1st Time Fishing the Chesapeake Bay

Yesterday I had the pleasure of guiding Gary and Connie Kozlusky of Alexandria, VA for their first trip fishing on the Chesapeake Bay.  It was a day for nice company, pleasant weather, and striped bass that wanted to be caught.  We met at Sandy Point State Park and ran south on the western shore looking for clean water and working birds.  The clean water was found, a very important factor when trying to catch fish, but my good buddies, the birds, slept late.  No problem.  Striped bass were located on a deep drop off that went from 30' to 26' swiftly.  This structure had a hard bottom and on the 1st drift stripers were biting. When we arrived there it was a flood current (incoming tide) moving horizontally at 0.36mph.

Connie's 1st Striped Bass Ever Caught

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All fish were caught on light spinning tackle. 

Most Productive Lure: Z-Man, ShadZ, 5", Pearl soft plastic bait rigged on 1 ounce jigheads.

Most Productive Technique: 

Jigging All Water Columns

Note:  The boat is drifting down current, with the motor off.

 

From the up current side of the boat, open the bail and let the lure hit the bottom.  With the rod tip just above the water, jig the lure off the bottom swiftly by moving the rod tip from 9 o’clock to 10 o’clock.  Jigging the lure swiftly is best done by snapping the wrist rather then moving the rod with the entire arm.  Move the lure off and then back to the bottom 2 or 3 times (this number depends on the drift speed and the weight of the lure) while keeping a tight line.

The rod tip is at 9 o’clock.  After it hits the bottom for the last time take 2 swift cranks on the reel handle, stop cranking, and jig the lure swiftly 2 times.  Repeat this until the lure is back to the boat.  The 2nd part of this technique is called  jig- jig, crank-crank.  You will catch many fish using this technique. 

Connie & Gary with Thomas Point Lighthouse in the Background

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