On May 1st I ventured out on the "Morning Star" with Captain Monty Hawkins. His boat is located in the Ocean City Fishing Center, West Ocean City, Ocean City, Maryland. (410-520-2076)
The price is $100 per person, (More for 'long trips' every Saturday), a little more than a regular party boat, but a whole lot less than a private charter.
Capt. Monty limits the amount of patrons on board to 25.
That makes ample room for everyone.
For a little more money spent, it's a whole lot more comfortable than a head boat crammed with 70 to 100 people!

We started out our day heading South. It was early in the season, and sea bass had just started biting. Going South was our best bet, and Capt. Monty knew the score!

The Captain yelled "Drop 'er down folks!
And that's when the fun began!
It was early in the season but many anglers had singles
and doubles of sea bass.
When action slowed up, Captain Monty shouted to Tim to adjust the anchor.
He never let the anglers go fishless for more than 10 minutes
Whenever the action slowed,
the captain adjusted the boat

We fished two wrecks that day,
and caught a good number of nice sea bass,
a couple tautog, and a few unwanted sharks..

I caught 12 sea bass myself, including a double header with one of the sea bass weighing nearly 5 pounds. A couple anglers caught their limit of 25.

One lady on the boat had never been on a party boat before, and had never used a conventional reel before.
Mate Tim took the time to help her past the hurdles. She caught lots of fish and had a great time.

Her companion had the great luck to win the pool with a 4 1/2 pound sea bass! He collected $35.
Since it was early in the season not every one caught their limit of 25 sea bass
but many bass over 3 pounds were caught.

On the way in, anglers talked, relaxed,and even took naps.
A couple men went up to swap fish stories with the captain on the way in
while Mate Tim gave us a lesson on filleting sea bass.

Mate Tim filleted fish for a small fee, and even hosed out the patrons coolers for them.
Capt Monty and Mate Tim helped the anglers out of the boat with their rods and coolers.

A great day, after a hard cold winter!

To make reservations on the Morning Star call 410-520-2076. E-mail Captain Monty to ask any questions or to enroll in his free newsletter.