been said that the two happiest days in a boat owner’s life are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell the boat. From a seasonal perspective, those two days are the one in the spring when you first launch the boat and the one in late fall when you pull it and send it into dry dock.
This fall it took me two attempts to try to pull Open II Debate, my little Boston Whaler Montauk 150, to conclude my 2025 saltwater season.
The first attempt was scheduled for a few weeks ago, the same day a Nor’easter came roaring up the coast. The prudent thing to do was delay any attempt to navigate the windswept, whitecapped bay waters enroute to the public ramp, so I rescheduled the pullout for Saturday afternoon, Nov. 8, which turned out to be a gorgeous day weatherwise.
What surprised me as I motored through the Cape Isle of Wight Bay and navigated the waters beneath the drawbridge on Route 50 in Ocean City, Maryland, was how many boats and fishermen were out on the water. Those eight or nine lined up on the north side of the bridge on the incoming tide were likely casting and jigging for striped bass, also known as rockfish in Maryland.
As I approached the commercial harbor and the public ramps, I noticed at least 20 boats with anglers eagerly plying the waters of the West Channel, a well-known flounder hotspot. That’s when I started having a few second thoughts about pulling the boat out when I could have been fishing instead, but at that point it was too late to change my mind.
Even though it was mid-November, anglers continued to enjoy decent success on flounder, stripers, sea bass and tautog. My friend Scott Lenox, host of the TV show ‘Fish in OC,’ was also out on the water that day and provided this report: “Just like the last several days, today started off a little windy.”
By the time lunch rolled around it had laid down nicely and a short sleeve shirt was all you needed. It was nice to see so many boats out on the bay and getting reports from the party boats that were able to get out on the ocean.
“I hit the bay myself today,” Lenox noted, “and had a great time catching some tautog, rockfish and a bluefish. I used green crabs at the south jetty on Deadly Tackle tog jigs and caught a few shorts with three keepers to just under 19. Then I hit the Route 50 bridge and caught and released a couple of short striped bass and a decent bluefish.”
Lenox reported that one ocean going party boat, the Angler, had significant success that day on plenty of sea bass, some flounder, a few porgy and a nice triggerfish according to captain Chris Mizurak. Other party boats who ventured inshore enjoyed similar success.
Offshore anglers are also having some luck. Fishing the canyons, captain Dale Lisi and the crew of Foolish Pleasures (of Wicked Tuna fame) loaded up with mahi (dolphin fish) along with a 199-pound swordfish. Captain Chris Watkowski and the crew of the Spring Mix II (whom I’ve fished with offshore a time or two) also had success out in the canyons that day while boating a limit of mahi.
Of course, November weather is notoriously fickle and can prove hazardous for any fishing boat, especially those headed out into the capricious Atlantic. One cautionary tale is that of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a brutal storm with the loss of all 29 crew members.
This month is the 50th anniversary of that tragedy which occurred on Nov. 10, 1975. As Gordon Lightfoot tells the tale in his 1976 ballad, ‘The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,’ the ship was destroyed “When the gales of November came slashing.”
The fine folks at Taylor Marine were waiting for me as a I pulled my boat in. I maneuvered the boat onto the trailer as another saltwater season, at least for me, came to a bittersweet end. I took one final, jealous glance over my shoulder at the fishing fleet still successfully catching fluke on the back bay while, at the same time, I looked forward to better seasons ahead.
Chester County game warden fired
The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has terminated a Chester County game warden’s employment amid allegations of misconduct. Nelson Yocum is no longer employed by the agency. Yocum had been on unpaid administrative leave since Sept. 6, 2025, after the agency received a citizen complaint alleging misconduct. In accordance with commonwealth policy, the PGC referred the matter to the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General, which turned over the criminal investigation to an external law-enforcement agency.
While that investigation concluded with no criminal charges filed, the PGC conducted a separate internal investigation. That review uncovered evidence of policy violations and other conduct warranting Yocum’s dismissal.
Yocum began his employment with the agency in March 2023 as a cadet at the Ross Leffler School of Conservation. He was assigned as a district game warden in February 2024.
Tom Tatum is the outdoors columnist for MediaNews Group. You can reach him at tatumt2@yahoo.com.
