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It took heart to land spadefish

June 18, 2009 12:35 am

THE POWERFUL TUG of an Atlantic spadefish, a fish routinely described as "a bluegill on steroids," leaves an indelible mark on a fisherman.

Fishing success for the once-plentiful species declined markedly last year, and this year was shaping up to be more of the same. Many trips to vaunted Chesapeake Bay honey holes such as "the Cell" and the old Wolftrap lighthouse saw anglers heading home skunked.

The hard luck didn't dissuade diehard Fredericksburg anglers Roland E. Murphy and the husband-and-wife team of Al and Sherry King. They saddled up and headed to Deltaville Saturday where the Kings' 25-foot center-console boat is moored and made the several-mile run to the Cell.

This tangle of underwater structure is the collapsed ruins of a World War II-vintage ship-demagnetization facility, and it's been a fish magnet for decades.

The trio has boated many Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament trophy citation-sized spadefish over the years, but the one that bent down the rod Murphy grabbed late Saturday afternoon is destined for the record books.

If certified, the 14-pound, 14-ounce spadefish will eclipse the current 14-pound record, jointly held by Mark Ottarson of North and Austin Edwards of Powhatan. Edwards caught his fish in 2006 at the Cell, while Ottarson boated his spade near Wolftrap in 2007.

Murphy's fish may also be a world record.

King said they've fished for spadefish for 13 years and have longed for a record fish. He said recent spadefishing has been "terrible," and he speculated the nearly month-long torrents of freshwater running off into the bay, courtesy of monsoon-like rains, was the culprit.

They began the day targeting flounder at a location near the Cell, but met with minimal result and moved on.

King anchored the boat right atop the Cell's debris. While they waited for the tide to swing, a storm gathered and boats began departing for home early. Murphy explained that they decided to wait out the weather. It paid off, and, once the tide began heading out, the spadefish turned on.

Some spadefish hunters like to hang a bag of chum in the water to attract them and get the bite going, but King said they simply dangled baited clam strips 10- to 12-feet deep.

King estimates they lost a dozen or more big fish shortly after the bite began. "They were just smoking us," he said.

The spades would take the bait and start running. Pound for pound, these fish are as strong as anything swimming.

The spadefish angler's dilemma is how to get the fish to turn or stop before it cuts the line off in the craggy bowels of the Cell. Tighten the drag and you'll often see the fish pull free from the hook. More often than not, a big fish simply will have its way with you and leave you a somewhat satisfied, somewhat frustrated wretch of a fisherman.

King repositioned the boat into water about 10 feet deeper at the edge of the structure. The move paid off as a fish in the 6- to 7-pound range was boated.

The next bite saw a Penn Ocean Master rod on the left side of the boat bend sharply toward the wave tops. Murphy quickly grabbed it.

Line began pulling from the Daiwa BG30 reel as the fish began its run. The PowerPro-braided line spooled on the reel is tough stuff, but the 20- or 30-pound fluorocarbon leader at the end wouldn't stand a chance in the Cell. Murphy didn't want to tighten the drag over concern the fish would pull from the 1/0 Gamakatsu hook.

"I let the tip of the rod do the work, keeping pressure on the fish, working to keep its head up," Murphy explained.

The spadefish dragged Murphy in circles around the boat and motor multiple times. After 15 to 20 minutes, the fish tired enough to be hauled into the boat.

Weighing it on the boat's handheld scale, King immediately knew they were looking at a possible record. They took one photo while the group was out on the water and then placed the fish in the livewell.

"I called Norview Marina to let them know we were heading back in and to have the scales ready; then I put the pedal to the metal," he said.

The fish weighed 15 pounds, 5 ounces on the marina's uncertified scales. The closest certified scale was J&W Seafood on Route 33. It was there they received an official weight.

Jon Lucy of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science traveled to meet Murphy to assist with the applications for the new records.

"A fish like this is really a team fish," Murphy said, crediting his fishing partners. "This is something you fish a lot for and, one day, hope to catch. It was pretty exciting."

Ken Perrotte can be reached at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia Street, Fredericksburg, Va. 22401, by fax at 373-8455 or e-mail at
Email: outdoors@freelancestar.com.