Fished for: Striped Bass
Date Fished: 10/17/98
Boat Name: Anna's Luck
Water Temp: 65 Degrees
Water Clarity: Average 5 Feet
Seas: Choppy
Weather: Cloudy, Winds To 15+ MPH
REPORT:
Jeffrey Wible and I fished on Saturday, 10/17/98 from 7:00 AM until 7:00 PM, in the Baltimore Harbor and on the Patapsco River. We fished from just southwest of Pier 8 to Cox Creek.
All fish were caught on light spinning and bait casting equipment using artificial lures. All Stripers were released.
LURES USED: soft plastic baits rigged on 1/4, 3/8 ounce round head jigs or 3/8 ounce tube jigs, floating soft plastic baits rigged on a straight shank worm hook, top water poppers, lipless vibrating crankbaits, spinnerbaits, shallow diving crankbaits, shallow and medium diving suspended crankbaits.
TOTAL STRIPED BASS CAUGHT WAS 71. The Stripers ranged in length from 12" to 19 1/2". The most productive structure was a discharge. Landed 1 Striper between 18" and 19 1/2".
STRUCTURES FISHED: Points, shoals, underwater mounds, piers and underwater rock piles, concrete pilings, wooden pilings, discharges and rocky shorelines.
NUMBER OF STRIPERS CAUGHT DURING THIS TIDE:
32 - Incoming
9 - Outgoing
30 - Still
MOST PRODUCTIVE LURE: BASS ASSASSIN, Salt Water, Sea Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", Rainbow Trout #SSA25132
BIGGEST STRIPERS CAUGHT ON: REBEL, Super Pop-R, Top Water Popper, Black Back/Silver Sides
MOST PRODUCTIVE TECHNIQUE: Current Casting-with this technique you will be using the current to give your lure action and to put it into a productive area.
Locate your boat down current from the structure you are fishing. Use a soft plastic bait that have some tail action. Rig the bait on a head jig. Two factors must be taken into consideration in sizing the jig head: 1) the speed of the current and 2) the depth that the lure will be running. Cast the lure across the current far enough so the lure will be pushed by the current into the area on the structure where the fish are located. Adjust the depth by the weight of the jig head. KEEP A TIGHT LINE and reel the lure slowly back to the boat. The Striper(s) will hit the lure if it is close enough to the structure at the correct depth.
This technique mimics a bait fish being pushed, with no control by the current. Try it the next time you are fishing bridge pilings, discharges, range markers, creek points, etc.
OTHER PRODUCTIVE LURES THIS TRIP:
STORM, Rattlin Chug Bug, Floating Popper, 3 1/2", 3/8 oz., Black Back/Silver Sides
BASS ASSASSIN, Salt Water, Sea Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4" in the following colors:
Shrimp, #SSA25409
Salt & Pepper Silver Phantom/Chartreuse Tail, #SSA25238
Electric Chicken, #SSA25376
RAPALA, Husky Jerk, 4 3/4", Suspended Stickbait, 1/3 oz., Clown, Model HJ12
NATURE’S OWN, Tender Tubes, Soft Plastic Bait, 3 1/2", Smoke/Pearl Shad
FISHING TIP:
Periodically or each time you catch a fish check and make sure the hook(s) is still sharp. If not take a stone or file and sharpen it before the next cast.
END NOTE:
Tom Hughes and Bill Kassakatis will be guest speakers at the next Coastal Conservation Association Maryland, Pasadena Chapter on 11/5/98 and the Kent Narrow Chapter on 11/16/98. Both meetings are open to the public at no cost and start at 7:30 PM. Exact locations will be posted at www.ChesapeakeAngler.com, Tournaments & Events section when available. The URL is www.WorldWideAngler.com/calendar/index.html.
The subject will be ‘Striped Bass Fishing With Light Tackle’. For details call Jack Streb, (410) 255-0193, Pasadena Chapter President or Ray Wasdyke, (410) 643-2437, Kent Narrows President.
Good Fishing…..Tom Hughes
Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Association
Freelance Outdoor Writer And Speaker