One of those days... Thoughts?

[Yak Fish]

Alan, thanks for tips. These were some pretty serious marks. I'll get 'em next time. =)

That kind of determination is what makes a good fisherman better....the maddening drive of not getting fish that were there :-)

[JAR]

Just putting this out there... perhaps a may worm hatch took place recently?

[cryptotek]

That kind of determination is what makes a good fisherman better....the maddening drive of not getting fish that were there :-)

Absolutely, Alan. It makes me appreciate the days when I catch only one or two fish.

Separately, have you ever tried or heard of someone putting a bloodworm on a lure for added attraction? Scent perhaps?

[JAR]

Yes, it's called tipping and it works.

[Yak Fish]

Absolutely, Alan. It makes me appreciate the days when I catch only one or two fish.

Separately, have you ever tried or heard of someone putting a bloodworm on a lure for added attraction? Scent perhaps?

Look up "tube and worm" :-)
Gulp baits are also used as the worm part.
I've done it with great success for things like perch, but never rockfish.

[YakCapn]

My Rapala CD-9 caught my lone striper today on the Potomac by the Washington Monument...just a small one, but at least it got the skunk off my boat.

[DOGFISH]

It is the time of year when schools of menhaden show up to spawn. They generally show up as clouds of readings or as stradified along a thermocline. If the menhaden young of the year has started to hatch out, which seems a little early, they will also blot out the depth finder. They can barely be seen, except as glitter in the water.

[deleonjo]

I ran into the same problem on the Susky Flats yesterday morning. I marked a ton of fish near the bottom. I know I had my lure depth dialed in because when the bottom came up just 1' I started bumping it. I definitely cant blame the turbitity, it was down to 6 yesterday. I had maybe 3-4 short strikes but nothing to keep the rod bent long enough for a hook set.

There were at least 4 other Snaggedliners out on the flats while I was there. I met John at the ramp but didnt stop trolling to talk to anyone else. Did you guys have any better luck?

Mike-Nice meeting you at the ramp on Saturday. I marked those same fish in 11-12ft. Tried an XRD10 and a bucktail to get a little deeper but couldn't get them to bite. I was wondering myself if they were stripers. I hooked what looked like a Menhaden/shad??? and I jigged up a very small striper (~10") on a BKD later in the day so maybe that is what was showing up on the sonar. It was a long tough day. However, I managed to not get skunked which is a first for me at the flats. Got two nice fish at 29" and 28" but none of the monster cows that some are getting at the flats this time of year. Had to cover some serious mileage to get those two nice ones. The other thing that was very noticeable was the amount of boat traffic Saturday. Thought I overheard someone saying that there may have been a tournament going on. Nothing against bass fisherman as I am one myself, but, those high speed bass boats sure make a lot of noise. I suspect that had to affect the bite anywhere near the channel.

[mweber02]

Mike-Nice meeting you at the ramp on Saturday. I marked those same fish in 11-12ft. Tried an XRD10 and a bucktail to get a little deeper but couldn't get them to bite. I was wondering myself if they were stripers. I hooked what looked like a Menhaden/shad??? and I jigged up a very small striper (~10") on a BKD later in the day so maybe that is what was showing up on the sonar. It was a long tough day. However, I managed to not get skunked which is a first for me at the flats. Got two nice fish at 29" and 28" but none of the monster cows that some are getting at the flats this time of year. Had to cover some serious mileage to get those two nice ones. The other thing that was very noticeable was the amount of boat traffic Saturday. Thought I overheard someone saying that there may have been a tournament going on. Nothing against bass fisherman as I am one myself, but, those high speed bass boats sure make a lot of noise. I suspect that had to affect the bite anywhere near the channel.

Glad to hear you got some decent fish. I went out again this morning. Caught a 27" and 3 around 10". Still all from that same depth where I was marking lots of fish. There definitely some marks that I'd think too big to be shad today.

[cryptotek]

It is the time of year when schools of menhaden show up to spawn. They generally show up as clouds of readings or as stradified along a thermocline. If the menhaden young of the year has started to hatch out, which seems a little early, they will also blot out the depth finder. They can barely be seen, except as glitter in the water.

The crazy thing is that the markings I experienced were not cloud-like. They were substantial individual arcs. A lot of them. I may give it another shot tomorrow after work and see if it was just a coincidence. Only this time I won't try for four hours. I'll give it two. =)

[Yak Fish]

Glad to hear you got some decent fish. I went out again this morning. Caught a 27" and 3 around 10". Still all from that same depth where I was marking lots of fish. There definitely some marks that I'd think too big to be shad today.

Mike,
If you were fishing the flats today you were doing so illegally....fyi :-)
Check the closure maps and you'll see it's off limits. Just trying to keep you out of trouble.

[mweber02]

Mike,
If you were fishing the flats today you were doing so illegally....fyi :-)
Check the closure maps and you'll see it's off limits. Just trying to keep you out of trouble.

Thanks for pointing that out. I must have misread the maps. I took off work tomorrow too. Looks like I'll try fort Smallwood for the first time.

[snapper]

Many times folks mistake other fish for stripers...especially the school sized ones since a lot of fish are of that size. They could be catfish or another baitfish like shad or herring that are running right now.
Although this time of year the schoolies can really stack up and the right bait will make all the difference. For fish in the 20" and under range the Rapala CD-9 is a crazy good bait. I also like the xrd-10. Both will catch fish like there's no tomorrow. They have a certain "sizzle" that really drives the fish mad. They are also just a little smaller than the lures I'd normally use this time of year, which seems to make all the difference.

If they aren't biting, go smaller.

Hi Alan just curious what colors of the xrd10 and cd-9 you prefer, thanks.

[cryptotek]

Not to speak for Alan, but I don't believe he places much emphasis on colors... whatever is on sale.

[snapper]

Not to speak for Alan, but I don't believe he places much emphasis on colors... whatever is on sale.

Nice!