Finally bought the Hobie...new user here.

[Yak Fish]

Hi guys,
I've been checking out this great site and users for about a year now and I wanted in on more of the action so I bought a Hobie Outback. I wanted to introduce myself and maybe get the chance to go fishing with some of you guys. My name is Alan Battista and I live in White Marsh.

I bought a sit in kayak last year at Dick's but after a season of use I wanted more, hence the Outback. I've never fished for rockfish, but I'm anxious to try for the first time this year with some trolling. I just bought some 6" swimming shad and am going to try trolling a pair of tandem rigs. Hell, I really have no idea what I'm doing...just piecing together what it sounds like others have worked out. Like anything, it will be a lot of trial and error.

I want to take my maiden voyage to the Flats this weekend, likely Friday, for the spring trophies. Has anyone fished there or planning to go?

[Grilled]

Welcome and thanks for joining. You will love the hobie. The mirage drive makes it so much easier when fishing. My first kayak was a Tarpon 120. It was a good stable yak but when I saw my buddies hobie I had to get me one of those. I've been out in the water in some pretty rought conditions and I could not imagine having a paddle yak. The hobies handle pretty much anything.

I've fished the flats but not from kayak. I've been reading some reports and they are catching some big fish over there. How big are the shads you bought? I would set up one pole with those shads and I would get a single 6oz parachute rig for your other pole. Good Luck and let us know how you do.

[Yak Fish]

Hey Grilled Sardine,
The shads that I bought are 6" and I bought a larger 10" to trail behind on the tandem rig. I'll go to Bass Pro today to get the parachute that you mentioned. I'm going there anyway to pick up a fish finder...Hummingbird 170 seems like it will do the trick. I'll let you know how it goes at the flats and if I'm lucky, post some pics.

I'm loving the Hobie so far. The woman I purchased it from included a sail, outriggers and cart. I tested it out at Wilson Point to see how well it works and I was very impressed. The outriggers even allow me to stand on it with no trouble which seems like it will be great for staking out a hole. They also make me feel like I'd be a lot safer in choppy water.

Thanks for the reply!

[jet]

welcome! dont forget to just throw some lures like shads or bucktails around structure above water and underwater. that works too
let us know how you do!

[Yak Fish]

Thanks for the reply Stupidjet. My biggest concern is not knowing what size lures to throw out there yet. I've mostly had access to trout and bass so the lures I'm buying now seem really large to me. I've a supply of spinner baits, buzz baits and Rat'l traps in the 3" range that are great for largemouth, but would they work for stripers? I'll give them all a shot and see what happens.

What about the shad run going on right now at the Conowingo dam? I've heard a few guys saying the fishing is incredible with some shad darts. It looks like there is a launch at Lapidum Rd.. Based on some reading it sounds like a shallow draft boat (or kayak) would allow greater access to the holes than the trail along the river. I haven't been there yet so I can't vouch for the water conditions, but there are kayak rentals on the river that leads me to believe conditions are favorable.

[jet]

all size lures work, but my experience has been, the bigger the bait, the bigger the fish. but when choosing your lure, consider the season, target species, baitfish around, depth of fish and current. i cant give you an exact answer as i'm still trying to figure it all out too.

in the spring, rockfish are typically in the upper water column, say around 10 to 20 feet. but this season, i have seen many marks in the 40 foot range.

[On the fly]

The Hickory shad are running now and small shad darts are the ticket. Try yellow with red head and White with red heads. Be careful on the Susquehanna River below the dam. Check the water release for the dam on the day you plan to go to keep from getting into trouble. I usually wade in Deer Creek, not far from Lapidum Rd launch area, using a fly rod and small shad flies about now.

[Grilled]

i havent been to conowingo recently but i've always had good luck up by the dam using white and yellow shad darts around this time.

[Saltyhawgs]

Fishing on the Susky Flats has been slow. There have been some big fish caught on fresh/live herring. Artificials not doing so well. The water temp has been running around 60 degrees so definitely try some top water. Also, Tony Accentas and midnight and chartreuse BA's. You could probably try trolling the Tony Accentas. If your going to put in up in the river near Lapidum I would definitely get some fresh herring and soak it. I hear there catching some bigger fish up there. Call Herb's Bait and Tackle, North East, MD for more info.

[MDSmith370]

I've been to the flats twice as recent as Sunday. Not much luck with cut herring. Some of the big girls have been caught on the northeast side of the flats and in the river between Lapidum and the bridges. Most were caught on live herring. I was there in the middle of the afternoon. Early morning or near sunset is the way to go.

[Yak Fish]

I was able to get up there around first light and I launched at a shoreline behind an apartment complex which worked out rather conveniently. About 45 mins into it, the rain started coming down and lightening was striking so I turned back. The weather report wasn't calling for storms until the late afternoon. Halfway back the storm blew off and I went back to trolling. The Hobie was perfect for this. I could pedal long distances without tiring and my hands were free for other things. At the end of the day I didn't come up with anything and those out on boats weren't coming up with anything either, except a few dinks caught on cut bait. No one seemed to be having luck on lures. It was still a really nice day and I got a great workout from all the stair stepping :-) I did come home with one less rod, DOH! I thought my snag was a nice striper and in my enthusiasm, I missed the rod holder with the rod I was setting up...she disappeared into the deep.

[MDSmith370]

I'm going to try and give it another shot tomorrow afternoon if I have time. That sucks about the rod. It usually takes that to happen once before guys buy rod leashes.

[Redfish12]

I'm really interested in checking the flats out sometime this year, let us know if the fishing improves.

[Jimbo]

Hi guys,
I've been checking out this great site and users for about a year now and I wanted in on more of the action so I bought a Hobie Outback. I wanted to introduce myself and maybe get the chance to go fishing with some of you guys. My name is Alan Battista and I live in White Marsh.

I bought a sit in kayak last year at Dick's but after a season of use I wanted more, hence the Outback. I've never fished for rockfish, but I'm anxious to try for the first time this year with some trolling. I just bought some 6" swimming shad and am going to try trolling a pair of tandem rigs. Hell, I really have no idea what I'm doing...just piecing together what it sounds like others have worked out. Like anything, it will be a lot of trial and error.

I want to take my maiden voyage to the Flats this weekend, likely Friday, for the spring trophies. Has anyone fished there or planning to go?

Did you end up going to the flats? If so, how did you do?

[Memory Maker]

Dude .......... that was 8 years ago .......... Allan has come aloooong way since then ....... a long long way