Finding Nemo

Good anglers fish a lot.  They are out on the water enough to know the seasonal patterns as well as the small changes that move fish around from week to week. Three weeks ago we limited out in the Patapsco in an hour, fish were everywhere, bait was everywhere. Things seemed different today as we had to work to find the fish. It seemed that the bait was much more sparse and the Stripers were more spread out. The only Rockfish we saw grouped together seemed to lay on the bottom in 50 feet of water. Its great to have a quality fish finder (we use a Lowrance Hds) that is dialed in ( thanks to Captain Tom Hughes). It's also important to have a network of anglers to call and read reports from so when you can't get out as regularly as you'd like to you can stay on top of the ever moving fish.  Using the information gained from sources was helpful but nothing replaces time on the water.  Thanks to being able to pick up and run though we were able to find a keeper each in a few hours on both sides of low tide. 

First Light, First Bite

Saturday November 2cd, was the perfect fall fishing day. We hit the boat ramp in the dark and navigated a couple hundred yards from our ideal fishing spot in the Upper Bay, giving us enough time to set out our trolling setup-or so we thought. The water was flat as a lake and the light was just starting to paint the horizon, when our first set rod hit, as we worked to get out a tandem rig. It was a tony 17, (thanks to the TFers for help in how to run these) that brought the 19 plus fish aboard.  Greg commented that he felt like he couldn't relax as we quickly had a two man limit within one hour while he struggled to get out our six rod spread. We decided to use a "boca style" grip to take care in de-hooking, while leaving the fish in the water and released several fish. This is a great tool to have in your arsenal.  In just a few hours we caught 9 Rock, all over 18 and up to around 24 inches. 

Fall River Trolling

With the cold crisp air starting to set in, it was time to break out the trolling gear once again. Weeks prior we had done some light tackle trolling but now it was time again for tandem rigs with six inch shads. We had three knockdowns and amongst them landed a 25 and 22. Our hottest lure was a BFG tandem in white. Captain Chuck makes these rigs and is a good guy who is willing to talk with you at his many area appearances to help fine tune your spread. I have asked him and his wife many a question and they have always given a friendly answer. While I still tend to enjoy fishing with a rod in hand it's nice to boat some fish late in the season with some different tactics. http://www.bfgtackle.com/images/tandem_white.jpg

Right Bait, Right Time, Wrong Tools

It was the last day before putting the boat away for season. We switched up our coastal bay fishing, aiming for Tog and Redfish instead of flounder. This meant a different game plan, different locations, different bait, different terminal and fishing tackle.  Our plan was to hold close to jettys and bulkheads dropping sand fleas straight down. We used the sensitivity of braid to feel the bottom dropping the baits into deeper holes where the Tog seemed to hide. We caught three Tog, two large fish, one heavy fish that was an inch shy of the 16 inch minimum.  One large fish snapped off as I grabbed the leader because we didnt have the net at the ready. The other two fish were netted together because the hooks got tangled up in the net. That was a first, netting a fish with a fish already occupying it. We ended up with some smaller Seabass but also broke off several rigs with the Tog pulling us into the rocks. We had most things set expect our tools weren't up to speed. We needed a net at the ready, many more rigs, weights and heavier rod and reel combos to seal the deal. Unfortunately our next chance at them will have to wait until spring. 

Flounder Pounder 2013

In September we decided to try our hand again at the annual Bahia Marina Flounder Pounder. The first time we fished the tournament we ended up with a nice 3+ lb. keeper. As we left the dock to the sound of the fog horn we realized we wouldn't be able to keep up with the speed of the other boats so we decided to navigate some skinny water that our pontoons could handle to get us into prime fishing early. This decision paid off as we caught a weighable flounder within 45 minutes of the start. The rest of the day ended up with a couple of close shorts but nothing noteworthy. As we headed for the scales our excitement started to build as people seemed to talk up our fish. We heard, "oh that's a big fish", "you better get that to the scales" and nervously, "my fish is on the leader board and that looks just like my fish." It weighed in at 3.15 lbs just short of 4 pounds but my biggest flattie thus far. I'm guessing it was about fourth at the time we weighed it in but ended up probably seventh or so after all the big fish were weighed. The winner took home around four thousand dollars, not too bad for a day on the bay.

More pictures from the Bahia Marina Flounder Pounder by the Coastal Fisherman
http://www.coastal-fisherman.com/gallery.cfm?c=313D1349-5056-9F21-09D95218AA27BDFD#

Topwater Rock Video

Limiting out, after curfew

It was a gorgeous night on the lower Susquehana Flats. Calm flat seas surrounded us as we watched the sun set, in t-shirt and jean weather. We were able to trick a few keepers on some black and chrome rattletraps. Then as the sun went below the horizon we hit it big on topwater. After some drag was "zinging" on light tackle, Greg pulled in a nice,almost 25 inch fatty, on a white topwater plug with a fly teaser. Even though it was getting late, it paid to stay out until the bite cooled off. In the past we might have packed it in to catch the last light for the ride home. As we've gained more experience though, we've begun to prepare to come in at dark. Having headlamps, a deck flood light, life jackets, good GPS routes and a million candle power spotlight are key tools to help navigating your way safely home in the dark. Sometimes its worth staying out after the street lights come on.

Phase 3 Stripers

Nothing like getting to the dock in the dark and having the sun slowly paint the sky as you cruise in to your fishing spot. That was the plan at first light on September 21, when we planned a day of top water, live lining and light tackle trolling as a backup. There's a saying that you can't be too prepared and I think the same reigns true for fishing. You need to have a plan and several backup plans or phases along with all equipment needed in case conditions call for them. We positioned the boat 40 yards from some shoreline grasses and reeds, while drifting the boat over a hole. It looked like a perfect spot to catch a top water striper but on this day that was not the case. Most likely it is getting to late in the season to count on getting much topwater action. It didn't take long to get out our small hooks and attempt to catch some spot next to some bridge pilings. We caught around a dozen or so and headed to one of our favorite shoals, Hawkins Point. There we had several hits on our live lines, as drag was being pulled but the rods came up with just heads or no bait at all. We even had a fish bite the bait and come up the surface for the leftover head. Suspicion confirmed: Bluefish. We used this as a sign to move to phase three of our adventure, light tackle trolling. We put on some 3/4 oz. and 1 oz rattletraps along with some shads. We also had two rods rigged with a rattletrap with a teaser fly. Within 10 to 15 minutes we had our first and second knockdowns. It was a double header, with one fish on the rattletrap and one on the teaser which made for a fantastic fight on light tackle. While we didn't have the success in the morning that we had hoped for, this was total confirmation of our planning; if first you don't succeed, try a different technique.

As the Sun Sets on the Flats

Seth and Greg had a nice end to a beautiful summer evening, casting rattle traps and topwater plugs to Stripers. Greg limited out with two fish over the 18 inch minimum. While early on it had looked to be a slow evening, the fish turned on just as the sun was setting. A white Chug Bug seemed to be the ticket, as this bait produced several hook ups compared to the different topwater offerings. Seth stuck to his tried and true black top and chrome rattle trap and pulled in a couple nice fish as well. All in all it was a great night on the lower Susquehanna Flats.

Bassmasters?

Caught several bass each day in Myrtle Beach. Caught on minnows and jerkbaits (speed minnow). Noah after losing two bass that got off, landed this beauty for his first bass.

Lowcountry Experience

Captain Lee started the day with a question "hard to get up?" soon after realizing by my response that his question was rhetorical, he responded "it's never hard to get up for fishing." I had a feeling it was going to be a good morning after the brief conversation. Captain Lee was a great guide teaching about the lowcountry culture while taking us to his hotspots. We ended up with a couple of slot Redfish or Spottails as the locals call them and a couple of nice spotted Seatrout.

Good Week, Good Press

Making the Coastal Fisherman, another 4 pounder for Gary in the fishing report and another keeper.

Got Sum

In an effort to pick up some new fishing tips and tactics, while spending some quality time with my brother and father in-laws, we chartered the Get Sum boat for 2 hours in the evening. It was a beautiful summer night. I knew we were in good hands with Captain Nick Clemente since I had seen him grace the pages of the Coastal Fisherman many times with keeper flounder. We had also fished along side him several times but it was nice to be just focused on fishing with the Captain at the helm. We had a great night fishing tandem 1/2 oz jig heads with gulp. The Captain struck first with a keeper and then I landed a 3 pounder which gave me quite a fight on my new Fenwick light ankle rod. Gary ended up wrestling a 4 lb 10 oz fish to the boat. This landed him atop the Ocean City Fishing Center leader board for biggest flounder of the year thus far. Pretty good for his first keeper in years.

Ty's First Fish

We traveled to the MD/PA line to "Fish in a Barrel" for a little kids fishing. Ty was excited to catch his first fish. We had great time with the Willig's, catching fish and splashing in the water at Eden's Mill.

Made It

After Seth and my big early May fishing adventure we made it into the coastal fisherman! Below is a snapshot of our picture featured in the Ocean City Fishing Report. I especially like the captions!

Father's Day Watermen

The day before Fathers Day marked the 3rd annual Father's Day crabbing trip. We decided to hit the afternoon tides and enjoy some line pullage while we were out. After putting in at Inverness we headed for our most consistent fishing spot, Hawkins Point. There the fish were sparse at first but we managed about 75 perch and pencil rock. Matt out fished Greg and Dad (Glenn) two to one using a perch jerker. Once the next tide rolled around it was time for crabbing. We set our 30 traps with necks and some cut perch we had caught. We ended the day with a nice bushel of heavy fat crabs. On Father's Day we ate them saving the $250-300 bushel cost we as called about the day prior. It was a great time out on the water with our Dad.

Biggest Doormat So Far

Never had we caught more than 1 keeper per trip on the Happy Ours, that all changed on Saturday as we braved a small craft warning. Seth and I started out in theThoroughfare and after many wind aided drifts we hit our first fish a 17.5 inch flounder that hit as we crossed the channel. We weren't ready with the net so I just flipped it over the rail. The next two fish were caught in the East channel which was somewhat protected by the northeast wind. The 23 inch, 4.4 pound fish was pulled up while we slow trolled at during a pause in the tide. We took the bounty to Oyster Bay Tackle shop to be weighed and photographed. They featured us in their fishing report and gallery (shown below).

FINdication

Finally after a few years and several attempts at the spring trophy trolling season, we ended up with a keeper. My dad brought in the 36 inch,big, fat Rockfish. It took out a ton of drag as it pulled on the chartreuse umbrella until it was netted and put in the slush of the cooler. It's tail stuck out of the cooler which made me think that a good boat name would be Tails Out. It defiantly was vindicating catching a keeper after many attempts on the water.