Rockfish lure or bait help

[Mattybofmd]

Hey guys, I need some pointers. I have a fs10 from ascend I love to use. I want to head out to the key bridge and do some rock fishing. Any suggestions on a good trolling setup? I mean like which lures work well there trolling. Also what's a good lure or bait for casting out?

[JohnE]

I have never fished that location, but you should have some luck with jig heads and gulp, bass assassins, bkds, power worms...etc. You might also try xrap, badonkadonk, poppers. Good luck.

[Pinch]

If I was going to troll a new area (FOR BASS) I would start with the old standby, Buck-tails with a grub style teaser. Try trolling a 2oz White Buck-tail with a 5'' or bigger teaser. Kalin makes very good 6'' grub. You might have to go heavier with the buck-tail but just remember diving crank bait style lures are going to create a lot of drag on your yak. Troll on the up current side of the pilings letting your lures pass just in front of the "Push". A push is the area on the leading edge of a piling where the water is creating a slight upwelling when it meets the structure. After a few passes if this method is not working try the eddy side of the pilings (down current).

For a casting style presentation It is hard to beat a jig head and your choice of soft plastic. I am a big fan of the BKD style soft plastics. Bass Assassin, Bust-em-baits, BKD, Zoom super flukes and Gulp! jerk shads are all great choices. To work these baits position yourself down current from a piling set so that you can cast from the Eddy to the push. You want to cast no more than 1' left or right of the pilings. Allow your jig to hit bottom and then violently snap your rod upward and reel in the slack as the jig settles. The most important piece of this presentation is reeling in the slack caused by the VIOLENT snap of the rod. Reeling in the slack will allow you to feel the thump of a rockfish bite. repeat the above described presentation all the way back until your lure is directly underneath you (and repeat). A fast action medium heavy rod is usually recommended.

The weight you use for a jerk-bait presentation depends on the water depth. You want a weight heavy enough to feel it hit bottom but not to heavy to reduce the lures flutter effect. [5'-15' (up to 3/4oz) ,15'-25- (up to 1.5oz) <--- My opinion and what works for me.]

Good Luck.

[J.A. Veil]

Pinch offers excellent advice. Every angler has his/her own favorite lures for casting, jigging, and trolling. The ones Pinch recommends are good choices. If I were trolling, I would use jigheads from 0.5 oz to 1.5 oz with 4" to 5" paddletail plastics in different colors and maybe different side profiles (some slender, some with bigger bellies). Another good lure that is in this group is Storm shads or the equivalent by other manufacturers. I would try a 6" Storm and maybe one size smaller.

I personally do not fish hard plastic lures very often, but many of our members use them regularly and have great success.

Although your post specified trolling, you can also catch rockfish jigging. Pinch explained the techniques for fishing pilings with BKDs or similar soft plastics. I have done well recently fishing 2-oz Stingsilvers and other metal jigs near the bay bridge -- they should work at the Key Bridge too. I am not fishing immediately adjacent to the pilings. Instead, I ride around looking for good marks on the FF and then drop and jig. I have the best success jigging as vertically as possible (Pinch describes more of a horizontal jigging technique).

Keep in mind that there is not just one way to catch fish. You can catch them in many ways -- most of us have a better comfort zone when using certain types and brands.

You mention that you are fishing from a 10 ft kayak. My recommendation, other than choice of fishing tackle, is to choose your days wisely. Don't put yourself at risk by being far from shore in rough conditions. Also as the water cools off, appropriate protective clothing and gear is quite important too.

[JohnE]

Jig heads with 4" gulp swimming mullet in white or chartreuse will catch stripers anywhere around here and will be the easiest and cheapest thing to try. You can troll or cast them. But you might also catch reds, blues, speck, flounder and just about anything else swimming where you're fishing with them. Sometimes 1/2 would be way too heavy on the jig head. You need to get both light and some heavier ones. If the blues are around, gulp won't last long so try bass assasin paddle tails, bkd or other soft plastic.

Hungry stripers will hit all sorts of lures. I think I saw a video of somebody catching one with a kid's action figure. If you have all types of lures, throw different things and see what works. If you don't, jig heads and gulp or soft plastics would be my first choice.

[Mattybofmd]

I appreciate all the great advice and health concern which leads me to ask. What are some recommendations for a kayak to get for key bridge and bay bridge use? I guess I'm asking what's a safe bet without breaking the bank. Thanks guys

[buzz]

I appreciate all the great advice and health concern which leads me to ask. What are some recommendations for a kayak to get for key bridge and bay bridge use? I guess I'm asking what's a safe bet without breaking the bank. Thanks guys

I assume you are talking about the Key Bridge in Baltimore, not the Key Bridge in DC...

[Mattybofmd]

I assume you are talking about the Key Bridge in Baltimore, not the Key Bridge in DC...

Yes in Baltimore

[buzz]

I would want something at least 12 feet long and very stable like the OK Trident.
For stable yaks, you want a wide beam. Look for ones that anglers say they can stand up in it.

[Shady]

Launch a little further up the patapsco from harbor hospital and you'll be absolutely fine in the FS10, but you still need to monitor the weather. I used to fish there when I had the fs10. I dont think I'd add much to what everyone else has said about lure selection. I like jigging with gulp and trolling cranks.

[daolai]

Great information thanks all!

[Mattybofmd]

If I was going to troll a new area (FOR BASS) I would start with the old standby, Buck-tails with a grub style teaser. Try trolling a 2oz White Buck-tail with a 5'' or bigger teaser. Kalin makes very good 6'' grub. You might have to go heavier with the buck-tail but just remember diving crank bait style lures are going to create a lot of drag on your yak. Troll on the up current side of the pilings letting your lures pass just in front of the "Push". A push is the area on the leading edge of a piling where the water is creating a slight upwelling when it meets the structure. After a few passes if this method is not working try the eddy side of the pilings (down current).

For a casting style presentation It is hard to beat a jig head and your choice of soft plastic. I am a big fan of the BKD style soft plastics. Bass Assassin, Bust-em-baits, BKD, Zoom super flukes and Gulp! jerk shads are all great choices. To work these baits position yourself down current from a piling set so that you can cast from the Eddy to the push. You want to cast no more than 1' left or right of the pilings. Allow your jig to hit bottom and then violently snap your rod upward and reel in the slack as the jig settles. The most important piece of this presentation is reeling in the slack caused by the VIOLENT snap of the rod. Reeling in the slack will allow you to feel the thump of a rockfish bite. repeat the above described presentation all the way back until your lure is directly underneath you (and repeat). A fast action medium heavy rod is usually recommended.

The weight you use for a jerk-bait presentation depends on the water depth. You want a weight heavy enough to feel it hit bottom but not to heavy to reduce the lures flutter effect. [5'-15' (up to 3/4oz) ,15'-25- (up to 1.5oz) <--- My opinion and what works for me.]

Good Luck.

What is the best line weight to use on the medium heavy rod using jig heads and gulps? Is there a detailed photo or description somewhere on how I need to appropriately rig this?

[Pinch]

15- 20lb braid works well. You never want to go to heavy because the thickness off your line also effects sink rate. The lighter the line you can get away with the better off you are going to be. I like to use 15lb braid with a 2' section of 25-30 lb floro leader to help mitigate the effects of pilings and rocks from hitting the main line. I go heavier on my main line for my bait caster reels to help in the event of a birds nest.

[JohnE]

Had a double header trolling lightweight jig heads and gulp at hrbt last night. Almost twins, both 21", one fatter than the other. Same weight jig head on each rod. One with 40 pound mono, one with 12 pound braid. All other stripers last night on the one with 12 pound braid. I have had a lot more hookups overall on that rod with 12 pound than all my other rods lately for some reason.

[Pinch]

Had a double header trolling lightweight jig heads and gulp at hrbt last night. Almost twins, both 21", one fatter than the other. Same weight jig head on each rod. One with 40 pound mono, one with 12 pound braid. All other stripers last night on the one with 12 pound braid. I have had a lot more hookups overall on that rod with 12 pound than all my other rods lately for some reason.

Mono Floats, I like it for top water but that is about all. Your light braid which has less water resistance and sinks may be getting your lure a little further down into the strike zone. I like sight fishing at night at the HRBT. Have you seen them stacked up recently? I remember a few time last year seeing 30-40 stripers on a line in the lights. It one of the coolest experiences you can have as a kayak angler.