Triton Oct 3

[Snakehead Hunter]

I met Shady, Nitefly, John at launch. I launched last since I want to make sure that the birds are back. I later met Cowhokey & Cowkid. It was fast & furious when the school go by. I caught over 10 fish, lot of small one and 1 right on 18 lol. I finally hooked 4 fish at once, 1 keeper rock @20 in & 16 in blue. It was rough so most of us head in early. I kept 1 rock & 2 big blue

[Cowpokey]

Yeah, it got pretty rough. I would have kept fishing if I was solo, but with Cowkid2 on the nose it was less than ideal. Both of us ended up soaked with waves breaking over the bow. With her sitting up there the waves really catch the nose and ended up putting a couple gallons of water in the hull. Guess it just doesn't seal well enough with her sitting on the hatch, it rides with the bow a good bit lower too, I'm sure that doesn't help either.

My daughter did catch her FIRST (and second) striper though! She thinks those little striper pull hard, I can't wait for her to catch a good one. We ended up with 3 short striper and brought home one 17" blue.

Zman Opening Night paddle tails on 1/2 oz white jig heads are still producing well.

[Snakehead Hunter]

If she thinks little striper pull hard, the big blue might pull the rod out of her hands

[Cowpokey]

If she thinks little striper pull hard, the big blue might pull the rod out of her hands

Lets hope not, but yeah I agree. I was really hoping she would get a blue today.

[J.A. Veil]

I estimate that the waves were steady 2-footers with plenty of 3- and 4-footers in the mix. It was the roughest conditions in which I have tried trolling 4 lines. I managed about a dozen fish (stripers to 18" and blues to 16") then decided I had had enough. This was my eighth day out of the past nine to go fishing -- I have caught plenty of fish during that time and did not need to get beat up today.

There were abundant birds that guided us in the right direction. I lost a bunch of plastic tails, but when I put a gold Kastmaster on one line, it only got hit once. So I sacrificed a few more soft plastics to keep the bites coming. It was tough to keep four lines going straight with those waves.

[Cowpokey]

I estimate that the waves were steady 2-footers with plenty of 3- and 4-footers in the mix. It was the roughest conditions in which I have tried trolling 4 lines. I managed about a dozen fish (stripers to 18" and blues to 16") then decided I had had enough. This was my eighth day out of the past nine to go fishing -- I have caught plenty of fish during that time and did not need to get beat up today.

There were abundant birds that guided us in the right direction. I lost a bunch of plastic tails, but when I put a gold Kastmaster on one line, it only got hit once. So I sacrificed a few more soft plastics to keep the bites coming. It was tough to keep four lines going straight with those waves.

When you run through your current supply of tails, replace them with Zman and blues won't be destroying them any more. They are $3.49 a pack at BPS. Only problem, they don't make the paddle tails in solid chartreuse, but I've been catching everything on "opening night" anyway.

[Deverall]

Good Job Guy's!!!

[Big Mike]

I'm impressed that anyone can troll 4 lines, no matter what the conditions. You definitely had heavier chop than I had this morning in the Potomac. Good to hear reports of so many fish being caught. I say enjoy it while we can!

[Pc4sun]

Great report from all of you! Congratulations on the great luck, or I should say, skill. Nothing like the fight of a blue!

[Snakehead Hunter]

Great report from all of you! Congratulations on the great luck, or I should say, skill. Nothing like the fight of a blue!

I think you only need paddle skill. Once you get close to where the birds are diving, it is shooting fish in a barrel. I had a spoon, 2 different color plastic. They all got bit.

[rob-kayak]

... trolling four lines..

It's not really too hard, per se. I don't know what Mr. Veil's experiences are specifically, but you are probably going to tangle some lines at some point. I don't use expensive fishing line so cutting out tangles is no big deal for me.
If you make tight turns you might consider pulling in the outside turn lines. IE: turning right... pull in the left side lines. If you really start getting on the fish you'll probably want to go back to trolling two lines. I guess the biggest advantage to four lines is the variety of lures you present so you can figure out what is working.
Went out late yesterday... and had lots of "things" in the water. But what worked best was similar to the Zman type Cowpokey is talking about, and this diving type shown in the picture.

...waves

Not much wave action yesterday, except I had my largest boat wave come at me broadside... it wasn't a particularly big vessel that made the wave so it sort of caught me off guard. If I knew how big it was going to get I would have turned stern or bow towards it. Something to remember.

[Cowpokey]

...and this diving type shown in the picture.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]13594[/ATTACH]

Do you know what make/model that is?

[rob-kayak]

Strike King KVD Jerkbait Chrome Blue... it's actually a lot blue'er along the top than in the picture.

[Cowpokey]

Strike King KVD Jerkbait Chrome Blue... it's actually a lot blue'er along the top than in the picture.

Cool, thanks!

[DOGFISH]

Wow, you guys are bold. The South wind is terrible on the bay. There were white caps well back into the South River. Glad you caught some fish.