Fall Summary

[rugbyfish]

I had the opportunity to take the last two weeks off, as I started a new job recently. Naturally, I spent most of the time fishing, and I wanted to highlight a few of the better trips here.*I meant to post this a couple weeks ago, but things have been busy.

The first was a trip to Eastern Bay, where I launched to dead low tide. It was a very pleasant evening with no wind and overcast skies. I immediately hooked into a 21” striper trolling, so I figured I’d stop and see if they were interested in top water. Over the course of the next two hours, I caught around 18 fish, all of which were over 17”, with a couple 23” fish being the largest. I caught most on top, but I also caught a few jogging and trolling. It was probably my best trip of the year, and I had the spot to myself.
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I also took a couple trips to St. Mary's County to fish with Big Mike and Gary. Fishing was steady, and I was able to land a few keeper sized stripers on trolled paddletails and topwater. Chartreuse out-caught just about every other color. I also picked up one small trout on Gulp. While I had success with flounder earlier in the year, they weren't around for either late October trip.
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The last trip I want to highlight is a trip to Crisfield. Schoolie stripers were everywhere in good numbers, and I caught them on just about anything. Most came on trolled or casted paddletails, but I did pick up quite a few with a popping cork rig with gulp. There were also some small trout around, but not as many as I expected. Fish were mostly shallow, and many were way up in the marshes. I ended the trip with one keeper sized striper and one fat 19" trout.
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Since the water has dipped below 60 degrees and I don't own a drysuit, I've put the kayak away for the season. 2019 was much better than 2018 for me, but striper fishing still wasn't what it was even a few years ago. That's why I decided to release all of mine this year. I love the taste of striper,but between catfish, perch, and trout, I had plenty for the table. So now I switch to pickerel fishing from shore until the shad run starts in the spring. Already counting down the days...

[Mark]

Joe,

Excellent report.

Good to hear that you caught stripers with a popping cork. That's a popular technique for reds and specks in the south. I've wondered if it would work for stripers. You proved it will.

[Yak67]

It was great hanging out with you Joe. That's a really good report, you were a fishing machine for those couple of weeks. We did find some and loose some, but any day fishing is a good thing. I hope we can get out together more next year.

Gary
Yak67
2017 Hobie PA-12 Camo
2019 Hobie Outback

[rugbyfish]

It was great hanging out with you Joe. That's a really good report, you were a fishing machine for those couple of weeks. We did find some and loose some, but any day fishing is a good thing. I hope we can get out together more next year.

It was great fishing with you as well. I plan on making more trips to the Crisfield area next year. It’s a beautiful spot, and there are a ton of areas to explore with a kayak. Hopefully the trout survive the winter.

[J.A. Veil]

I'm glad to hear that you found stripers to catch in all the places you went. It seems that we need to recalibrate our standards for a "good" outing in terms of the size of the fish. On most trips, they aren't as long as they were just a few years ago. Lets hope that the ASMFC reductions will lead to a rebound in our fisheries. And as you said, there are still other species out there to target.

[rugbyfish]

I’m with you John. Stripers are one of my absolute favorite fish to catch, and I hope the reductions can improve the fishery. One species I didn’t manage to get out and fish for was snakeheads, so that will be something I try this spring.

[Slobber Bob]

Nice, man. I sometimes dream of times long gone when I used to be able to binge fish.

[rugbyfish]

I was fortunate to be able to take two weeks off between jobs, especially in October. Opportunities like that don’t come around often, so I figured I’d take full advantage.