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With the April striper fishing closure now in effect, I wanted to take some time to reflect and write a recap of my 2023 season thus far.
In late March of 2022 I decided to try some early season fishing just to see if any stripers would be around. I went on a couple trips and was pleasantly surprised with the size and quantity of fish I caught... 6-12 fish per trip in the mid-to-upper 20" range. However, I couldn't help feeling like I had probably missed out on even better fishing in the weeks prior. So I set myself an ambitious goal for 2023: I wanted to catch a trophy sized rockfish, one that is 40" or larger and qualifies for a MD DNR citation. In April of 2022 I bought myself a dry suit and since then I have spent countless hours reading books, watching videos, doing online research, studying maps, and (most importantly) putting in tons of time on the water - all in preparation for this 2023 pre-season.
I'm pleased to report that I achieved my goal. I'll start with a recap of some numbers. In February and March of 2023:
qfgtlpw5c8ha11_02.jpg
Not long after that I had a trip that was absolutely unreal. I successfully landed 5 stripers over 40” in the span of 90 minutes, and during that time I hooked and lost 4 more that were in the 40" class. The fish on this trip ranged from 41-45". Here's a photo of the largest one:
20230211_164406.jpg
Another notable fish came a few trips later - a thick 46" rockfish that nearly spooled me. When this fish hit my lure it took a lot of drag so I wanted to reel in my other line to avoid tangles. As I was in the process of bringing in my second line, I glanced at the rod with the screaming drag and saw my bare spool through a couple layers of braid. I had to act fast and spin the kayak around, grab the rod, and start reeling in as fast as I could while chasing the fish down to regain some line. This was one of the most memorable catches of the season.
20230214_173226.jpg
What goes up must come down, and my success started to wane. A few trips went by where the largest fish was in the low-20’s, then just 1 or 2 fish in the low-teens, then eventually I stopped catching fish altogether. I had a stretch of 3 consecutive skunk trips plus one more skunk trip - a non-striper trip - that extended my fishless streak to 4 consecutive trips.
By now it had been nearly a month since I touched a fish so I was very relieved to finally hook up again. I kid you not it startled me when my rod went down because it had been so long since I caught a fish. This was a nice striper in the upper-20’s but it shook the barbless treble hook at the side of the kayak so I got no measurement or picture, and I still hadn’t touched a fish in a month. Shortly after I got a strong hit and brought a beautiful 44” rockfish into the boat. The relief and excitement was almost as strong as the very first one I caught.
The April closure was rapidly approaching and I considered ending my season on a high note after that trip. I could not resist though, and returned to the same area just 3 days later. It was the right decision as I landed this 45” striper:
20230329_171523 - Copy.jpg
Moments later I hooked up with another fish in the 40” class that came unbuttoned after 5 minutes of fighting it. I never got a look at it. That was disappointing but catching a trophy immediately prior took the sting off. At the end of the trip I doubled up with fish and one was a striper in the mid-40’s. As I went to put lip grippers on the fish to land it the treble hook got jammed in the hinge of my grippers and the fish seized the opportunity to thrash, rip the plug out of its mouth, and swim away. This was gut wrenching to say the least; a nightmare scenario that ran through my head every time I went to lip one of these big fish had finally happened. Nonetheless, I was happy to have gotten the fish boatside and gotten a good look at it.
That was my most recent trip and it put a bittersweet end to my 2023 preseason striper fishing. This was an absolutely incredible season for me, my level of success far exceeded anything I could have imagined. It is such a rewarding feeling to see my hard work and determination pay off in such a big way; the feeling of these giant fish in my lap will never get old and I am so grateful for the experience. In retrospect, I realize I spent too much time in unproductive areas once the bite died, even though the areas were productive days or weeks prior. Next season I will not hesitate to try new areas when the bite dies - I am already planning my trips for 2024 using what I’ve learned this year. For now though, I’m looking forward to a relaxing April targeting some freshwater species and then a (hopefully) red-hot schoolie bite in May.
In late March of 2022 I decided to try some early season fishing just to see if any stripers would be around. I went on a couple trips and was pleasantly surprised with the size and quantity of fish I caught... 6-12 fish per trip in the mid-to-upper 20" range. However, I couldn't help feeling like I had probably missed out on even better fishing in the weeks prior. So I set myself an ambitious goal for 2023: I wanted to catch a trophy sized rockfish, one that is 40" or larger and qualifies for a MD DNR citation. In April of 2022 I bought myself a dry suit and since then I have spent countless hours reading books, watching videos, doing online research, studying maps, and (most importantly) putting in tons of time on the water - all in preparation for this 2023 pre-season.
I'm pleased to report that I achieved my goal. I'll start with a recap of some numbers. In February and March of 2023:
- I went on 18 trolling trips targeting stripers
- I covered 197 miles, averaging 11 miles per trip
- I caught stripers on 13 out of 18 trips
- I caught 71 stripers
- I successfully caught 10 stripers over 40"
qfgtlpw5c8ha11_02.jpg
Not long after that I had a trip that was absolutely unreal. I successfully landed 5 stripers over 40” in the span of 90 minutes, and during that time I hooked and lost 4 more that were in the 40" class. The fish on this trip ranged from 41-45". Here's a photo of the largest one:
20230211_164406.jpg
Another notable fish came a few trips later - a thick 46" rockfish that nearly spooled me. When this fish hit my lure it took a lot of drag so I wanted to reel in my other line to avoid tangles. As I was in the process of bringing in my second line, I glanced at the rod with the screaming drag and saw my bare spool through a couple layers of braid. I had to act fast and spin the kayak around, grab the rod, and start reeling in as fast as I could while chasing the fish down to regain some line. This was one of the most memorable catches of the season.
20230214_173226.jpg
What goes up must come down, and my success started to wane. A few trips went by where the largest fish was in the low-20’s, then just 1 or 2 fish in the low-teens, then eventually I stopped catching fish altogether. I had a stretch of 3 consecutive skunk trips plus one more skunk trip - a non-striper trip - that extended my fishless streak to 4 consecutive trips.
By now it had been nearly a month since I touched a fish so I was very relieved to finally hook up again. I kid you not it startled me when my rod went down because it had been so long since I caught a fish. This was a nice striper in the upper-20’s but it shook the barbless treble hook at the side of the kayak so I got no measurement or picture, and I still hadn’t touched a fish in a month. Shortly after I got a strong hit and brought a beautiful 44” rockfish into the boat. The relief and excitement was almost as strong as the very first one I caught.
The April closure was rapidly approaching and I considered ending my season on a high note after that trip. I could not resist though, and returned to the same area just 3 days later. It was the right decision as I landed this 45” striper:
20230329_171523 - Copy.jpg
Moments later I hooked up with another fish in the 40” class that came unbuttoned after 5 minutes of fighting it. I never got a look at it. That was disappointing but catching a trophy immediately prior took the sting off. At the end of the trip I doubled up with fish and one was a striper in the mid-40’s. As I went to put lip grippers on the fish to land it the treble hook got jammed in the hinge of my grippers and the fish seized the opportunity to thrash, rip the plug out of its mouth, and swim away. This was gut wrenching to say the least; a nightmare scenario that ran through my head every time I went to lip one of these big fish had finally happened. Nonetheless, I was happy to have gotten the fish boatside and gotten a good look at it.
That was my most recent trip and it put a bittersweet end to my 2023 preseason striper fishing. This was an absolutely incredible season for me, my level of success far exceeded anything I could have imagined. It is such a rewarding feeling to see my hard work and determination pay off in such a big way; the feeling of these giant fish in my lap will never get old and I am so grateful for the experience. In retrospect, I realize I spent too much time in unproductive areas once the bite died, even though the areas were productive days or weeks prior. Next season I will not hesitate to try new areas when the bite dies - I am already planning my trips for 2024 using what I’ve learned this year. For now though, I’m looking forward to a relaxing April targeting some freshwater species and then a (hopefully) red-hot schoolie bite in May.
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