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