Fished for: Croakers & Bluefish
Date Fished: 8/2/98
Boat Name: Bay Wolf
Water Temp: AM 79 Degrees/PM 81 Degrees
Water Clarity: 10 Feet
Seas: Smooth To A Slight Chop
Weather: Sunny With Some Cloud Cover
REPORT:
Peter VonMehren, Jeffrey Wible, Bill Kassakatis, and I fished for Croakers and Bluefish on the Chesapeake and Eastern Bays on Sunday, 08/02/98. We all boarded Peter’s boat, Bay Wolf, at 6:15 AM. From the beginning to the end I must rank this fishing trip as one of the most, if not the most, pleasant trip I have ever been on. The weather was great, the Chesapeake Bay was smooth and beautiful, and the company was not only very talented, but a true pleasure to be around. Everyone aboard would have like to have caught more fish, but as Bill reminds me from time to time, "the fish are in control".
All fish were caught on light spinning and baitcasting equipment. The tide was incoming when we started.
6:45 AM Until 7:35 AM
Fished the Old South River Bridge (submerged) off of Curtis Point, between the two markers. Did not see any fish on the fish finder. 0 fish caught.
7:50 AM Until 8:15 AM
Crossed the Chesapeake Bay and fished the quick drop offs along the primary channel northeast buoy R "84" in depth from 30 feet to 12 feet. We also fished the flat between the primary (30 feet) and secondary (16 feet) channels. A lot of fish showed up on the finder, but they were all suspended. 0 fish caught.
8:39 AM Until 10 AM
Fished Gum Thickest. Some, but not many fish, were showing up on the fish finder. Again, all fish were suspended. 3 Striped Bass to 16 inches were caught.
10:15 AM Until 10:30 AM
Fished Bloody Point. No fish were sighted and 0 fish were caught.
10:40 AM Until 12:40 PM
Fished the east side of Kent Point to the middle of the first cove inside Eastern Bay. Plenty of fish were showing up on the fish finder. We also got lucky and caught 1 - 3# Bluefish, 5 Striped Bass to 16 inches, 3 Seatrout (all keepers to 17"), 3 Croakers (all keepers between 16 inches and 18 inches).
1:00 PM Until 1:24 PM
Fished flat behind Buoy R "2A" in Eastern Bay. No fish were caught here.
1:40 PM Until 2:10 PM
Fished Kent Point. No fish were caught here.
2:30 PM Until 3:00 PM
Fished behind Buoy R "84". No fish caught here.
3:20 PM Until 5:20 PM
Fished around Sharps Island Light. Fish were located between the lighthouse and the preferred channel marker. Caught 4 - Croakers (all keepers between 17 inches and 18 1/2 inches), 1-22 inch Bluefish. NOTE: Bill had a large Bluefish on until after it jumped, (guestimated weight 10#). The 20 pound leader was cut by the Bluefish.
5:42 PM Until 6:30 PM
Fished Black Walnut Point on the deep side of the Green Can "9". Caught 2 flounders to 14 inches.
7:05 PM Until 7:15 PM
Fished open water where fish were seen on top water. Caught 1-alewife.
Fish count:
8 - Striped Bass to 16"
7 - Croakers between 17" and 18 1/2"
3 - Seatrout between 14" and 17"
2 - Flounders to 14"
1 - Bluefish to 22"
1 - Alewife
A grand total of 22 fish of 6 different species were caught. That’s a good day by my book.
PRODUCTIVE LURES:
Bass Assassin, Salt Water, Curly Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", Chartreuse/Silver Glitter, #CSA27452
Lunker City, Fin S, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", Green Shad Flash
FISH STORY-I had planned to try this to see if it would be more productive. I took a Croaker and scaled the white belly and then cut it into small chunks. Throughout the day I would put a piece of this cut bait on my plastic lure to see if it would enhance it. It did not do anything positive while fishing for Croakers, but when Jeffrey saw people catching Flounders at Black Walnut Point he had an idea. I saw him tying on what he calls a ‘Carolina rig for flounder’. It consists of a inline weight, a silver spinner, plastic red beads, a cigar shaped float and a leader with a #6 hook. Jeffrey did advise me that you can buy this flounder rig at local tackle shops. Jeffrey put on a piece of the Croaker belly and on his first pass caught a 14 inch flounder. Then he caught another flounder two passes later. Trying things like this prove that Jeffrey is one step ahead of an good fisherman, especially when it produces. It will always be in my book of tricks from now on.
FISHING TIP-When fishing becomes tough move from area to area with different types of bottoms, structures, depth, etc. until you start catching fish. Always pay strict attention and find other areas with the same type of bottom, structure, etc. and you should have a more productive day by catching more fish.
THE BEST IS YET TO COME-A friend of mine recommended a restaurant located on Rockhold Creek in Deale, MD, and when we docked Peter’s boat at 8:15 PM we all decided to give this restaurant a try. We had no trouble locating Pier 44 at 6029 Herring Bay Road because we saw it from the water on the way in. A friendly waitress greeted us as we walked on the outside dock and sat us at a large picnic table located over the water. Between us we had steamed shrimp, soft shelled crab sandwiches, fresh picked corn on the cob, beer and lemonade. The service was great and the food was EXCELLENT. If you like sitting on the water and eating good seafood I strongly recommend you try this restaurant. After spending a beautiful day out on the Chesapeake Bay with friends, I can’t think of anything nicer to do. It really topped the day off.
Good Fishing…..Tom Hughes
Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Assoc., Inc.
Structure Fishing For Striped Bass: Part 4
www.WorldWideAngler.com/chesapeake/features/saltwater/5-98/tomh_stripedbass.shtml