Fly Fishing on the Chesapeake Bay - Fall Run Just Starting

Steve Wells and I met at Sandy Point State Park on 09/12/18. He has been using the light tackle equipment with lures to catch striped bass and other species, mainly on the Chesapeake Bay, and wanted to learn how to fly fish the salt.

He needed a casting lesson, which was part of the trip, so we moved away from the docks, but  stayed in Mezick Pond. I rigged up a 9w saltwater series Orvis Helios Rod, teamed with a Mirage Large Arbor Reel that was spooled with floating line. During the casting lesson there was no fly attached to the leader. Once Steve understood the method and could cast around 30 foot of line, we stopped the lesson and headed for the fish.

It didn't take long before Steve caught his first ever striped bass on a fly.

Click on Picture to Enlarge

There were plenty blow-ups and watching Steve catch striped bass on topwater was exciting.

The Most Productive Topwater Fly:  Blados Crease Fly in Gold with 1/0 hook.
The Most Productive Technique: Popping the Fly – Cast the fly out as far as possible. Move the rod tip down in sink with the line on your final forward cast. Start stripping immediately, in one to two foot increments, swiftly, when the fly hits the water.  Do this until the fly is taken or back at the boat.

After lunch the ebb current was ripping out and we moved over water 45 foot deep. Steve had no trouble casting 350 grain  sinking line. A 3 inch Clouser Minnow was attached at the end of a 4 foot leader of 20# test.
NOTE: Keep the leader short approximately 4 feet so the fly is in line with the sinking line.

Click on Picture to Enlarge

Steve was a swift learner and should have plenty of productive trips when fly fishing on the Chesapeake Bay in the future. 63 percent of the stripers and bluefish were caught on sinking fly line. 

Catching Stripers in August

This rig caught most of the striped bass today. Many double were caught along with some keeper size stripers. Click on pictures to enlarge.

Would you simply stop your boat over the fish, and drop this over letting it sink?

No. Once on fish show up on the finder start moving up current until there are no fish under the boat. Turn the boat broadside to the current, and turn the motor(s) off if you are not in any danger by doing so. By looking at the picture above the larger fish are located at approximately 15 feet deep and that would be an excellent place to start jigging the spoon and trailer. When using Light Spinning Tackle with the bail open and a 1-ounce spoon that would be a 12 to 15 countdown before closing the bail.

Let it go all the way to the bottom?
No. Not in this case since the stripers started hitting at a 12 to 15 count and it appeared that the larger ones were suspended not on the bottom.

What type of retrieve action?
Jig, Jig, Crank, Crank – At the end of countdown, in this case 12 to 15, jig the lure twice (Jig, Jig) then crank on the reel handle twice (Crank, Crank). Keep this up until a fish is on or the lure is back at the boat. This is a highly productive technique.

It’s very important that your fishfinder/chartplotter is set up correctly and that you know what you are looking at. Maximize you time on the water and you will catch more fish.

http://capttomhughes.com/ffcptrip

Just Before the Debris Came Floating Down the Bay

Frank (father), Ben (16), and Jacob (14) met me at Sandy Point State Park last Friday to enjoy a day of fishing on the Chesapeake Bay. We headed out to the Bay at 7am and the ebb current was just starting to push the water swiftly, making it a desirable time to fish and catch some striped bass using light spinning tackle and fly fishing equipment.

It wasn't long after I taught the crew how to use some light tackle techniques, Ben landed the 1st striper of the day. Click on any picture to enlarge.

 

It was a real pleasure watching this family catching striper after striper, sizes from 16 inches to 23 inches, on the first sunny day we had in a long time. This is the 1st striper Jacob had the pleasure of landing.

This is something I see only once and awhile - a triple hookup.

Ben, Jacob and Frank Muher

The most productive jighead this year is a BKD 1/2 ounce white, red eyes, and a wide gap nickel plated hook. This jighead allows the plastic baits of 5 and 6 inches to move with the current while being jigged.

On Sunday I enjoyed setting up a Raymarine gS Series Fishfinder/Chartplitter, then using this unit to find active stripers. I knew we were on them as Sang and Lara brought some aboard.

Breakdown of this Trip

Fathers & Sons Catching Fish

It was early on 07/17/18 when Eric, and his sons , Philip, and Frederick, met me at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. They arrived the night before from their home in Brazil. Our plans were to take the boys out and get them on fish, any type of fish, right a way. No problem there. I had plenty of blood worms and Hopkins Spoons. They caught white perch, stripers, and spot for the next 3 hours. On the way back they visited; Bethlehem Steel, Fort Carroll, Key Bridge, Exact spot where the Star Spangled Banner was written, and Fort McHenry. Click on any picture to enlarge.

Eric with Philip and Frederick (Ft. McHenry in Background)

White Perch Echos on Garmin echoMAP CHIRP 94 sv

The wind was strong in the morning of 07/18/18, so Todd and his son, Henry, from California, met me at the dock at Sandy Point State Park at 1pm. The winds had calmed down as we headed toward the eastern shore. Todd enjoyed fly fishing so I handed him a Orvis Helios 9-weight Fly Rod teamed with a Mirage Large Arbor Fly Reel that was wound with 350 Hydros HD Depth Charge Sinking Fly Line. Attached to the fly-line was a 4 foot high quality 20 pound test fluorocarbon leader. The most productive fly was a 3" Clouser Minnow in yellow/green. 

Henry Landed His 1st Striper of the Day

Enjoying a Day on the Chesapeake Bay

Most Productive Lure: ZMan, StrikeZ XL, 5", in Opening Night, on a 1/2 ounce, BassKandyDelight, white with red eyes, jighead.

Most Productive Technique:

Keep the Lure Close To the Bottom - Use soft plastic baits rigged on a V-shaped jighead that have a wide-gap nickel-plated hook.  Consider these factors when sizing the jighead; the speed of the current, the lure buoyancy, and the depth that the lure will be fished. Adjust the depth by the weight of the jighead.  The majority of larger fish are normally close to the bottom.

Cast the lure up or across the current.  When the lure hits the bottom, snap the rod tip swiftly from 9 o’clock to 11 o’clock then keep a tight line as the rod is lowered to 9 o’clock as the lure hits the bottom again.  Do this again and again until a fish hits or the lure is back at the boat.

NOTE: There will be times when snapping the lure off the bottom a fish will be on.  This snapping motion allows for a good hook-up in when this happens.

Priceless Memories

Matt Steinmeier and his son, Nicholas, met me at Sandy Point State Park at  7:00 am, Sunday morning. The wind was blowing strong out of the northeast as we cruised on the Chesapeake Bay. We motored toward the eastern shore to try and cut out some of the wind.

Once there, the sea was fishable as the ebb current was moving swiftly making it ideal to fish the large variety of structures located around the Bay Bridge. We were drifting over 18 feet of water that crest at 11 feet, and then dropped off to 20 feet. The following 3 pictures are of a father teaching his son how to catch fish on a fly-rod. Matt did the casting and made the hook-set as Nicholas moved to the front of the boat. From that time on Matt and Nicholas had the fish under control.

Click on Pictures to Enlarge

For the rest of the trip Matt fly fished and Nicholas stayed with the light spinning tackle. I gave Nicholas a few trips on jigging spoons for stripers, and he learned the technique fast.

Nicholas Caught a Few Doubles this Trip

A large stingray was hooked by Nicholas, his second, and after some time he asked his father to help him bring the fish in. Matt took the spinning rod and for the next 10 minuted he was fighting a large ray as I worked the boat to keep this fish clear of the pilings.


Most Productive Fly: Sinking Clouser, 3" Long, #2 Hook, Red Eyes, in Yellow/Chartreuse fished on 350 grain Sinking Fly Line with a 4" (no longer when using sinking line) 20 pound fluorocarbon leader.

Most Productive Fly Fishing Technique: Moving the Fly with Short & Swift Strips - Cast the fly and countdown to the desired depth.  350 grain sinking line with a weighted fly sinks one-foot per second. Keep the fly in line with of just above your target.

Start stripping the fly swiftly in two-foot increments. Do this until the fly is back at the boat. 

NOTE: During the retrieve, since there is current, keep the rod tip just above the water and move it horizontally to keep it pointed directly at the fly. This keeps all the slack out of the fly-line needed for a good hook set.
_____________________________________________________________________

Tight Lines,
Capt. Tom Hughes

Have Your Fishfinder/Chartplotter Set-Up

Father and Son Enjoy the Chesapeake Bay

Anthony and his son, Jacob, met me at Sandy Point State Park promptly at 7am. Before leaving the dock everyone put on an automatic/manual inflatable personal floatation device and we had a safety briefing.

They were as excited as I was to get out on the Chesapeake Bay and start fishing for stripers, using light spinning tackle. The Bay Bridge was close by and since I didn’t see any birds working we started jigging the pilings. Anthony or Jacob has never caught a striper using a lure. Well, that ended on the first cast by Anthony as he caught his first striper, which was keeper size. After the bite stopped at the bridge, we started moving south on the Bay. As usual there was no bird action, so we pulled up on the Thomas Point Lighthouse and enjoyed seeing it, while casting soft plastic baits at its pilings and adjacent rockpiles.

Anthony and Jacob with Thomas Point Lighthouse in the Background 

After lunch we headed north again running ledges, on the east side, to just south of Love Point. There was a large chumming fleet on Swan Point Bar, which explained why we didn’t locate any stripers near Love Point. We decided to move south and fish the bridge pilings.

With ebb current (outgoing tide) the most productive side of the pilings to fish was the north (power) side. Anthony cast 25 feet upcurrent of a piling on a 45-degree angle as our boat drifted southwest from this piling, headed down current. I was worried that his jighead would wrap the piling on the way by. The rod tip went down and drag started coming off the reel. Anthony said, “I might have hooked the piling”, so I started motoring upcurrent while Anthony kept the line tight while reeling in the slack. Once upcurrent of all the pilings; the rod tip kept bent to 90 degrees and the line-changed direction to the northeast while the drag was still zinging off the reel. I though it was a big stingray, and after fighting it for some time Anthony wanted Jacob to enjoy the pull of such a strong fish. Jacob took the rod and said the line is coming up and what I though was a stingray turned into a large striped bass.

Father and Son Enjoyed Catching This Striper 

Jacob will be a Swab (1st year Cadet) at the United States Coast Guard Academy to major in civil engineering Class of 2022 prior to becoming a USCG Officer. Thank you Jacob for your journey to serving the United States of America. Your father, entire family, and friends are proud of you.

Semper Paratus - Always Ready

One Trip to Remember!

The Mook family surprised Emily's father, Bob, with a Gift Slip for a Half-Day Fishing Trip on his birthday. Bob selected 06/16/18 to fish, accompanied with Emily's husband, Will, and brother-In-law Nick. We left the dock at Sandy Point State Park at 7:15am and headed east. The current was flooding and moving swiftly, and the fishing started around the Bay Bridge. On our 1st and 2nd stops we had no takers for soft plastic baits fished on 1/2 ounce jigheads. At our 3rd stop, on the east side of the Bay over 25 feet of water the fishing changed into catching. Will Mook is Holding the 1st Striper He Has Ever Caught Click On Any Picture to Enlarge After the bite slowed down we moved to the bridge pilings.  That turned out to be somewhat productive. The stripers caught were schoolies that ranged between 16 to 17 1/2 inches. This was good practice for what was coming up later today. Nick and Will caught a few big skates after an excellent fight. The Crew - Nick Lumpp, Will Mook & Bob Niffenegger Well all and all, everyone had an enjoyable Half-Day Trip on the Chesapeake Bay. Oh, i the part about the One Trip to Remember almost slipped my mind. What occurred in the next 20 minutes was something to witness. I was heading toward Sandy Point State Park and decided to stop at one more location in approximately 23 feet of water on a quick breaking ledge. I looked up and in front of the boat were breaking stripers in the 30 inch class. I said, "Cast out toward the front of the boat and once the lure hits the water start bringing it back immediately while doing the jig jig, crank crank." What a sight to see. In the next 15 minutes The Crew had 3 overs and 3 unders. The largest striper was 36 inches and the unders were from 25 to 27 1/2 inches. Bob, Lilly, Reese, and Will Note: View a variety of 30 pictures of fishfinder/chartplotter units from last year. More to come in the future. Fly & Light Tackle Fishing Trips Understand Your Fishfinder/Chartplotter

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