When the wife said she fancied a week seeing the sights around Washington, trust me to pick a base with some fishing which just happened to be the costliest in the entire USA. At around $1200 to $1400 per day for offshore trolling, Virginia also rates amongst the most expensive in the world. Yet from the same marina's you can bottom fish 50 trips on a party boat for the same as it costs to drag lumps of plastic around the ocean just once. The old cliché of only getting what you pay for springs to mind, but that isn't necessarily always the case. Virginian offshore trolling can be patchy over the high summer months with tuna, when they are to be found, dominating catches. As one party boat angler put it, "You would struggle to get $1200 worth of tuna in a freezer". The same chap also said "At $26 a trip on a party boat you can still catch nothing but don't feel ripped off". Not much chance of drawing a blank on these boats though. While the fish are a bit on the small side, what they lack in size, they more than make up for in suicidal numbers. If I had one complaint to make it would concern the lack of variety. This said, it was August, which is the slow period. Later in the year when the water has cooled, a wider variety of species including striped bass and bluefish swarm inshore. This coincides with a greater variety of party boating opportunities too, including extended inshore, offshore and wrecking trips, all at prices comparable to those back home. That however is where any similarities with the UK end.

No bookings are required for these trips. When you want to fish in the US you simply arrive half an hour before the boat is scheduled to leave, buy a ticket from the shop, and step aboard. You don't even need tackle or bait, as this is included in the price. Of course, you don't have to use what is provided, and while it may be convenient, particularly if you are holidaying in the states from the UK, in many ways it pays to take along your own and buy some bait. Much of what is provided is very basic. The bait for example was a polystyrene cup filled with squid strips. All the fishing was done on the drift. With no more than 8 ounces of lead being needed to hold bottom, a light boat rod and small multiplier loaded with 15 to 20 lbs mono would be perfect. With airport security at an all time high now for people coming in to the US from beyond its borders, I wouldn't recommend taking boat leads with you, particularly if like me you pack them in your hand baggage to beat the weight restrictions. These can cause all sorts of security problems. I eventually had mine confiscated as they could be used as weapons. I would also recommend leaving braided line at home. Water depth and tidal flow don't warrant it, and while it will still catch fish, it can present major un-tangling problems of which there can be many if the boat is crowded.

When it comes to bottom fishing, the average American boat angler lags way behind his UK counter part in terms outlook, attitude, tactics and technique. But US boat operators certainly could show us a thing or two about service and value for money. US party boats bear no resemblance whatsoever to UK charter boats. The boats I fished on must have been 60 feet in length and possibly more. All had plenty of cover from the elements, which in this case was the sun, and comfortable seating all round. They also had hand and fish wash facilities, toilets, and a lounge from which you could buy snacks and cold drinks. In other parts of the US I have even fished on party boats with café facilities serving hot food. Deck hands do all the running around, cutting bait, disgorging, icing of fish etc. The man at the helm has his wheel house on the top deck just ahead of the sun deck from where he keeps the party updated about the fishing, planned moves and like over a tannoy system. As you would expect, all the boats are equipped to US coastguard standards. The tackle provided isn't that bad either. A bit basic, but certainly up to the job.

Terminal tackle choice is for the most part governed by the type of ground the boat is over. When I have bottom fished in the past from venues such as Key West and Islamorada in Florida where the boat was anchored over heavy reefy ground, two short droppers above the lead would catch fish like there was no tomorrow. Out from Rudee Inlet things were a little different. Though we were fishing on the drift short droppers above the lead still did the business. It wasn't exactly reefy ground. More a mix of all sorts including patches of heavier stuff. Hang-ups were not that common place, and when pressure was applied, whatever bit of the rig was snagged up would usually pull free. I'm not sure whether weed, boulders or what exactly caused the hang-ups, as nothing ever came up on the hooks except for fish, which did so by the bucket full. This was a venue where double hits were the rule rather than the exception. Black bass were the main culprits starting at a couple of inches in length right through to a couple of pounds. But these were not the only fish. Quite a few flounders were also caught. This doesn't sound very exciting, but other than being flat, American flounders bear no resemblance to their UK name sakes. These fish are more like small halibut with huge mouths crammed full of sharp pointed teeth. I suspect they are related to turbot and brill as their eyes are located on the same side of the mouth. They also fight well and are very good to eat as I was to find out one evening in a restaurant.

When there are lots of people tightly packed onto a party boat, it can be hard work keeping clear of other people less familiar than perhaps you would like with fish and tackle handling. This particular boat however had a long narrow pointed walkway protruding from the bow, which Dave and I made a beeline for. This allowed us to drop on either side depending on how the direction the boat was set up for the drift. And with nobody behind us, or for that matter within several yards, we didn't suffer a single tangle all day. The crew on the deck organised a $2 sweep. It wasn't compulsory, though judging by the stamp put on the back of the hands of those who paid, most people were in it. Numbers on board these boats can vary between a mere handful on quiet season midweek days, to maybe 40 and more when word gets out that the fish are in. So the sweep money can be worth picking up. Who gets it is very much a lottery in that while most Brits would wipe the floor with the yanks in terms of numbers of fish caught, picking out the single biggest fish of the day in instances like this unfortunately is beyond individual control. I thought I had it for much of the trip with a nice flounder picked up on a long thin mackerel strip cut to resemble a sandeel. With so many people on board its hard to keep tabs on exactly who is catching what, and at the weigh in I was just pipped by a whisker with a black bass.

The inlet itself is quite a sizeable affair with plenty of surface area for boats and mooring. But the channel into the inlet is quite short and narrow and is lined with big boulders. The boulders were probably put there as they follow the contour of a protective wall behind which is a walkway used by the locals for fishing. The entrance gets quite busy with boats which, despite speed restrictions, can cause a wash, which is probably the reason why the no access restrictions onto the rocks, particularly for fishing, are so strictly enforced. Very strictly enforced in fact as I was to find out when a police boat with a loud speaker came along and told to get back behind the wall. But not before I was able to get the fish I was looking for. I wasn't the only person fishing either from the rocks or from the wall. But I was one of only two people to catch. The other was a local angler who knew exactly how to fish the inlet and the nearby surf beach. He had an aerated tub full of tiny live mullet and some breakaway leads to hold them in position. He had caught a couple of those halibut like flounders already by the time I got talking to him. Then he gave me a live mullet and told me to put it out in the middle of the channel, which I did. And the rest as they say is history. I got my flounder before the police moved me on. I even got my battered live bait back. But with nowhere left to cast it, decided to call it a day.