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.