Fished for: Striped Bass
Date Fished: 11/22/98
Boat Name: Vina's Surprise
Water Temp: 52 Degrees
Water Clarity: Average 2 Feet
Seas: Smooth To Slight Chop
Weather: Sunny With A South Wind To 10 MPH
REPORT:
Capt. Skip Slomski & I fished on Sunday, 11/22/98 from 1:00 AM until 4:40 PM, in the Baltimore Harbor and on the Patapsco River from Curtis Creek 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, suspended crankbaits, floating crankbaits, bucktails, feather jigs, Clouser Minnows, jigging spoons and lipless vibrating crankbaits.
TOTAL STRIPED BASS CAUGHT WAS 34. The Stripers ranged in length from 10" to 17". The most productive structure was a creek point. Landed no Striper over 18".
STRUCTURES FISHED: Creek points, shoals, concrete pilings, wooden pilings, discharges, wooden bulkheads.
NUMBER OF STRIPERS CAUGHT DURING THIS TIDE:
2 - Incoming
30 - Outgoing
2 - Still
BIGGEST STRIPER CAUGHT ON: BASS ASSASSIN, Salt Water, Sea Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", All American, #SSA25379
MOST PRODUCTIVE LURE: BASS ASSASSIN, Salt Water, Sea Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", All American, #SSA25379 (30 Stripers)
MOST PRODUCTIVE TECHNIQUE: Jig & Stop (Horizontally)-cast the lure out, let it drop to the desired depth (drops 1 foot per second), then keep your rod tip at 9 o’clock and move the lure by pulling the rod tip back and forward. Take up all the slack when moving the rod forward. Repeat this again and again, until the lure is back at the boat. The Stripers usually take the bait when it stops or starts to fall.
*On this fishing trip the desired depth was 2 - 3 feet below the surface over 20 foot of water.
OTHER PRODUCTIVE LURES THIS TRIP:
RAPALA, Original Floater Minnow, Floating/Diving Stickbait, 5 1/4", 1/4 ounce, Model F13, Blue Back/White Sides (1 Striper)
SMITHWICK, Suspending Rattlin Pro Rogue, Suspended Crankbait, 5 1/2", 1/2 oz., Model SDRC 1200, Blue Back/Silver Sides
BASS ASSASSIN, Split Tail Shad, Soft Plastic Bait, 4", Rainbow Trout, #STS39332
CLOUSER MINNOW, Chartreuse & White
FISHING TIP:
If your running lights are not working, make sure you are at the dock before sunset.
END NOTE:
This year I was fortunate enough to go out on a fishing trip with Capt. Skip Slomski. We fished the Patapsco River using the trolling method.
The following is part of a fishing report posted on 8/26/98.
TOTAL YIELD & TIME TROLLED:
6 keeper size Striped Bass, between 19 and 22 inches long, caught within 15 minutes after we started trolling. It only took 4 passes to catch these Stripers.
The above shows you how talented Capt. Skip is when it comes to trolling for Striped Bass. This was a excellent learning experience for me. I had a lot of questions, and Capt. Skip made sure that I understood his answer before leaving the subject. If you want to learn what equipment, tackle, lures and techniques are needed to become a productive fishing person in the method of trolling, take advantage of the opportunity to fish with an expert. I learned more about catching Stripers while trolling last night then I had in my entire fishing career. Thanks a million Capt. Skip Slomski. I had never caught that many large Stripers, in that short period of time while trolling.
Contact:
Capt. Skip Slomski
"Jenny Beck" Charters
e-mail: captskip@erols.com
Web Site: http://www.mdwaypoint.com/jennybeck/
Good Fishing,
Tom Hughes
Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Assoc.
Freelance Writer & Speaker