Hackett's and Podickery Chumming Thursday 7/7
 

Took my eleven yo and my wife's 75 yo Aunt out chumming Thursday. Got to Hackett's around noon not marking much. Set up in 32' of water just east of the can and sat for 2 hours sweating to death with no action. Decided to pick up and see what all the hype was about at Podickery. Set up with about a half dozen boats. Caught maybe seven fish with one keeper at 21". Aunt caught the keeper so she was happy. Dead fish everywhere all day long starting at Matapeake ramp, Hackett's, and Podickery. I had two 18" fish float away from the boat that were not gut hooked, not out of water long, not a long fight to the boat. Deck of boat is too high to revive these fish in the traditional way. Tried using net but they would get caught up in the netting. Any tips on how to help revi,ve these fish? This 20" size limit in the dead heat of summer is having the opposite management effect of what they are trying to accomplish. Tons of 18 - 19 fish are being released dead in an attempt to catch legal fish. If the limit were shorter, I believe most people would go home after catching their two fish per person.