Fished for: Striped Bass
Date Fished: 8/29/98
Boat Name: (not named yet!)
Water Temp: 77 Degrees AM/80 Degrees PM
Water Clarity: 2 Feet River/4 Feet Bay
Seas: Smooth Until 11 AM Then A Slight Chop
Weather: Sunny
REPORT:
Bill Kassakatis and I fished the Magothy River and the Upper Chesapeake Bay for Striped Bass. We fished on Friday 08/29/98, from 5:20 AM until 1:00 PM, from Rose Cove in the Magothy River to Craighill Channel in the Chesapeake Bay.
EQUIPMENT USED: Light spinning and baitcasting equipment.
WATER CONDITION: The water was outgoing when we started. The tide predictions were correct in spite of Bonnie.
STRUCTURES FISHED: Points, bulkheads, rock ledges, range markers, grass beds, rock jetties.
LURES USED: Soft plastic baits rigged on 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 ounce round head jigs, lipless vibrating crankbaits, top water poppers, top water floating minnows, suspended jerkbaits, shallow diving crankbaits and jigging spoons.
TOTAL STRIPED BASS CAUGHT WAS 17. The Stripers ranged from 13 inches to 22 inches. The most productive structure was a creek point. Landed a total of 8 Stripers between 18" and 22".
NUMBER OF STRIPERS CAUGHT DURING THIS TIDE:
13 - Incoming
3 - Outgoing
1 - Still
MOST PRODUCTIVE LURE: Bass Assassin, Salt Water, Sea Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 3" in Fire Tiger Shad, #SWA28245. Fished on a 1/4 ounce round head jig.
BIGGEST STRIPER CAUGTH ON: Bass Assassin, Split Tail Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4" in Rainbow Trout, #STS39332. Fished on a 1/2 ounce round head jig. The Striper took this lure on the fall in 18 feet of water.
MOST PRODUCTIVE TECHNIQUE: Jig & Stop-cast the lure out, let it drop to the desired depth (drops 1 foot per second), then lift your rod tip swiftly from 9 o’clock to 11 o’clock while taking up the slack line-pause for 1 second. Repeat this again and again, until the lure is back at the boat. The Stripers usually take the bait on the fall.
OTHER PRODUCTIVE LURES THIS TRIP:
Bass Assassin, 4" Saltwater Sea Shads in Orange/Gold Shiner, #STS38373
Bass Assassin, 3" Saltwater Shad Assassins in Blue Flash # #SWA28346
Rapala, Original Floater Minnow, Floating/Diving Stickbait, 5 1/4", 1/4 ounce, Model F13, Blue Back/White Sides
Bill Lewis, Tiny-Trap, 1/8 once, Vibrating Crankbait (the model with 2 treble hooks), Blue Back/Silver Sides
Bill Lewis, Rat-L-Trap, Vibrating Crankbait, 1/4 oz., Chartreuse/Black Back
Bill Lewis, Rat-L-Trap, Vibrating Crankbait, 1/2 oz., Pearl/Blue Eye
OTHER FISH CAUGHT:
1 - Snapper Bluefish
1 - Pickerel
7 - White Perch
FISHING TIP:
When fishing a soft plastic lure (such as a Bass Assassin), let the current and tide place this lure into the strike zone. To do this, first cast your lure, then immediately close your bailer. Pay strict attention to the influence the current and tide has on the movement of the lure. Not only the direction (current), but what depth (tide).
Horizontal adjustment is controlled by placement of cast. The vertical adjustment is controlled by how much line you let out and the weight of the jig head you are using.
Please remember this-once you close your bailer the lure is now moving back toward you. You might want the lure to drop into deeper water before this happens. To overcome this, as soon as the lure hits the water start feeding out line before you close the bailer.
EXAMPLE:
When fishing a bridge piling you should be casting on the side where the current hits the piling, NOT the back side where the water has little movement. Hydraulics happens to the water when it hits the piling which places some reversed movement and eddies where the Stripers have no trouble holding there until the bait comes naturally to them. You can imitate this bait with your lure by doing what is explained in the paragraph above. It takes a lot of trial and error, but once you have mastered this technique you will catch more, and larger Stripers.
NOTE OF INTEREST:
I will be the guest speaker assisted by Bill Kassakatis on Tuesday, September 8, 1998. The topic will be ‘Striped Bass Fishing With Light Tackle’. This will cover types of structures, lures, equipment and techniques.
FREE and open to the public. Meeting starts at 7:30 PM.
Annapolis Elks Lodge--2517 Solomons Island Road (Rt. 2)--Annapolis, MD
Information call Jim Flannery, President of the Annapolis Chapter, (301) 464-4471
Good Fishing....Tom Hughes
Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Association
‘Structure Fishing For Striped Bass: Part 1’
http://www.WorldWideAngler.com/chesapeake/features/12-97/tomh.shtml