Fished for: Striped Bass
Date Fished: 9/7/98
Boat Name: Vina's Surprise
Water Temp: 77 Degrees AM/79 Degrees PM
Water Clarity: 2 Feet
Seas: Slight Chop Until 9AM Then Rough
Weather: Hazy Until 9:30 AM Then Sunny, Westerly Wind To 20 mph
REPORT:
Bill Dixon and I fished on Friday, 09/07/98, from 6:30 AM until 2:45 PM, from Boston Street Ramp to Cox Creek.
All fish were caught on light spinning and bait casting equipment using artificial lures.
LURES USED: soft plastic baits rigged on 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 ounce round head jigs, soft plastic baits fished just below the surface on a worm hook, jigging spoons, lipless vibrating crankbaits, top water poppers, floating lures, buzzbaits, shallow diving crankbaits, suspended jerkbaits and bucktails.
NOTE: This trip I tied on a Rapala Shallow Shad Rap, 3 1/2", 3/8 ounce, chartreuse back, white sides, model #SSR9 to use on Striper fishing for the first time. I took it out of my Smallmouth Bass box. The original treble hooks were replaced with Eagle Claw, Conservationist barbless treble hooks, which are available through the Bass Pro Shop. As luck has it, I caught a striper on this lure and will now add it to my Striped Bass arsenal. This kind of stuff gets me excited.
TOTAL STRIPED BASS CAUGHT WAS 11. The Stripers ranged from 11 inches to 22 inches. The most productive structure was a dock that could be fished under. Landed 1 large Striper measuring 22".
NUMBER OF STRIPERS CAUGHT DURING THIS TIDE:
1 - Incoming
9 - Outgoing
1 - Still
MOST PRODUCTIVE LURE: 1/2 ounce Bucktail, white head, white bucktail tied with red thread.
BIGGEST STRIPERS CAUGHT ON: A Bass Assassin, Twitch, Soft Plastic Bait, 6", in Salt & Pepper Silver Phantom, #TA9336. This bait was fished on a straight shank, 3/0, exposed worm hook just under the surface.
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. The majority of Stripers were holding tight to or under docks.
OTHER PRODUCTIVE LURES THIS TRIP:
Bill Lewis, Tiny-Trap, 1/8 once, Vibrating Crankbait (the model with 2 treble hooks), Blue Back/Silver Sides
Bass Assassin, Twitch, Soft Plastic Bait, 6", in Lemon Lime, #TA9313
OTHER FISH CAUGHT: None.
FISHING TIP:
Replaced all the treble hooks on your jigging spoons with single straight shank barbless hooks. This will allow you to attach a soft plastic bait on the single hook. Put some super glue on the hook shank to keep the lure on longer. This gives this the spoon ‘that little extra something’ and will enable you to catch more Stripers.
Good Fishing…..Tom Hughes
Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Association
‘Structure Fishing For Striped Bass: Part 3’
http://www.WorldWideAngler.com/chesapeake/features/saltwater/3-98/tomh3.shtml