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It's been ages since I last got out. I headed to Piney Point after work and was on the water by a bit before 6pm, which was low tide and somewhere around max ebb. I was going to try for some stripers and perch under the bridge, head to my croaker spots, then try for some topwater action even though the tide wasn't right.
The water in the creek was cloudy, maybe from phytoplankton, and around 65*. Under the bridge and out in the the Potomac, it was clearer and cooler--62*. I started jigging under the bridge with a Needlefish jig. On my third drift, I saw a bunch of fish on the fish finder and hooked up right away with a small striper. Then the action was non-stop. I usually move on when I find sublegal fish, but these fish were inhaling the lure rather than slamming it, so it was a good opportunity to get tuned in with the rods I had with me. I finally got so I could feel the slight "tic" every time. I ended up with around 13 or 14 fish, with the biggest at 17.9999999", but they all fought like fish that were 50% longer, which was cool. I guess the stripers I catch in the summer really are more stressed because they generally don't seem to fight as hard as in the spring or fall. I switched to a 6" BKD so I could get tuned into that and maybe get some bigger fish. I caught 3 more in short order, all of which were smaller than the ones I was catching with the Needfish jig.
No luck with a Rattletrap, Crystal Minnow, or X-Rap. I also tried again for perch with a twin tail grub on a spinner arm and a yellow perch type drop-shot rig with a Berkley Power grub and Power minnow. The drop-shot rig caught another small striper but no perch. Then I went out in search of croakers.
I hit my first croaker spot in 20ft of water just before 7pm. I had seen scattered marks here and there, so I threw out a bottom rig with cooked shrimp. A minute later, I caught this guy:
Too small to keep, but proof that they were there. I started working my way into shallow water and picked up a several more small ones here and there but couldn't find anything bigger. I saw the most marks in about 15-17ft.
At 7:30, I sprinted to my topwater spot and threw a Stillwater Smack-it, X-Rap, and Redfish Magic. I had a couple bumps on the Redfish Magic that were probably perch or small stripers, but they wouldn't hit the smaller twin tail grub. At least I got a decent shot of the sunset and the bridge:
Hopefully, the action will be better at that spot this year when the tide is right.
I called it quits just before 8:30. I didn't get a chance to hit my monster croaker spot or my more distant topwater spot, so I'll probably head straight there next time. Just after dark as I was strapping down my yak, I heard one of the ladies fishing from shore on the creek side talking trash to her hubby/beau/fishing partner.
It looked like she caught either a monster perch or a solid croaker (too far away to tell). In the short time it took me to secure the straps and get into my car, she caught two more. It seems that I left too early, and I should've stayed in the creek. Hopefully, the weather will be decent next week when the tide is more suitable.
The water in the creek was cloudy, maybe from phytoplankton, and around 65*. Under the bridge and out in the the Potomac, it was clearer and cooler--62*. I started jigging under the bridge with a Needlefish jig. On my third drift, I saw a bunch of fish on the fish finder and hooked up right away with a small striper. Then the action was non-stop. I usually move on when I find sublegal fish, but these fish were inhaling the lure rather than slamming it, so it was a good opportunity to get tuned in with the rods I had with me. I finally got so I could feel the slight "tic" every time. I ended up with around 13 or 14 fish, with the biggest at 17.9999999", but they all fought like fish that were 50% longer, which was cool. I guess the stripers I catch in the summer really are more stressed because they generally don't seem to fight as hard as in the spring or fall. I switched to a 6" BKD so I could get tuned into that and maybe get some bigger fish. I caught 3 more in short order, all of which were smaller than the ones I was catching with the Needfish jig.
No luck with a Rattletrap, Crystal Minnow, or X-Rap. I also tried again for perch with a twin tail grub on a spinner arm and a yellow perch type drop-shot rig with a Berkley Power grub and Power minnow. The drop-shot rig caught another small striper but no perch. Then I went out in search of croakers.I hit my first croaker spot in 20ft of water just before 7pm. I had seen scattered marks here and there, so I threw out a bottom rig with cooked shrimp. A minute later, I caught this guy:
Too small to keep, but proof that they were there. I started working my way into shallow water and picked up a several more small ones here and there but couldn't find anything bigger. I saw the most marks in about 15-17ft.
At 7:30, I sprinted to my topwater spot and threw a Stillwater Smack-it, X-Rap, and Redfish Magic. I had a couple bumps on the Redfish Magic that were probably perch or small stripers, but they wouldn't hit the smaller twin tail grub. At least I got a decent shot of the sunset and the bridge:
Hopefully, the action will be better at that spot this year when the tide is right.
I called it quits just before 8:30. I didn't get a chance to hit my monster croaker spot or my more distant topwater spot, so I'll probably head straight there next time. Just after dark as I was strapping down my yak, I heard one of the ladies fishing from shore on the creek side talking trash to her hubby/beau/fishing partner.
It looked like she caught either a monster perch or a solid croaker (too far away to tell). In the short time it took me to secure the straps and get into my car, she caught two more. It seems that I left too early, and I should've stayed in the creek. Hopefully, the weather will be decent next week when the tide is more suitable.
did get 2 fun stripers last weekend they would have came home with me if it was june
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