Rockfish lure or bait help

[JohnE]

I don't like braid for top water or any hard plastic really. Mysteriously breaks sometimes and those lures are expensive. Mono works fine for me a lot of times, but it does float and change the action of jig heads. Braid is definitely cool when your going super light on the jig heads, soaking live bait...etc. I do catch stripers with mono and jig heads, but the braid does seem more productive for that.

Have not seen them stacked up yet. Definitely heating up, though. Was just out there again tonight. Super rough, did not catch a single striper. Could barely get into my favorite spots for them. Tried some spots sheltered from the wind a bit and managed small flounder on gulp and a 22" speck on topwater.

[D3NAL1]

I have the malibu stealth 12. Its wide and very stable, i dont have very good balance so i havent tried standing on it yet. It is neant to stand on it though

[DOGFISH]

As far as lures for trolling, I rely on crankbaits. You will need to keep up some speed to make them work. However, they are very productive on the troll. My favorites are Glass Shad by Rapala, deep diver, in the color Glass Ghost. Close behind that is YoZuri Hardcore Drum in the colors Painted Shad and Prizim. I like Prizim on sunny days. The Hardcore Drum is a lipless crankbait. Beyond that I also use a variety of XRaps, Sebile Magic Swimmers, Lucky Craft lures, other cranks and even 1/2oz Rooster Tails. The larger Pointer Minnow, deep diver, in MS American Shad, by Lucky Craft, is a very flashy bait for sunny days. Like others have mentioned, no one can troll without having some bucktails and spoons on board.

As far as the braid discussion goes, I like to troll with braid. The smaller diameter gets the baits down deeper. There is less resistance in the water. I also use a fluorocarbon leader, a bit longer when trolling.

One other thing about trolling. Most people don't let their lines out far enough. Run your trolling lines out far. Even though kayaks are quiet, fish near the surface will move away. You need to allow time for those fish to filter back in behind the kayak as the lures pass through. This is just my opinion. It goes back to my boating days.

[Mattybofmd]

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.

Ill be posting pictures soon. I went and launched out of southwest area park and trolled the patapsco river with with 1oz white buck tail with chartreuse colored gulp alive as a trailer. I did alright. Caught a maybe 2lb largemouth and a 17" rockfish in the first hour. Then all went quiet but it felt good to practice

[sparky1423]

Nice job Mattybo...this is my first year fishing stripers hard. I have learned that different lures are needed in different places. The susky flats, nothing is better than xraps or other hard plugs. Bush river, it's all about the metal...rattletraps and spoons. Severn, I have done well with roadrunner tandem rigs with plastic trailers. Bay bridge...live lining and jigging with 1 ounce heads.

But then again...the next guy will use something completely different and catch better fish, lol. It's all very addicting.