Monitor Merrimack BT

[rocknreel]

Fished the 664 BT last night from about 6 to 9:30 pm around the south island and loaded up on some hoss croaker 14 to 17 inch average, lots of lightning out there but the storms seemed to just circle us just out of range, still no consolation while holding on to my 6 ft. graphite lightning rod. had a good time caught 33 fish, finally wised up and took our butts back to the dock!

[Kajun]

sounds like a good night........wish my last experience at the M&M tunnel was good lol....me and a buddy went out there in a 17 ft alum flat bottom boat....water was flat as hell...no sign of bad weather....then it came... lol..was stuck out there with 2-ft waves for a couple of hrs..stayed next to the island...then all of a sudden the wind made a 180 turn and while it was transitioning we made a run for the shore....we made it in......but anyway...while i was scared to death out there..my buddy was fishing the whole time.....he was pulling in big horse croaker...i had never seen croaker that size...i want to go back out there.. but not in flat john boat lol

[OBXFOOL]

Hey Rocknreel,

Where do you launch to fish that area? I will be down in October with my boat, assuming it is out of the shop by then, and would like to investigate that area.

[rocknreel]

I usually put in at Petersons Yacht Basin, because of its central location it affords me the oppritunity to fish not only the MMBT but also the HRBT and the James River Pier, also the Middle grounds Reef and the Hampton bar,and Fort Monroe area which are all good fishin spots. I fish in a 17' jon boat and all these places are within a 10 mile radius (as the crow flies) of Petersons I believe, and sometimes the weather can get a little hairy out there in a small boat, so it makes me a little more comfortable to be close to the dock. Petersons is an excellent boat ramp and can handle about any size boat no matter what the tide is doing, its a public ramp,It's well lit at night w/good parking, and its free, the only bad thing is getting to it you have to go through the not so good side of town, although I hav'nt had any bad experiences I have heard of folks who have

[OBXFOOL]

ROCKNREEL,

Thanks for the info. I will check it out next time I am down there.
Hopefully that will be in October.

[Henry S.]

Another option are the Norfolk city ramps at Willoughby. Two good ramps with a lot of parking, although it sometimes fills up on weekends and holidays. The ramps are located on 13th. View St. Off East Ocean View Avenue. Pretty easy to find. Just stay on Shore Drive/East Ocean View Ave. throught Ocean View and take a left on 13th. View.

It is real close to, about a mile, from the HRBT which is about six miles from the MMBT.
Henry

[OBXFOOL]

Henry S.

Thanks for the addl suggestion. I have both of the ramps peged on my mapping software.