First striped bass of 2022

[dsaavedra]

The weather was just too nice to sit behind a desk today, and I needed a break from work anyway. I have been reading some of Yak Fish's books and wanted to try some of the early spring techniques he writes about. So I loaded up my gear and headed to a shallow point/shoal in the main stem of the Bay. I didn't find any 40 inchers, but I did manage to put 6 rockfish in the boat which I was really happy about - I have never fished for them this early in the year and fully expected a skunk. The fish were nice too, three of them were over 20 inches with the largest at 23", and the other three were around 16-17". All of them were super fat, clearly ready to go spawn.

I hooked and lost a couple other fish, one of them felt about as big or bigger than the 23" but I never got eyes on it. All in all it was a good day - the weather was amazing, the water was like glass for most of the day, and it felt good to put some more miles on the Outback (about 15 miles actually... I'll sleep good tonight). I think I'll try this once or twice more before the season closes in April, then I'll shift my focus to snakehead and bass.

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[dsitka]

Nice! Water conditions were picture perfect! Hope this is a sign of a good year.

[Yak Fish]

Awesome! Glad you got ‘em! Those patterns things work pretty well don’t they?!

[Mark]

Dave,

You've gone to the expert for guidance.

Congratulations on your catches.

Those are beautiful healthy-looking fish.

[dsaavedra]

Awesome! Glad you got ‘em! Those patterns things work pretty well don’t they?!

They sure do, and I love it when a plan comes together - especially when trying something new for the first time. I'm really enjoying your books so far, tons of great info. I find myself needing to parse all of the information and figure out how I can apply it to my style of fishing. Our fishing "comfort zones", as John Veil writes about in his books, don't fully overlap. You won't find me on the water in February when air temps are in the low 30's, and definitely not at night!! But you are clearly rewarded for your efforts when you do.

[UnkleRob2020]

Dave!!!! That is exciting. Congratulations. You have given me hope, which is a renewable resource.

[SpaceCadet]

Very nice - congrats! I'm eyeballing Tuesday as a good calm day to get on the water. I was leaning towards the road trip down to St Mary's lake for bass, but now I'm inspired to hit the Bay. I've never fished it in March, but for a shot at one of the big girls that are floating around right now, I think I might just roll the dice! Then likewise I'll turn towards the spring topwater bite for bass and snakehead thru April

[dsaavedra]

Very nice - congrats! I'm eyeballing Tuesday as a good calm day to get on the water. I was leaning towards the road trip down to St Mary's lake for bass, but now I'm inspired to hit the Bay. I've never fished it in March, but for a shot at one of the big girls that are floating around right now, I think I might just roll the dice! Then likewise I'll turn towards the spring topwater bite for bass and snakehead thru April

Good luck! I might give it another go tomorrow afternoon. Conditions on Tuesday look even better but I have other obligations.

[dsaavedra]

I went back to the same place and followed the same patterns as last time and whacked them. I caught a dozen rockfish with the largest being 25.5", 23.5", 23", and 22". One was so strong and fat that when I had her on the measuring board to take a quick picture she flopped and snapped the board right in half! Time to buy a Ketch board...


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