# PAX Naval Base



## akhan (Mar 17, 2011)

Went to PAX on Saturday and fished near the dock. Croaker were hitting fairly well, got a bite/hookup every few minutes. Caught a few perch and a Spot. Fileted and pan seared - came out great! Bloodworms were the ticket!


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## gogorome (May 22, 2009)

Nice.. The dock that is next to.fishing point where you can pull your car close to.the water?


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## akhan (Mar 17, 2011)

yeah


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## Pinoy44 (Oct 6, 2009)

Couple of buddies and I were also at the PAX on Saturday, croakers were biting really good during the tide, what surprise us was two of my friends landed 19" & 22" rockfish almost the same time. I thought they were long gone from the bay
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag94/nastuD44/32990eb99d23d24f55a7394584a1ecc0_zps91c4b174.jpg


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## gogorome (May 22, 2009)

Pinoy44 said:


> Couple of buddies and I were also at the PAX on Saturday, croakers were biting really good during the tide, what surprise us was two of my friends landed 19" & 22" rockfish almost the same time. I thought they were long gone from the bay
> http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag94/nastuD44/32990eb99d23d24f55a7394584a1ecc0_zps91c4b174.jpg


Magaling! Saan? Hog point? Fishing pt? .. lol


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

Pinoy44 said:


> Couple of buddies and I were also at the PAX on Saturday, croakers were biting really good during the tide, what surprise us was two of my friends landed 19" & 22" rockfish almost the same time. I thought they were long gone from the bay
> http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag94/nastuD44/32990eb99d23d24f55a7394584a1ecc0_zps91c4b174.jpg


They are really never gone. I am still catching stripers from shore regularly in the middle bay area. Now as for the 30 inch+ spawners, some are gone but the spawn appears late this year.


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## Hueski (Feb 5, 2012)

Nice bucket of croakers.


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## akhan (Mar 17, 2011)

Let me ask other Croaker fans a question:

This was my first time keeping these thing and bringing them home -- After filleting a few, I realized they are too much darn work! Plus is it me or do they have additional bones asides the pin and rib bones? The meat was great, but it will take a mess of croaker to feed a group of friends. How do you guys normally prepare these things? Any tricks regarding the bones? And is it me or is it known that these things have very little meat on them once filleted?


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## mepps3 (May 18, 2007)

I think it is relative to the size. 9-11 inchers don't have much meat. But once you get over 12 inches, they can get pretty meaty. I don't think they have any extra bones, no more then a white perch. Their rib bones are thicker, that's about it. I fillet them, remove the fillets from the skin, then remove the bones from the fillet. There is a technique to maximizing the meat. You can look it up on youtube. Sharp knives are always a must to get the most meat. I kept 6 from 11-13 inches recently and that got me 1.5 pounds of meat. I thought that was pretty good. The more you clean, the better you get. 
Haven't you ever kept bluegill or white/yellow perch? Crappies? Now that is a lot of work to get a meal! It's a different world then 30 pound rockfish!! Tastier and less pollutants, though.


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## jigmeister (Feb 23, 2013)

mepps3 said:


> I think it is relative to the size. 9-11 inchers don't have much meat. But once you get over 12 inches, they can get pretty meaty. I don't think they have any extra bones, no more then a white perch. Their rib bones are thicker, that's about it. I fillet them, remove the fillets from the skin, then remove the bones from the fillet. There is a technique to maximizing the meat. You can look it up on youtube. Sharp knives are always a must to get the most meat. I kept 6 from 11-13 inches recently and that got me 1.5 pounds of meat. I thought that was pretty good. The more you clean, the better you get.
> Haven't you ever kept bluegill or white/yellow perch? Crappies? Now that is a lot of work to get a meal! It's a different world then 30 pound rockfish!! Tastier and less pollutants, though.


 They do indeed have pin bones in the shoulder. Rather than taking the time to pull them out, I just cut up on the diagonal and cut them out when I'm skinning them. By the way. You guys should really try brining and then smoking them. Delish. Also, I do it a little differently than Randy does, but if you notice, he takes the pin bones out in what he calls a triangle cut. I just cut the whole piece off if I have a mess of them. I throw the racks and leftover pieces in my tomato garden anyway.

Hope this helps : http://youtu.be/mxu1y2TGSCQ


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## tinyblue (May 9, 2014)

Hi, i'm just wondering how can i get there or is there a way to launch kayak or location to fish around there?


Thank you in advance.


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## akhan (Mar 17, 2011)

You need either a military or contractor ID to get on the base. There are area's available to launch kayaks there.


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

akhan said:


> Let me ask other Croaker fans a question:
> 
> This was my first time keeping these thing and bringing them home -- After filleting a few, I realized they are too much darn work! Plus is it me or do they have additional bones asides the pin and rib bones? The meat was great, but it will take a mess of croaker to feed a group of friends. How do you guys normally prepare these things? Any tricks regarding the bones? And is it me or is it known that these things have very little meat on them once filleted?


As with most pan fish I just gut, scale, cut off the head and pan fry them. The meat just flakes off with a fork plus you get a lot more meat this way.

Here's how I fix them:

Pan Fried Croaker

2 Servings
2 Whole croaker, head on, gutted and scaled
Salt and pepper
1 cup Flour
2 teaspoon Allspice
2 tablespoon Coriander
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
½ - ¾ cup Canola oil, or peanut oil

Wash the croaker thoroughly. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Season the flour with salt, pepper, allspice, coriander and cayenne pepper. Dredge the fish in the seasoned flour and fry in the oil until done. I use a big black cast iron skillet.


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## mainevent (Oct 21, 2013)

akhan said:


> You need either a military or contractor ID to get on the base. There are area's available to launch kayaks there.


I have a Gov't contractor badge, but work in VA. Would that be enough for me to fish there? Can someone direct me to the rules and regulation of fishing this spot?

Thanks


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## galvestonian (Feb 6, 2014)

mainevent said:


> I have a Gov't contractor badge, but work in VA. Would that be enough for me to fish there? Can someone direct me to the rules and regulation of fishing this spot?
> 
> Thanks


To fish you will need a Naval Air Station PAX River fishing permit. You can buy it online at http://naspaxriver.isportsman.net/

Other rules and regulations are here: http://naspaxriver.isportsman.net/fishing.aspx


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## bloodworm (Jan 5, 2007)

akhan said:


> Let me ask other Croaker fans a question:
> 
> This was my first time keeping these thing and bringing them home -- After filleting a few, I realized they are too much darn work! Plus is it me or do they have additional bones asides the pin and rib bones? The meat was great, but it will take a mess of croaker to feed a group of friends. How do you guys normally prepare these things? Any tricks regarding the bones? And is it me or is it known that these things have very little meat on them once filleted?


some people will do that around the perimeter of the rib cage or they'll just fillet away from the bones in one slice and no bones at all either way your loosing a lot of meat


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## Croaker D (Apr 18, 2010)

Akhan you can put your kayak in at solomons and paddle or pedal across the river sir!


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## greeneon98 (May 11, 2007)

galvestonian said:


> To fish you will need a Naval Air Station PAX River fishing permit. You can buy it online at http://naspaxriver.isportsman.net/
> 
> Other rules and regulations are here: http://naspaxriver.isportsman.net/fishing.aspx


Do you need this in addition to a MD fishing license?


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## akhan (Mar 17, 2011)

croaker - don't have a Kayak - lookin at some of these posts here though, I am really considering getting one.

Greeon - yes, you need these in addition to MD license.


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Very nice. The majority of croaker are like spot: until they get over a pound they're not worth fileting. You lose too much meat and it's easier to pick around the bones after the fish is cooked. They ought to be moving north any day now. If we can get some hot days and the rain knocks off this could be a great summer.


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## Gnatman (Sep 15, 2005)

Is it just me, or do some of those croaker don't appear to make the 9" minimum size limit?


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## PandaBearJeff (Aug 19, 2013)

Gnatman said:


> Is it just me, or do some of those croaker don't appear to make the 9" minimum size limit?


LOL, mmm they look rite to me Gnatman. 9 inches is pretty short anyways, Nobody would know from here without a reference point.


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

It's just you...


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## akhan (Mar 17, 2011)

Each one was measured and all crossed the 9 inch limit easily. Threw at least 5 back that could be considered 9, but were on the line. Don't play those games, abide by the rules as there were plenty of fish biting.


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