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.

Moving South Looking for Large Stripers

I would like to thank all the fly and light anglers who have kept me busy since my last fishing report. 

Once a year CCA of Northern Virginia is kind enough to book a trip with me on the Chesapeake Bay.  Last week Rob Allen, Jon DeHart, and Freeman Jones met me at Chesapeake Beach. This was my 1st guided trip that far south this year in search of striped bass of larger size than the ones above the West River. The day started out with working birds in sight outside of Parkers Creek on the 30 foot line. Unfortunately, whatever they were working on had no stripers causing the commotion. We checked all waters around Parkers Creek before heading south.

Our next stop was CCNP.  We arrived there just in time for the fog to roll in. At times the visibility was down to 100 yards so looking for working birds was out of the question. We ran structures, finding nice concentrations of baitfish, but no stripers. The current went slack so we ate lunch. The fog lifted in mid afternoon and fishing finally turned into catching. Thanks Doug Schopman (AKA Douggie-O) for advising me that the birds were working just northwest of "77A".

Most Productive Lures

                     

   Specialized Bait - Li'l Jimy - 1 oz.              Sented Jerk ShadZ, 5" on a  3/4 oz. Jighead          

Most Productive Light Tackle Technique:  "Crank-Crank, Jig-Jig" 

This technique jigs the lure off the bottom and up through the water columns in a jigging motion. It catches stripers on the bottom or suspended in the winter, spring, summer, and fall.

NOTE: The boat will be drifting down current with the motor off. 

From the up current side of the boat cast the lure out and let it hit the bottom.  With the rod tip just above the water, jig the lure off the bottom and back down swiftly by moving the rod from 9 o'clock to 10 o'clock, then vice versa. 

This is accomplished best by snapping the wrist rather than moving the rod with the arm. Jig the lure off and back down to the bottom 3 times while keeping a tight line. Now take 2 swift cranks on the reel handle...stop...jig the lure 2 times while taking up the slack. Do this until the lure is back at the boat.

33" Striper

Caught by Jon DeHart

Click Here for Full Size Picture 

On Monday, Jan 12, 2015 I will be speaking for the Pasadena Sportfishing Group. The meeting will be held at Earleigh Heights Volunteer Firehall, 161 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, MD. It starts at 7:30pm but come early and eat dinner.

There are still plenty of striped bass in the Maryland Sector of the Chesapeake Bay. We located some last Thursday afternoon just below the Bay Bridge and above the West River.  The lower section of the Bay is beginning to turn on with some large ocean run stripers. 

Best of Buddies Enjoying the Chesapeake Bay

The father and son fly fishing team, Bruce and Curt Johnson, joined me on 07/14 and 07/15, to fly fish the Chesapeake Bay.

Curt and Bruce Johnson

Click Picture to Enlarge

The weather was nice at 7:00am as we pulled away from the dock at Sandy Point State Park heading east to search for striped bass that wanted to be caught on a fly. Catching was non-existent in the Upper Bay until 9:30am, so we decided to head south of the Bay Bridge.

The only feedback from the 2 sonar units aboard, after checking ledges, underwater mounds, rock piles, deep holes, etc., were small and large baitfish, and a few scattered gamefish, probable stripers. We ate lunch early so we could be back at the Bay Bridge well before the maximum ebb tide of 1.33 mph.

Curt Enjoying the Fight

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After only catching 10 stripers on the first day and at the beginning of the second day everyone had a positive attitude.  This, along with the ability to change location, flies, techniques, and other variables, is a must if you plan to catch fish. Everything came together on the second day when a lot of stripers were caught making fly fishing the Chesapeake Bay a real pleasure for all.

A Sight for Sore Eyes (especially the captains)

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Most Productive Technique: Short Striping Sinking Line (with sinking line)-Cast the fly out and count it down to the desired depth. If the line gets tight during the countdown, get additional line in the water. To accomplish this put the rod tip just above the water and figure 8 the tip to let more line out. This allows the fly to sink where it hits the water. Start stripping the line in 1-foot increments, swiftly, back toward the boat.

Most Productive Fly: Sinking Clouser, 3", #2 ss Hook, Tan & White, Gold Eyes

Fly Fishing Equipment: Orvis, 9', 9w, 4 pc. Helios Rod - Mirage Reel Size V, Hydros, 350 Grain, Depth Charge Sinking Line (using a 9w allow you to use large flies and the flies get down faster).

Fishing Tip: This is an excellent time to set up your sonar units for maximum use. Then you don't have to waste time fishing over fishless waters anymore. There should be some guidance in your owners manual to make this possible. If you need help having your GPS/Sonar/Plotter unit set up for maximum use please contact me.

Using 2 Methods to Catch Stripers

Brian, Billy and I left Sandy Point State Park around 9:00am and headed south where some spot were being caught. We anchored ahead of a few headboats which were a giveaway that pan fish were around. Brian and Billy started catching some medium to large spot on light perch jerking rods almost immediately on bloodworms. They would do the catching while I was unhooking and putting the catch in the livewell.

We started running ledges until the sonar unit lit up before anchoring again. It was approximately 1 hour before the ebb current was to max out at 2:26pm at 0.70 kts.

Striped Bass Mixed Among Baitfish  

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Some hard fighting, fat, and healthy stripers were caught between 19" to 27". 

Brian Kroneberger Landed the Nice Striper

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Medium spinning rods were used with the spot, and medium heavy spinning rods were used when fishing lures.  The most productive lure was a 6" Bass Kandy Delight soft plastic bait in chartreuse glitter rigged on a 1 oz. jighead.

Fishing Tip:  To keep the bloodworm on your hook longer install a 1/4" piece of Fishbites after the worm.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July....

Understanding Your Sonar Unit

Factors influencing target (fish) display - The shape and size of this mark is influenced by a combination of factors:

Boat speed - The shape of the target changes along with your speed. Slower speeds return flatter, more horizontal marks. As your boat’s speed increases, the target will tend to thicken and arch slightly; until at fast speeds the mark resembles a double vertical line.

The depth of the target - The closer the target to the surface the larger the mark on screen.

The frequency of the transducer - The same target will appear differently when the transducer frequency is changed. The lower the frequency the broader the mark (50/83 kHz).

200 kHz - scans a narrow area but produces more detail. Use this setting when you are in deep water and the 200 kHz signal is so strong that you want to retain this higher resolution picture. It is good for finding fish that are near the bottom or close together.

455 // 800 kHz - excellent frequencies to identify baitfish from gamefish and to read structures.

NOTE:  Read and re-read your Owners Manual.  Then make the manual adjustments needed to maximize the use of your sonar unit.

Stripers were caught at all the locations shown on the pictures below.

Click on Any Picture to Enlarge

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NOTE:  Dec 3rd & Dec 6th, 2012 Open for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) Fly or Light Tackle Fishing