Bay Bridge (East Side), Tues 7/26/11

[tufnik]

Launched from Bay Bridge Marina and hit water about 0630 hrs. Nice morning, though the water was a bit choppy (1-2 ft) with a NNW wind. Slack tide was about 10 to noon.

The current was fairly strong with choppy conditions, but I managed to work the north and south spans. A couple boats were out there too. One was live-lining. I didn't see them catch anything. Another boat was using cutbait, and they caught several small stripers. I caught four stripers, all shorties except one take-home at 21". I caught it just after 7 am in about 15 ft of water. Pinch and his friend later showed up. Seemed like every other time I looked at Pinch he had a fish on. He probably C & R well over a dozen stripers. His friend caught three. Both did not take home any fish.

I used a 3/4 oz jig head with a peppered chartreuse grub worm. It was tough trying to get the lure down on casts. Later, Pinch gave me his homemade 1 1/2 oz jig with a white bkd. The heavier lure was definitely better.

Pinch was dialed-in. This is how he (and others like toadfinger) does it.
- He controls his position well. He stays downstream of the pilings and maintains position on his Hobie Revo. This allows him to cast along the pilings. I had a tough time doing this, even with an electric motor, because of the current. This takes practice whether you pedal, paddle or motor. It's even tougher to control position and cast if you rely on paddling only.
- He accurately casts along the pilings with his baitcaster. Not too close and not too far away from the concrete/rocks. Again, tough to do when you can't maintain yak position. Sometimes my lure would hit the concrete pilings and somethings I cast too far away from the pilings.
- He fishes the bottom. After the cast, he lets the 1 1/2 oz lure drop to the bottom in spite of the current. He then pulls and cranks with the lure just above the bottom. I often didn't let it hit the bottom because I was too cautious in trying to avoid snags. So, I didn't fish the bottom as well as I should have.

Positioning is probably the most important. This all sounds easy, but it takes practice!

All in all, a great morning on the water.

[Pinch]

Awesome fishing with you Tuf, hopefully its not so bad tomorrow morning im trying to take the GF somewhere. im working on the video footage now, I really need a bigger battery or multiple batteries. I only got the video from before my buddy matt showed up so the fish i caught post his arrival were not on film.

Link to video: http://snaggedline.com/boatyard/showthread.php?t=1506

[mmanolis2001]

Great job on the fish. I feel your pain on positioning correctly at the bridge. I'm still trying to figure out how to get my jig close enough to the pylons to interest the fish but far enough away to avoid the mess that surrounds them. I spent more time paddling up current to free my snagged jig than fishing last trip.

I was really reconsidering my whole paddling approach to fishing while watching the Hobie's hold positions and fish while i was flailing away with my paddle trying to get in the perfect spot. If i got into that spot i had maybe two casts before getting pushed off the it. Add too much wind and current and it makes it almost impossible to fish the pylons correctly with a paddle yak. I might have to look for a new kayak next year or anchor down current from the pylons to fish them properly .

[frettr00]

You could always just drop an anchor if you want to hold a certain distance/position from some structure. Have the anchor off the bow so you're still facing upstream.

[mmanolis2001]

You could always just drop an anchor if you want to hold a certain distance/position from some structure. Have the anchor off the bow so you're still facing upstream.

I was thinking about that last trip but of course i left that in my car. I'm still Leary about anchoring up around the bridge in the current and wind with all the boats that fly through there. Its much better on the east side than the west but the fear is still there. I had several close calls with boats on the west span over the years and i know if i was pinned up it would have been bad. Even with the trolley and quick cleat.

I have heard nothing but bad stories involving kayaks, Anchors, Current and boat traffic.

[missedshed]

I used an anchor tonight when I was out. I sure needed it too b/c of the swells and a steady wind. I have no idea where it came from b/c on shore it was calm. I installed a homemade trolly system today. Still needs some work but it worked great. I anchored about 10 yards behind the piling and it held until the swells got too big. I was testing it out and was shocked how well it worked. I was afraid I might lose my anchor b/c I used a very thin line tide to it, but it was rated at 250pounds. It some mountain climing ropestuff. The trolly allowed me to move my anchor point around.

[tufnik]

I have an anchor, but did not use it yesterday. I prefer the quick mobility to work piling to piling. Using the anchor at each piling can be a hassle.

On one trip I used my 2 1/2 pound anchor and it got stuck next to the piling. I heaved and hoed for a while and finally got it free after the struggle. That's why I'm now a bit shy of using it near a piling.

Mike,
I'm not sure a Revo is better than an electrified Prowler Trident as far as positioning is concerned. You may want to use a $200 electric option on your Trident rather than a $1800 Revo option.

[tufnik]

Here's what happened to the 21" striper I caught yesterday.

[Pinch]

Electric is way easier to position and hold. My torque does a good job of it, more so than the revo. I like the revo b/c of the weight and i dont have to rely on a battery

[jet]

Here's what happened to the 21" striper I caught yesterday.

what kind of batter did you use, looks tasty. nice job guys

[surfdog]

Pinch has it pretty well dialed in. down current of the piling the V that the current makes is usually where the rock are waiting for food to come by. 1.5oz and maybe 2 oz if current is running hard, BKD or bass assassin, i'll let it hit bottom then crank up a little to try and keep away from the snaggs.

got BB burnout after fishing it for years in my boats and yaks not a fan of fishing the bridge on weekends the only time i can get out, probably the only time i fish it will be the cbka tourney in sept. i'' find keepers elsewhere

[tufnik]

Coat the fillets with a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper. That's all. No dipping in egg or anything. My wife does the same thing with croaker. Ohhhh, so good!

Yeah, the weekends are beginning to be a pain with all that jockeying of boats. That's why I went on Tuesday.

Would like to know of other good places to get keepers. Gas docks in Calvert County?

Surf, how about NAS off Hog Point? I heard you can also get flounder toward Solomon Island from there.

[surfdog]

Coat the fillets with a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper. That's all. No dipping in egg or anything. My wife does the same thing with croaker. Ohhhh, so good!

Yeah, the weekends are beginning to be a pain with all that jockeying of boats. That's why I went on Tuesday.

Would like to know of other good places to get keepers. Gas docks in Calvert County?

Surf, how about NAS off Hog Point? I heard you can also get flounder toward Solomon Island from there.

hog point is an idea also goose creek area is good. once the weather cools a bit im game. id like to check hog point with the ff

gas docks arent really accessible to kayaks unless you have a buddy with a boat to mother-ship you. breezy point, ches. beach and kent island (matapeake, romancoke and the narrows) are good spots for rock, even the severn, south, magothy and patapsco rivers are good spots depending on the time of year

[ictalurus]

tufnik--If the topwater action turns on this year like it did last year, you can join me on some outings and get all the keepers you want. My schedule has been conflicting with tides and weather, but I'm hopeful for next week. I'll let you know if the action heats up. Hog Point was pretty good last year in the evenings.

[tufnik]

Topwater sounds like fun. Gotta try Hog Point too.