Slower Lower Report...Saturday May 4th...WOW!

[ronaultmtd]

There are days that you get lucky...there are days when things fall into place and all goes well...I wavered back and forth about going...no one could fish with me today...so I finally said screw it, threw the kayak in the cradle in my pickup and hit the road at 8:30 this morning...got to the launch at 10...launched at 10:15, left my cell phone on the seat of the truck, came back to the launch and picked it up...on the water at 10:30 headed out...seemed like a lot of things should be telling me not to go...but being a hard-head, I kept going...I rigged up a double swim bait rig for each rod using 40# Trilene XT and used a double surgeon’s knot to tie a loop I used to clip on the spinning outfit...the two tag ends had a big eye jighead with a swim bait body...chartreuse on one and Opening Night on the other...did not take long to get the skunk off, rod doubled over, 18” Striper on chartreuse soft plastic swimbait...the second rod was bouncing, drag was singing...a double header...two fish were on...as I reeled them in the other rod went down and drag was running...non stop action for the next three hours...phew! My arms are aching, I am tired...got to the point I only fished one rod...I threw the towel in...fish were biting but I am beat...so I left them biting and headed home...figure I landed minimum of four dozen, lost a couple of nice fish (fishing with barbless hooks)...had three over 22 inches and a bunch of 19(+)...caught a 32 (it’s tail hung over the end of my Hawg Trough) blue catfish on a 4 inch swimbait...wild red letter day of catching today...this is one for the memory book...

IMG_0499.jpgIMG_0503.jpgIMG_0516.jpgIMG_0500.jpgIMG_0513.jpgIMG_0517.jpgIMG_0504.jpgIMG_0510.jpg

[lovett88]

Sounds like a great day out on the water. Wish I could have more days like that up on the severn river. Tight lines!

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[J.A. Veil]

Great trip, Ron. Those outstanding days keep us coming back.

[ronaultmtd]

Slower Lower Report...Saturday May 4th...WOW!

Thanks...it really was a great day...gotta say the electronics made a difference...I hit the waypoint when i caught that first fish and the track back feature kept me in the “zone” where they were hanging in pods of a few dozen fish...found four pods of fish with the Hook2-TS...

IMG_0508.jpg

[bignose]

It is much better to stink of fish, than it is to stink of skunk!

Great fishing days are hard to come by.

[Mark]

Ron,

I hope you haven't had your best day of the year on the water already but you may have.

You'll certainly have fun trying to top it.

Congratulations!

Mark

[ronaultmtd]

Slower Lower Report...Saturday May 4th...WOW!

Thanks, Mark..it was totally unexpected, especially after the scarcity of striped bass we have had this spring...the fish were in decent sized pods and they were aggressively feeding...finding the pods of fish could have been a real hit or miss proposition unless you have some decent sonar help...cannot give enough credit to the Hook2 Total scan unit...it clearly showed me where those pods of feeding fish were...and the experience knowing this area did not hurt, either...but the fish were not where I thought they would be...everytime I saw a ball of fish on the screen, the rods went down...everytime...hitting the waypoint button allowed me to track back exactly to the same spot...other boats were not as successful...two guys in a 16’ jonboat came over and asked me how I was catching the fish, what lures, how was I fishing them, etc. I gave them both a couple of soft plastic swim baits. They seemed pretty frustrated. Got some questions about my double swim bait rig- here is a picture.

IMG_0518.jpg

[CHOC]

Ron,

Nice!

I guess the Bay isn’t a deathpool after all!

I’ve been noticing a ton of bait and lots and lots of schools of fish so far this year. The Bay is a gift, one that we should cherish and manage carefully. But some of the doom and gloom has gotten a little over the top.

[ronaultmtd]

When you are in a school of feeding fish, your perspective of the “big picture” of the overall health of the fish is not proportional...I was careful in handling all the dozens of fish I caught yesterday, used barbless hooks...and very mindful of the precious gift I was receiving...there are lots of fish, millions...But in the big ocean millions of fish is just a drop in the bucket...we live and fish in the greatest natural habitat for Striped Bass in America- the greatest estuary for these fish..and these are a migratory species that travel through many states waters subject to a hodgepodge of conflicting regulations, bag limits, slots, etc.

We certainly will have a decent year again this year, the sizes of fish I hooked and landed yesterday tells me there are a lot of “legal” fish...I, for one, do not plan on harvesting a single Striper unless it is so injured I am sure it will not survive. Not telling anyone else what to do or even trying shaming anyone who chooses otherwise. I just feel that my personal choice is to do what I feel is right by the resource.

[CHOC]

When you are in a school of feeding fish, your perspective of the “big picture” of the overall health of the fish is not proportional...I was careful in handling all the dozens of fish I caught yesterday, used barbless hooks...and very mindful of the precious gift I was receiving...there are lots of fish, millions...But in the big ocean millions of fish is just a drop in the bucket...we live and fish in the greatest natural habitat for Striped Bass in America- the greatest estuary for these fish..and these are a migratory species that travel through many states waters subject to a hodgepodge of conflicting regulations, bag limits, slots, etc.

We certainly will have a decent year again this year, the sizes of fish I hooked and landed yesterday tells me there are a lot of “legal” fish...I, for one, do not plan on harvesting a single Striper unless it is so injured I am sure it will not survive. Not telling anyone else what to do or even trying shaming anyone who chooses otherwise. I just feel that my personal choice is to do what I feel is right by the resource.

Well said. I’ve kept my share of smaller keepers in the past, but this year I might follow your lead.

[YakMan1731]

So good to hear Ron. Congrats on your day for the books! I get an extra smile from the part about how you outfished the guys in the boat. Score one for the plastic navy! Congrats again!

[belairfishing]

There are days that you get lucky...there are days when things fall into place and all goes well...I wavered back and forth about going...no one could fish with me today...so I finally said screw it, threw the kayak in the cradle in my pickup and hit the road at 8:30 this morning...got to the launch at 10...launched at 10:15, left my cell phone on the seat of the truck, came back to the launch and picked it up...on the water at 10:30 headed out...seemed like a lot of things should be telling me not to go...but being a hard-head, I kept going...I rigged up a double swim bait rig for each rod using 40# Trilene XT and used a double surgeon’s knot to tie a loop I used to clip on the spinning outfit...the two tag ends had a big eye jighead with a swim bait body...chartreuse on one and Opening Night on the other...did not take long to get the skunk off, rod doubled over, 18” Striper on chartreuse soft plastic swimbait...the second rod was bouncing, drag was singing...a double header...two fish were on...as I reeled them in the other rod went down and drag was running...non stop action for the next three hours...phew! My arms are aching, I am tired...got to the point I only fished one rod...I threw the towel in...fish were biting but I am beat...so I left them biting and headed home...figure I landed minimum of four dozen, lost a couple of nice fish (fishing with barbless hooks)...had three over 22 inches and a bunch of 19(+)...caught a 32 (it’s tail hung over the end of my Hawg Trough) blue catfish on a 4 inch swimbait...wild red letter day of catching today...this is one for the memory book...

[ATTACH]24967[/ATTACH][ATTACH]24968[/ATTACH][ATTACH]24969[/ATTACH][ATTACH]24970[/ATTACH][ATTACH]24971[/ATTACH][ATTACH]24972[/ATTACH][ATTACH]24973[/ATTACH][ATTACH]24974[/ATTACH]

Been getting caught up on the board - was away for 4 days - great report and good news. Ron, where do you launch out of down there? I have a buddy that lives near Lexington Park. It's a long drive for me, but I would consider it with a place to crash.