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.