Near Bay bridge - off Hacketts Pt 5/13/11

[tufnik]

Hit the water about 10 am. Cloudy. Not choppy at all, maybe 2-3 ft waves. No rain, though. 60's. I wore my waders, but it still got a bit cool.

Went East of Hackett's Point about 2000 yds and south of the Bay bridge maybe 500 yd. Took me an hour and a half (and I have an electric motor) to get out there against the headwind (10-15 mph) and current. Marked a lot of fish. I trolled around with a bomber deep diver, bucktail/teaser, and some other crankbait. Nothing. I then switched to soaking bws on the last hour. I got only a nibble on the bws. Six hours on the water. Hey, where are the trophies?

[Grilled]

Good question.... this year has sucked for me!

[richardbb85]

it is tough for the boaters also, so dont feel too bad.....

[fjarhead]

Hit the water about 10 am. Cloudy. Not choppy at all, maybe 2-3 ft waves. No rain, though. 60's. I wore my waders, but it still got a bit cool.

Went East of Hackett's Point about 2000 yds and south of the Bay bridge maybe 500 yd. Took me an hour and a half (and I have an electric motor) to get out there against the headwind (10-15 mph) and current. Marked a lot of fish. I trolled around with a bomber deep diver, bucktail/teaser, and some other crankbait. Nothing. I then switched to soaking bws on the last hour. I got only a nibble on the bws. Six hours on the water. Hey, where are the trophies?

I was out of chesapeake beach around april 20th and we caught all of ours (6 of us) in about 40 ft of water. bucktails. were our friend

[Memory Maker]

Thanks for the report ........ you'll get em next time ......... been tough for everyone this season from what I've read

[tufnik]

Last time I was on a boat, I caught a 42" citation. That was a year and a half ago. Nowadays, the idea of being a human winch on those boats is losing its appeal to me. I'm more into loading up the van, hauling the yak, hunting for "the spot," trolling all my weapons,.... You know, workin' at it on my own stuff. Then "Fish on!" Hear the reel scream, fight the cow while getting a sleigh ride, land it, take it home and eat it. Now that's what I'm talkin' about. One of these days........................

[surfdog]

moc, pinch and i went out in mill creek this morning and you could see the wind blowing the white caps into whitehall bay below hackett point. got 4 different species croaker,wp,rock and spot. the rock was only 16". pinch was hearing a lot of boaters on the vhf they were landing fish in deep water by the channel

[DOGFISH]

This time of year deep water is the name of the game. Those big spawners travel the shipping channel. There are some that come into the shallows, but the numbers are along the edge of the shipping channel. When I had my boat that is how we would fish in the spring. I must agree, I did not like trolling from a boat. The gear seemed too heavy.

With that said, trolling from a kayak is a different game for me. It is quiet, and I can fish with light tackle. I can't wait till June 1, when I can fish in the rivers without smashing all of my barbs down. In the mouth of some of these rivers it is surprising how many fish are in those areas. Kayaks are perfect for that type of fishing.

With the cold wet spring, I think the spawn was disrupted a bit. It may have come off a bit later, with the water temps varying. Well see how the seine pulls by DNR report the spawn numbers. I am not optimistic. Hey, I have been wrong on that prediction before. However, by now it is usually over, with the larger fish moving out.

[tufnik]

So, do you all think the big ones are gone. I want to troll the channels again this weekend, but am thinking if it's a loss cause.

[surfdog]

thier still fish out there, most were caught over deep water but shallow. if you feel comfortable in the middle of the bay go east/west across the channel. weekdays would be better for that charter boats and recs. wont alter course for you with 15-20 rods out.

[ronaultmtd]

Brackish

I think the biggest reason we are having slow striper fishing is the flood waters emptying into the bay dropping the salinity to brackish levels- hence frankenfish caught at Buzz and big blue catfish in mouth of Wicomico- the Potomac is at flood level today with large tree trunks, limbs and trash debris in the swift waters

[Memory Maker]

I think the biggest reason we are having slow striper fishing is the flood waters emptying into the bay dropping the salinity to brackish levels- hence frankenfish caught at Buzz and big blue catfish in mouth of Wicomico- the Potomac is at flood level today with large tree trunks, limbs and trash debris in the swift waters

Never thought about it but you're right .......... the fresh water will allow the snakefish access to all areas of the bay ........ and then trap them in the freshwater/brackish water areas to breed ...........

.......... can seen it now ........ the FLW Frankenfish tour ........... guys coming back with 400 lb stringer and fingers missing ............ now that would be an exciting tournament ...... imagine the drama and the gore .......... anyone say Primetime .....

Ooo ooooo .......... and the Jamaicia Bay tour with yaks coming in with giant bitemarks on the yaks ......... the survivors are the winners ..........

...............



......... think I'll switch to decafe now ........ yeah decafe ........