Fished for: Striped Bass
Date Fished: 11/13/98
Boat Name: Vina's Surprise
Water Temp: 54 Degrees
Water Clarity: 5 Feet
Seas: Smooth To A Slight Chop
Weather: Cloudy-Excellent day to fish
REPORT:
SPECIAL NOTE: Cloudy days are excellent for top water fishing. Chuck and I caught a total of 50 Striped Bass (or 72%) throughout the entire day on top water poppers. No birds were diving to show us the location of these Stripers, which were caught over 20’ of water.
REPORT
Chuck Bell & I fished on Friday, 11/13/98 from 7:00 AM until 3:45 PM, in the Baltimore Harbor and on the Patapsco River from just west of Fort McHenry Point south 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 ounce round head jigs, top water poppers, suspended crankbaits and lipless vibrating crankbaits .
TOTAL STRIPED BASS CAUGHT WAS 69. The Stripers ranged in length from 11" to 19 1/2". The most productive structure was a creek point. Landed 1 Striper over 18".
STRUCTURES FISHED: Creek points, shoals, concrete pilings, wooden pilings, wooden bulkheads, underwater mounds, underwater rock piles and discharges.
NUMBER OF STRIPERS CAUGHT DURING THIS TIDE:
47 - Incoming
12 - Outgoing
10 - Still
BIGGEST STRIPER CAUGHT ON: BASS ASSASSIN, Split Tail Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", Rainbow Trout, #STS39332 (19 1/2")
MOST PRODUCTIVE LURE: STORM, Rattlin Chug Bug, Floating Popper, 3 1/2", 3/8 ounce, Black Back/Silver Sides (50 Stripers)
MOST PRODUCTIVE TECHNIQUE: Pop & Stop-cast the top water popper out, pop it three times swiftly, stop popping for 1 second. Repeat this again and again, until the lure is back at the boat. Vary the speed, between pops, until the Stripers start taking your lure. When the action stops, the best way to see if any Stripers are still around is by making a lot of noise and moving the popper swiftly back to the boat. Do not stop until you see a Striper come up for your lure.
OTHER PRODUCTIVE LURES THIS TRIP:
SILVER BUDDY, Vibrating Crankbait, 1/2 oz., Silver (2 Stripers)
HOPKINS, Spoon, Smoothy, 5/8 ounce, Silver Bass Assassin All American trailer (2 Stripers)
BASS ASSASSIN, Split Tail Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4" in:
Rainbow Trout, #STS39332 (3 Stripers)
Albino Shad, #STS38330 (4 Stripers)
Salt & Pepper Silver Phantom, #STS39336 (3 Stripers)
SMITHWICK, Suspending Rattlin Pro Rogue, Suspended Crankbait, 5 1/2", 1/2 oz., Model SDRC 1200, Blue Back/Silver Sides (4 Stripers)
RAPALA, Husky Jerk, Suspended Jerkbait, 5 1/2", 1/2 oz., Model HJ14, Silver/Blue Back (1 Striper)
FISHING TIP:
The most productive times to use top water poppers are just before sunrise or sunset and during cloudy days. During these ‘low light’ weather conditions, Striped Bass will feed close to the surface.
Good Fishing…..Tom Hughes