The Captain and Mate on Vista Lady are outstanding. Before today, my family had never fished for rockfish and most had never fished at all.  The day started as soon all six of us arrived at the marina around 6am. We found the Vista Lady to be spacious enough for all of us and exceptionally clean. With our coolers on board,  we had a short run out to catch some live bait.  With Captain Ryan’s area knowledge and understanding of winds and currents, we were able to boat several dozen live bait before heading off in search of rockfish.  The run to the rockfish location was longer, maybe 20-25 minutes, and very pleasant.  The beam of Vista Lady is sufficient to keep rocking to a minimum and the big engine provided sufficient cruising power to put us on site by 8am. Even on a weekday, there was fishing pressure from a dozen other boats in the area. Captain Ryan was very considerate by reducing power and circling through the area until he selected a spot to begin fishing.  The other boats in the area were not disturbed or encroached upon in anyway as Vista Lady was positioned. With the boat in position and both the Captain and Mate working to get rigs in the water, the first hookup took less than 30 seconds.  Seriously.  That set the pace for the morning and we were off. The morning was action packed. Every one of my family was able to catch fish today.  The Mate and Captain were on point netting, baiting hooks, teaching, and ensuring everyone was successful. We caught our limit in what seemed like no time at all but was actually about two and half hours. We pulled out of the area and headed back to the marina.  As we pulled out, it was obvious that most of the same boats from the beginning were still on site.  Vista Lady had just out fished them all.  Back at the marina, after pictures were taken, Captain Ryan expertly filleted all of our fish with the Mate assisting in packing and clean up of the fillets.  Our day with the Captain, Mate, and Vista Lady ended up right around noon with an outstanding experience that we look forward to repeating.  There are many options for rockfish guides on the Chesapeake, admittedly we have only a single point of comparison, but I can not imagine what could have gone better.

I forgot how cold it was when we started catching fish. I had more than I needed. My daughter and I had a great time… now it’s time to fry some fish.