Tweet
My friend TommyTek invite me on a walk on trip on Walleye Pete's Striper Fishing Charters to the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel (CBBT). It was going to be a cold morning with temperatures running around 27 degrees. Sunny skies with a high temperature of 48 degrees were expected. The winds were 10 to 14 mph during the morning and would subside in the afternoon.
I met Tommy at his house at 1:50am for a 2am departure. His alarm did not go off so we did not leave his house until 2:20am. Tommy droves us down to Walleye Pete's Boat. We got down to his marina at 6:10am in Virginia Beach. Pete was preparing his boat for a 6:30pm departure. We were the first passengers to arrive. Then the third walk on passenger arrived. I was shocked to see that I knew this angler. It turned out to be our very own Muhammad a.k.a. Toyomo of Snaggedline. It was good to see another familiar face. The fourth passenger, named Dave, finally showed up around 6:40am, an we were on our way. The water was rough on our way to the first island. Once we got to the island, it offered protection and the water was calm. We began jigging mostly chartreuse BKD's on lead jig head weighing anywhere from 1 ounce to 1.5 ounces. I preferred the 1.5 ounce since it allowed me to maintain contact with the bottom, which turned out to be very important for us catching fish. Toyomo drew first blood. He landed a nice 20.5 inch fat striper, and that was it, all the way up to 1pm. The fish were not in there usual spots and the fish that were there had locked jaws. Many boaters were having a hard time locating fish and getting them to bite. There were plenty of birds all over the area. It was a site to see. I will give it to Pete, he tried everything he could to locate fish. We drove to different spots and checked out each island, all the way to the fourth island without any bites. After taking a break and eating a few lucky chicken wings, the snacks of a fisherman, Walleye Pete began to fish the pilings. I immediately hooked up with a nice rockfish, unfortunately, it got off next to the boat. Minutes later, I was able to hook up with another nice fish that had to be netted. It pulled dragged so I knew it was a good size. It measured 30.5 inches. Tommy would later land a 26 inch fish. By this time, everyone was catching fish and the skunk was knocked off of the boat for everyone. Tommy and I caught the two largest fish of the day. Toyomo and Dave continued to catch many more fish. I think Walleye Pete said that we caught over 23 fish. Out of the ones that we landed, 8 were keepers and the others were 16 inch dinks. All these fish had sea lice on them. It was funny to look at the sea lice since they would stand up like little shrimp staring at you with their beady eyes.
During our time searching for fish, we ran into another charter boat and guess who was onboard? I heard someone call my name and it turned out to be Redfish12 and John Foley, two more snaggedliners. What are the odds of that! The I turned and saw a jeep with a yellow Hobie Outback on top crossing the CBBT bridge and I thought to myself that I knew that vehicle. I gave Rockchaser a call, and sure enough it was him ...LOL. He was heading to Kipto. Finally, I waved at a kayaker who waved back, and as he got closer, it turned out to be Jack a.k.a. Pinch on Snaggedline. It is a small world when it comes to kayak fishing.
Back at the dock, Walleye Pete cleaned all of our fish. Dave decided that he did not want any fish, so we slit the fish fillets between Tommy, Muhammed and myself. There were many fat sea gulls eating up all of the scrap skins that were tossed to them. It was amazing seeing them inhale large pieces of striper skin in one scoop. We made it back to Tommy's place at 9:45pm. It was a long day since I did not get any sleep, but the trip was well worth it and I got my December Fish.
I met Tommy at his house at 1:50am for a 2am departure. His alarm did not go off so we did not leave his house until 2:20am. Tommy droves us down to Walleye Pete's Boat. We got down to his marina at 6:10am in Virginia Beach. Pete was preparing his boat for a 6:30pm departure. We were the first passengers to arrive. Then the third walk on passenger arrived. I was shocked to see that I knew this angler. It turned out to be our very own Muhammad a.k.a. Toyomo of Snaggedline. It was good to see another familiar face. The fourth passenger, named Dave, finally showed up around 6:40am, an we were on our way. The water was rough on our way to the first island. Once we got to the island, it offered protection and the water was calm. We began jigging mostly chartreuse BKD's on lead jig head weighing anywhere from 1 ounce to 1.5 ounces. I preferred the 1.5 ounce since it allowed me to maintain contact with the bottom, which turned out to be very important for us catching fish. Toyomo drew first blood. He landed a nice 20.5 inch fat striper, and that was it, all the way up to 1pm. The fish were not in there usual spots and the fish that were there had locked jaws. Many boaters were having a hard time locating fish and getting them to bite. There were plenty of birds all over the area. It was a site to see. I will give it to Pete, he tried everything he could to locate fish. We drove to different spots and checked out each island, all the way to the fourth island without any bites. After taking a break and eating a few lucky chicken wings, the snacks of a fisherman, Walleye Pete began to fish the pilings. I immediately hooked up with a nice rockfish, unfortunately, it got off next to the boat. Minutes later, I was able to hook up with another nice fish that had to be netted. It pulled dragged so I knew it was a good size. It measured 30.5 inches. Tommy would later land a 26 inch fish. By this time, everyone was catching fish and the skunk was knocked off of the boat for everyone. Tommy and I caught the two largest fish of the day. Toyomo and Dave continued to catch many more fish. I think Walleye Pete said that we caught over 23 fish. Out of the ones that we landed, 8 were keepers and the others were 16 inch dinks. All these fish had sea lice on them. It was funny to look at the sea lice since they would stand up like little shrimp staring at you with their beady eyes.
During our time searching for fish, we ran into another charter boat and guess who was onboard? I heard someone call my name and it turned out to be Redfish12 and John Foley, two more snaggedliners. What are the odds of that! The I turned and saw a jeep with a yellow Hobie Outback on top crossing the CBBT bridge and I thought to myself that I knew that vehicle. I gave Rockchaser a call, and sure enough it was him ...LOL. He was heading to Kipto. Finally, I waved at a kayaker who waved back, and as he got closer, it turned out to be Jack a.k.a. Pinch on Snaggedline. It is a small world when it comes to kayak fishing.
Back at the dock, Walleye Pete cleaned all of our fish. Dave decided that he did not want any fish, so we slit the fish fillets between Tommy, Muhammed and myself. There were many fat sea gulls eating up all of the scrap skins that were tossed to them. It was amazing seeing them inhale large pieces of striper skin in one scoop. We made it back to Tommy's place at 9:45pm. It was a long day since I did not get any sleep, but the trip was well worth it and I got my December Fish.
Comment