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Southern Maryland Speckulating, 9/30
I hit the water today with Kevin at around 3pm, which was right around high slack at our top secret location. I picked up a small striper, blue, flounder, and redfish close to the launch, but that wasn't what we were after. Today's goal was to do some proSPECKting in some new areas.
We started trolling toward our goal. I was pulling a 4" blue and white X-Rap and Joe's (Comeonfish) favorite salt and pepper chartreuse tailed paddle tail Assassin. Kevin was troling a 3.5" hot steel X-Rap and another lure. We worked our way to 5-7 feet of water. Not long after reaching that depth, Kevin hooked up first:
I think it hit his X-Rap.
He kept trolling on while I casted around with a 4" chartreuse Gulp grub. No takers. Kevin lost/missed two fish while trolling, so I switched out my bigger X-Rap for a 3.5" brook trout colored one that Kevin had given me earlier this year. As soon as I switched, I landed a 17" striper on it, followed by a mid-sized blue:
As I was dealing with the blue, I heard Kevin's anguished voice off in the distance. A nice fish had gotten off right at the boat.
We kept trolling the area, and I finally picked up the target species:
Victory!!! I caught the 18-incher on the brook trout X-Rap. After a couple more passes in the area, I picked up a few more small stripers. I finally had a good knockdown and started fighting something but couldn't tell what it was. It turned out to be my best fish of the evening thus far:
Victory number 3! At 19", it was the second largest speck I've ever caught, and the biggest I've caught in Maryland. It was foul-hooked under the chin but just barely. I was hoping I wouldn't lose it at the boat, so I grabbed the leader and flipped it in, managing to snag my sleeve and pant leg on the same hook. 
Fortunately, I was able to control the fish and free myself with one hand and my other leg. Here are a few close-ups of the fish.
By this time, the wind had picked up considerably. The forecast was for calm, variable winds. Go figure. We sought shelter behind a point. It was now the magic hour, and we debated about what to do. We decided to fish where we were, which was near a point in water that was between 2-5 feet deep. Kevin tied on a popper, cast out, and had a nice fish explode on it. I watched the fish spin his kayak around as I got into position to take a photo. It was really nice fish:
I tied on a big Zara Spook and cast a little ways away from where Kevin caught his fish. As I walked it back to the boat, I saw something huge chasing after it on the surface.
I slowed the retrieve down slightly and saw a giant mouth open. BAM!!! The drag started screaming. I was really sweating it because I had removed the center treble and cut off two tines on each of the two remaining trebles. I thought for sure I was going to lose it. I missed the leader twice at the boat before getting a firm grip on it and hucking into the yak. As soon as the fish hit the deck, the hook came out, but I got both legs over it. Victory number 3! It was a beast:
24.5 inches!!! It was my biggest speck ever, and the second largest fish I've caught this year. It was also the largest fish I've caught on topwater this year. The rest of the evening was totally uneventful.
The trick tonight seemed to be trolling from about 7ft of water toward the underwater extension of a point, which shoaled to 2ft. Except for the topwater specks and Kevin's first speck, most of our fish tonight were caught on one side or the other of the shallow ridge. We were trolling slow (painfully slow with the turbo fins). I would guess most fish were hooked while going under 2mph. The topwater specks were in shallow water near a point with water that was 10-14ft deep relatively nearby. The current seemed to be moving well at both places, but it was kind of hard to tell given the wind. I also seem to have a lot of luck catching nice sciaenids (drum family) around full moons. I'm not sure why that is.
It was my best night of saltwater fishing this year. I have to thank Kevin for the brook trout X-Rap and for suggesting the route to our final destination. If we had go the way I had been planning, I don't think we would've caught nearly as many fish. Woohoo!
We started trolling toward our goal. I was pulling a 4" blue and white X-Rap and Joe's (Comeonfish) favorite salt and pepper chartreuse tailed paddle tail Assassin. Kevin was troling a 3.5" hot steel X-Rap and another lure. We worked our way to 5-7 feet of water. Not long after reaching that depth, Kevin hooked up first:
I think it hit his X-Rap.
He kept trolling on while I casted around with a 4" chartreuse Gulp grub. No takers. Kevin lost/missed two fish while trolling, so I switched out my bigger X-Rap for a 3.5" brook trout colored one that Kevin had given me earlier this year. As soon as I switched, I landed a 17" striper on it, followed by a mid-sized blue:
As I was dealing with the blue, I heard Kevin's anguished voice off in the distance. A nice fish had gotten off right at the boat.
We kept trolling the area, and I finally picked up the target species:Victory!!! I caught the 18-incher on the brook trout X-Rap. After a couple more passes in the area, I picked up a few more small stripers. I finally had a good knockdown and started fighting something but couldn't tell what it was. It turned out to be my best fish of the evening thus far:
Victory number 3!
At 19", it was the second largest speck I've ever caught, and the biggest I've caught in Maryland. It was foul-hooked under the chin but just barely. I was hoping I wouldn't lose it at the boat, so I grabbed the leader and flipped it in, managing to snag my sleeve and pant leg on the same hook. Fortunately, I was able to control the fish and free myself with one hand and my other leg. Here are a few close-ups of the fish.By this time, the wind had picked up considerably.
The forecast was for calm, variable winds. Go figure. We sought shelter behind a point. It was now the magic hour, and we debated about what to do. We decided to fish where we were, which was near a point in water that was between 2-5 feet deep. Kevin tied on a popper, cast out, and had a nice fish explode on it. I watched the fish spin his kayak around as I got into position to take a photo. It was really nice fish:I tied on a big Zara Spook and cast a little ways away from where Kevin caught his fish. As I walked it back to the boat, I saw something huge chasing after it on the surface.
I slowed the retrieve down slightly and saw a giant mouth open. BAM!!! The drag started screaming. I was really sweating it because I had removed the center treble and cut off two tines on each of the two remaining trebles. I thought for sure I was going to lose it. I missed the leader twice at the boat before getting a firm grip on it and hucking into the yak. As soon as the fish hit the deck, the hook came out, but I got both legs over it. Victory number 3! It was a beast:24.5 inches!!!
It was my biggest speck ever, and the second largest fish I've caught this year. It was also the largest fish I've caught on topwater this year. The rest of the evening was totally uneventful. The trick tonight seemed to be trolling from about 7ft of water toward the underwater extension of a point, which shoaled to 2ft. Except for the topwater specks and Kevin's first speck, most of our fish tonight were caught on one side or the other of the shallow ridge. We were trolling slow (painfully slow with the turbo fins). I would guess most fish were hooked while going under 2mph. The topwater specks were in shallow water near a point with water that was 10-14ft deep relatively nearby. The current seemed to be moving well at both places, but it was kind of hard to tell given the wind. I also seem to have a lot of luck catching nice sciaenids (drum family) around full moons. I'm not sure why that is.
It was my best night of saltwater fishing this year. I have to thank Kevin for the brook trout X-Rap and for suggesting the route to our final destination. If we had go the way I had been planning, I don't think we would've caught nearly as many fish. Woohoo!
I wish google earth had "water view" just like "street view" so I could try and find where you guys were. 
I'm thinking Janes / Crisfield might be calling my name this weekend though.
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