Great Day on the Bay (Tournament Captain's Bag Day)

[TalonAngler]

Managed to get the day off and went out and fished the outgoing tide from Long Beach and the Nuclear Power Plant in Calvert County. The bite was on the whole day and my dad and I were happy to catch six different species of fish in one afternoon. I managed to catch my first keeper puppy drum, measuring in at 19 inches! He made a few runs, making for a helluva fight. Some new fish for us on the kayaks today too. I caught a tiny black sea bass while my dad caught one of the bigger oyster toads that I've seen. Little Rockfish were plentiful along with large perch and the random little flounder. All of my fish were caught on my newly spooled line we received in our tournament captain's bags, and the Hawg Shads from Fishbelly. Let those guys know that I am officially addicted to those Hawgs, what a great lure! I put them on some beetle spin jig heads and crushed fish all day long. Can't wait until my next day off to head out there again!

[ictalurus]

Awesome report. I am sooo jealous of your drum. Congrats. That's a nice bonus on top of a day on the water with your father. Is the Long Beach launch private? I've been eyeing on Google Earth.

[TalonAngler]

Unfortunately the launch at Long Beach is private, luckily we knew someone right on the water. Flag Ponds Nature Park is a good bet if you don't mind hauling your yak for a half a mile.

[ictalurus]

Unfortunately the launch at Long Beach is private, luckily we knew someone right on the water. Flag Ponds Nature Park is a good bet if you don't mind hauling your yak for a half a mile.

Thanks for the info. I thought about Flag Pond, but its hours aren't very convenient, sadly.

[CB kayak 02]

The hawg shads really are killer! definitely check out there site and post your pics on their facebook page, saying you got their lures from our tourney!! www.fishbelly.com What color were you using? the minnow color is so realistic!

Nice fish Jonas, I want a red fish on the yak sooooooo bad!!!!

[TalonAngler]

The red color and that bright pink color were drawing bites all day long, I definitely have to send them my compliments!

[chex]

Very nice! All I keep hearing is "they're getting bigger..." (the reds) Looks like they are indeed.

[Shady]

Nice Report! I liked the looks of the those Hawg Shads and brought them with me while fishing the tournament, but they never made it in the water. I'll have to definately break them out next time!

[MetroMan]

+1 on the hawgshads. They work GREAT for yellow perch in the winter. They look & move just like real minnows. Excellent bait

[surfdog]

very nice! going to have to try the hawgshad on a redfish magic at janes island on saturday

[TalonAngler]

I definitely find that luck is the biggest factor on some bigger reds, but I really think the key is an extremely slow retrieve when you're fishing a spot you think they might be hiding. The Hawgs might be key too, that day I actually caught 6 or 7 nice puppies along with that one keeper size.

[DOGFISH]

Nice going. I am off work all next week. I am going to have to hit the South River hard next week. I'll have to take the hawgshads with me. If I could catch sizeable Redfish in this area, I think I could forget about the stripers. Thanks for that report.

[J.A. Veil]

I used the Hawgshads on breaking 12" to 15" stripers several times this week. The fish are currently feeding on slender 1" to 2" silversides. The Hawgshad size and profile is quite close to the natural prey, plus the soft plastic wiggles nicely as it comes through the water. The only downside is that the plastic is very soft. After a few casts into breaking fish, the plastic gets chewed up and pushed down the shank of the hook (and I am talking about stripers, not blues). Perhaps a drop of superglue would hold them in place. They are very effective.