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John Rentch and I had an enjoyable morning fishing out of Goodhands Creek. I launched at 8:25. The parking lot was nearly empty at that hour.
The seas were flat calm initially but developed a chop later from all the boat wakes. The water level was high but dropped during the morning. With high tide about 6:30, the tidal current was moving nicely while we were out there. I worked my usual route around shorelines and points in Prospect Bay and the Kent Narrows breakwater. John R. worked different areas.
I trolled 4 lines – two had 4.5” crankbaits (Rapala X-Rap 10 and Yozuri) – both with the original trebles replaced with inline J hooks. The other two lines had 3/16-oz jigheads and 3” paddletails. The crankbaits were much more productive today, accounting for 75% of the bites.
2003-08-01 04-35-53.jpg
Over three hours of trolling, I caught 14 stripers, including fish of 19”, 20”, and 20.5” (the largest is shown below).
2003-08-01 00-00-02.jpg
I had at least another 10 fish on the line that shook a bit and came loose. John had the largest fish of the day – he can add his story separately.
The areas I targeted today are mostly shallow water (2’ to 6’). They usually fish better with higher water levels, like today. The crankbaits I used today dive several feet and dart around. When the water is shallow or the SAVs are thick, this size of crankbaits is not very productive. The moving outgoing current helped too. The two most productive locations were both points that jutted out into current. There were visible rip lines moving down-current from the points. I caught multiple fish in these rips and on the flanks of the rips.
After struggling in my home waters (Severn River) to find stripers, today was a welcome change. With low winds projected for the next several days, I am likely to try again soon from Goodhands. I am hoping to find some larger fish soon.
The seas were flat calm initially but developed a chop later from all the boat wakes. The water level was high but dropped during the morning. With high tide about 6:30, the tidal current was moving nicely while we were out there. I worked my usual route around shorelines and points in Prospect Bay and the Kent Narrows breakwater. John R. worked different areas.
I trolled 4 lines – two had 4.5” crankbaits (Rapala X-Rap 10 and Yozuri) – both with the original trebles replaced with inline J hooks. The other two lines had 3/16-oz jigheads and 3” paddletails. The crankbaits were much more productive today, accounting for 75% of the bites.
2003-08-01 04-35-53.jpg
Over three hours of trolling, I caught 14 stripers, including fish of 19”, 20”, and 20.5” (the largest is shown below).
2003-08-01 00-00-02.jpg
I had at least another 10 fish on the line that shook a bit and came loose. John had the largest fish of the day – he can add his story separately.
The areas I targeted today are mostly shallow water (2’ to 6’). They usually fish better with higher water levels, like today. The crankbaits I used today dive several feet and dart around. When the water is shallow or the SAVs are thick, this size of crankbaits is not very productive. The moving outgoing current helped too. The two most productive locations were both points that jutted out into current. There were visible rip lines moving down-current from the points. I caught multiple fish in these rips and on the flanks of the rips.
After struggling in my home waters (Severn River) to find stripers, today was a welcome change. With low winds projected for the next several days, I am likely to try again soon from Goodhands. I am hoping to find some larger fish soon.
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