Arms Aching From Catching Fish

It was a very enjoyable week, especially for me watching father and son teams, along with friends, catch a countless number of striped bass with a few bluefish mixed in.

Keith Fleming and I met at Sandy Point State Park at 7am.  From there we moved south on the western shore looking for working birds or any nervous waters. The birds weren't working and we had no luck finding fish on structure making it a slow morning. Keith did catch a few stripers before lunch, but nothing to write home about. Big John called and we went back into Sandy Point State Park to pick him up. I was counting on the ebb (outgoing) current to pull me out of the hole and that it did. Around 1:30pm there were working birds on the water from the Bay Bridge to as far as the eye can see.

Working Birds (My Buddies)

Catching stripers on fly rods, one after the other, was a lot of fun until 4:30pm when we headed home.

John & Keith Fleming

I also had the pleasure of joining Sanil and Nikhy Nath on a early morning trip later in the week. They are both excellent anglers - dad with the fly rod and his son on light tackle equipment. After catching some on a shoal close to shoreline we moved over the shipping channel where the action was really hot.

Nikhy & Sanil Nath

Catching Fish at the Same Time

With good weather and slight winds forecast to come out of the south tomorrow, enjoy your day fishing and please put on your PFD.

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.

Largest & Hardest Fighting Stripers in Maryland - Now Available

I've been looking forward to this since last spring...a chance to land some large and hard fishing striped bass in Maryland Chesapeake Bay. It finally happened.......

Dave Heath contacted me on Monday asking me if I would like to join him light tackle fishing out of Buzz's Marina in Ridge, MD. We would meet at a Royal Farms Store (we use it as a Park & Ride) on Rt. 97 approximately 2 hours north of the ramp. Once we arrived I had an opportunity to meet and talk with the owner, Mike. I've heard he's a character and that he is. He will give you a up-to-date fishing report, help you launch your boat, and act as a doctor giving first aid to those when needed.

We headed out to the fishing grounds just off the shipping channel where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay.  We had 2 hook ups within 3 minutes after we stopped over a large school of healthy, fat, hard fighting, and drag pulling stripers.

What a Beautiful Sight

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Just look for some large birds, like gannets or sea gulls working the water, come in up current from them, and start a drift. It won't be long before your screen lights up and you have the opportunity of catching one or more of these stripers. Light tackle equipment with a large, heavy jigging spoon or a 7 inch soft plastic baits, rigged on a 1 or 1 1/2 ounce jighead, are very productive. Don't waste any time getting the lure to the bottom and start jigging it immediately. Watch the sonar screen if all the fish are on the bottom keep the lure close, or on the bottom. If they are suspended, start jigging the lure on the bottom and then jig it through all the water columns.

These Lures Work

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We landed fish from 23 inches to 32 inches with only one little 17 inch striper, which  I had the pleasure of catching. It was well worth the drive 'down south'. Thanks David for the memorable catching trip.

David with one of the Smaller Stripers

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These fish should stay around through December. If you do plan to go down, dress warm and be safe on the water. It is cold enough to give you hyperthermia if you fall in. If you've put your boat away, call a local guide to enjoy a day on the Chesapeake Bay.

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.

Be safe and have a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday.

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

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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. 

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....

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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Information on Winter Fishing

Click on Current Chart to see Full Size.

Fishing Current (and when and where) will be covered during my Lecture Series.

Click to see a short video.