Fished for: Striped Bass & Croaker Fished Hooper Islands (fished 5/30/98)
Date Fished: 5/30/98
Boat Name:
Water Temp: 77 Degrees
Water Clarity: 5 Feet
Seas: Early AM Smooth From 11 AM On Slight Chop
Weather: Some Clouds Until 8 AM Then Mostly Sunny
REPORT:
Bill Kassakatis and I fished for STRIPED BASS and CROAKERS on Saturday, 05/30/98, from 7:00 AM until 4:00 PM.
STRIPED BASS FISHING:
We fished for Striped Bass from 7:00 AM until 9:41 AM and from 3:30 PM to 4:00 PM in the Honga River. The tide was high and outgoing when we started. All Striped Bass were caught on lures using light spinning or baitcasting equipment. These Stripers were measured and returned to the water immediately.
TOTAL STRIPED BASS CAUGHT WAS 22. The Stripers ranged from 12 inches to 21 1/2 inches. 4 of these Stripers were over 18 inches. The most productive structure was a point.
NUMBER OF STRIPERS CAUGHT DURING THIS TIDE:
1 - Incoming
21- Outgoing
0 - Still
LARGEST STRIPER CAUGHT ON-Bill Lewis, Rat-L-Trap, Vibrating Crankbait, 1/2 oz., Lemon/Orange Belly
MOST PRODUCTIVE LURE-Bill Lewis, Rat-L-Trap, Vibrating Crankbait, 1/ 2 ounce in Lemon/Orange Belly and White. 10 of the 22 Stripers were caught on these lures.
MOST PRODUCTIVE TECHNIQUE-Crank & Stop-cast the lure out crank 5 times on the reel handle, STOP for 1 second, then repeat this to the end of the cast.
OTHER PRODUCTIVE LURES THIS TRIP:
Bass Assassin, Split Tail Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", Chartreuse/Silver Glitter, #STS39452
Smithwick, Suspending Rattlin Pro Rogue, Suspended Stickbait, 5 1/2", 1/2 oz., Blue Back/Silver Sides, Model SDRC 1200
Fenwick, Shallow Crank, Shallow Running Crankbait, 4 1/8", 7/16 oz., Chartreuse
FISH STORY:
It was 9:25 and we had decided to stop Striper fishing by 9:45 to start Croaker fishing. Using my 5 1/ 2 foot spinning rod and spinning reel spooled with 10 pound test line, I was casting a medium diving crankbait when something stopped my retrieve. At first I though I had snagged a rock or shell. All of a sudden it started to move and I told Bill ‘I think I hooked a big Striper"! I worked the fish within sight and saw it wasn’t a Striper but a Skate (Sting Ray). I was in no way disappointed. This fish was putting up an excellent fight. In fact to stop my reel from running out of line, we had to turn on the trolling motor and chase the fish. After 15 minutes the fish finally came up to the surface and was within netting range. The moment the fish was in the net my crankbait lure came free and the Skate was returned to the water, hopefully to give some other lucky angler a fight. I sure am glad I replaced all my barbed hooks with barbless ones. We estimated the weight of the Skate to be 25 pounds. This is what makes fishing so challenging and exciting. You just do not know for sure what is on your line until you see it!
CROAKER FISHING:
We fished for Croakers from 10:00 AM until 3:30 PM in the Chesapeake Bay below Hooper Islands. The tide was outgoing when we started and incoming when we stopped. All Croakers were caught on soft crab or lures using baitcasting equipment. Before starting to fish we decided not to keep any Croakers under 12 inches.
TOTAL OF CROAKERS CAUGHT WAS 31. 30 Croakers were between 12 and 15 inches. This largest one being caught on a soft crab.
After catching a few Croakers on soft crab I was determined to do the same using lures. I was very lucky and out of the 31 Croakers caught 11 were caught on soft plastic lures!
MOST PRODUCTIVE LURE- Bass Assassin, Salt Water, Curly Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", Chartreuse/Silver Glitter, #CSA27452
MOST PRODUCTIVE TECHNIQUE-Drift fishing. Keeping the bait and lures in contact with the bottom at all times (this is a MUST).
Bill used one of these circle hooks with soft crabs for bait. He landed 18 of the 22 Croakers that took this bait. That is pretty good for a first time user. We also agreed that the 1/0 hook was a bit to large for Croaker fishing.
Pasadena Sportfishing Group, Inc. gave everyone a free circle hook that attended their May meeting. George Bentz, President and Group Leader, asked everyone to use circle hooks while fishing for Stripers using live or cut bait. George does quite a lot of chumming, and asked everyone to bend the barb down when chumming (it is not needed to keep the bait or fish on). In fact, George explained that you do not even have to set the hook-just pick up the rod and start reeling. Thank you very much George.
Pasadena Sportfishing Group, Inc. next meeting will be held on Monday, June 8 th . The guest speaker, Captain Chuck Fisher of B F G Fishing Guides, will tell the
members how he catches Flounder and Trout within the Key Bridge area. Chuck fishes from the Inner Harbor and he will also share his techniques on how he fishes for Rockfish and Perch. You can charter Chuck by calling 410-327-7923.
The meeting starts promptly at 7:30 PM and usually lasts until 9:00 PM with door prizes, 50/50, and changes on the fishing tackle table . You can purchase a dinner platter, soda or beer for around $4.00, so try to get there early. See the URL: www.heyfish.com for location, map and information about the Group. Hope to see you there.
PRODUCTIVE LURES USED CROAKER FISHING:
Bass Assassin, Soft Plastic Bait, 1 1/2 inch, Pink/White Floater, #SA01340
Bass Assassin, Soft Plastic Bait, 1 1/2 inch, Black Shad, #SA01300
Bass Assassin, Soft Plastic Bait, 1 1/2 inch, Chartreuse/Silver Glitter, #SA01452
Bass Assassin, Salt Water, Curly Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", Chartreuse/Silver Glitter, #CSA27452
Bass Assassin, Salt Water, Curly Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", Salt & Pepper Silver Phantom, #CSA27336
All were tipped with Smelly Jelly, Herring and fished on 1/8 to 1/ 2 ounce round head jigs on baitcasting equipment
FISHING TIP:
Use circle hooks while fishing with cut or live bait. That way you can return the small fish back to the water without any harm.
Good Fishing…..Tom Hughes
*All lure information is supplied for REFERENCE ONLY. These types of lures are made by other manufacturers which may be just as, or more productive than, the lures listed. It gives the readers an opportunity to see these productive lures through the Internet or in catalogs.