An Unusual Fish Showed Up!

One of my services is to help anglers split the cost of a trip and to enjoy the company of another angler.  Yesterday's trip was just that as Wayne Thomann, from NC, and John Kapral, from MD, enjoyed a day of light tackle fishing on the Chesapeake Bay.

It was a flood current in the morning making catching fish on lures tough. After lunch things changed around and with a swift ebb current catching became more productive.

Wayne was casting a ZMan 5 inch, Scented Jerk ShadZ, in Shiner, rigged on a BKD, 3/4 ounce jighead and the rod doubled over. I watched the line ripping off the reel and hoping it wasn't a cow nose ray. It wasn't as Wayne was able to retrieve some of the fiber line. I thought it was a nice striper, but Wayne said it didn't feel like one. Unfortunately he was right as I netted a large channel catfish. It put up an excellent fight and is excellent table fare.

It wasn't long before John's rod was bent to 90 degrees with the line going under the boat. The striper finally came up after taking drag and putting up an excellent fight.

Nice Catch John

Most Productive Lure: ZMan 5 inch, Scented Jerk ShadZ, in Shiner, rigged on a BKD, 3/4 ounce jighead

Most Productive Technique: Jigging the Bottom - Cast the lure.  Let it drop to the bottom, then lift your rod tip swiftly from 9 o’clock to 10 o’clock while taking up the slack line.  Repeat this again and again, until the lure is back at the boat.  Striped bass normally take the lure when it stops or starts to fall.