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Stripers at the Narrows

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  • Stripers at the Narrows

    On the Fly (Harry) organized a trip this morning out of Goodhands ramp just south of Kent Narrows. Six of us launched shortly after 7:00 (Raptor, Mark, On the Fly, FL Boy, and one other guy whose name I did not learn). Low tide was expected about 8:00 am, giving us an incoming tide most of the morning. I rarely look at the Solunar charts. However, while checking the tide chart last night, I noticed that the Solunar schedule called for a strong bite from 8:00 to 10:00. From my experience today, that was on the money.

    Shortly after launching I began trolling with 4 med and med-light spinning rods -- each had a different lure. After only 15 mins, I trolled close in to a grassy point and had a hard knockdown. It turned out to be a 22" striper. That was a pleasant way to start the day.

    002.jpg

    I threw a few casts to the same spot and caught two more smaller stripers in quick order. All three of those fish hit a 12 Fathoms 3" Fat Sam Mullet paddletail -- this proved to be the top bait for today. The two most productive colors of Fat Sam are shown below.

    004.jpg

    I moved over to fish near a large area of structure below the bridges. I have occasionally picked up fish near there. Today, the stripers were packed tight in there. In my first 7 passes through the area, I caught 8 stripers, including two runs when two rods went down at once. On one of those double headers, I caught a 20" striper on one rod and a 28" striper on the second rod. The 28" fish is my second largest striper from the kayak.

    003.jpg

    All this catching happened in a 45-60 minute period that fell within the Solunar recommended period (maybe I should pay more attention to those ratings).

    Those fish were caught on slow or slack tide (go figure). Once the tide started moving, the bite died off, or maybe the fish moved somewhere else. I decided to pedal north past the bridges to work the northern end of the Narrows. The areas I fished looked promising, but the bite was not nearly as strong as I had experienced earlier.

    At the end of the day, I finished with 15 stripers from 12" to 28" with 4 of at least 20". The Fat Sam mullet on 1/2-oz jigheads accounted for 11 of those fish. The other 4 came on Gulp swimming mullets on 3/8-oz jigheads. I concentrated my trolling in shallow areas. All but one of the fish were caught in depths below 5 ft. The one deeper fish was caught in 6.5 ft depth.

    I hooked a cownose ray on the way back to the ramp. After it ran back and forth for a few minutes, I broke the line.
    John Veil
    Annapolis
    Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

    Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

  • #2
    Sounds like a great day of catching, thanks for the report!
    Ryan
    Blue 2016 Hobie Outback
    Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers, Inc

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    • #3
      It was a great day! Mark and FL Boy each caught a fat Catfish and J.A.Veil caught the limit of Stripers . Cownose rays are around and Perch were in the shallows and abundant!!! Few Pictures from the day, Hugo did get his new Cuda 12 broken in .
      Attached Files
      Last edited by On the fly; 08-05-2014, 03:07 PM.

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      • #4
        Got me drooling just reading that report.
        Nice work, men.
        2018 Hobie Outback (seagrass)
        Old Town Camper Canoe (red)

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        • #5
          Great photos Harry. Thanks for organizing the trip this morning. It was a beautiful day on the water.

          Congratulations to Mark and FL Boy for their unexpected catfish catch.
          John Veil
          Annapolis
          Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

          Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

          Comment


          • #6
            Nice going guys!
            Mike S.
            Hobie Outback
            Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers
            3D Printed Hobie Hatch Bucket

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            • #7
              Sorry I didn't introduce myself John, I guess we were all anxious for the fish that this morning was a blur. It was a great day on the water and I was finally able to fish off the new yak, thanks guys for the invite and thanks for the pics Harry.
              Hugo
              Jackson Cuda 12, Green Hornet
              USMC Retired

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              • #8
                It was a really good day, I had a blast and it was nice to meet new people. I was able to get that ticket dismissed too. Here are the stripers that I caught. Thanks to everyone for the tips.
                Travis
                Dune Hobie Pro Angler 12
                Orange Old Town NEXT
                USN

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                • #9
                  Great reports about a great day fishing.

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                  • #10
                    What a great report. Well done fellas!!!
                    John D.
                    2015 Hobie Revolution 13
                    GO RAVENS!!!
                    GO ORIOLES!!!

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by J.A. Veil View Post
                      Great photos Harry. Thanks for organizing the trip this morning. It was a beautiful day on the water.

                      Congratulations to Mark and FL Boy for their unexpected catfish catch.
                      Thanks, I definitely didn't expect that.
                      Travis
                      Dune Hobie Pro Angler 12
                      Orange Old Town NEXT
                      USN

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                      • #12
                        It was indeed a good day. It was almost like a mini Meet & Greet. We had two new folks join us in Hugo and Travis.

                        Here's the fleet soon after departure:

                        A.jpg B.jpg C.jpg

                        So I was hanging out around Hog Island for those of you who know the area picking up white perch along the shoreline and hoping to find a striper in the mix. The perch were agreeable and I got 25 before the day ended. But I really thought this one below was a striper when I hooked it. Notice that it hit a 1/2 oz. Rat-L-Trap. At 12 inches it's one of the largest white perch I have caught at Goodhands Landing.

                        D.jpg

                        As soon as I photographed the perch I heard some crackling on my radio about one of the members of our armada getting a 28 inch striper. I wasn't sure who caught it but I asked where everyone was and I hustled over to observe John putting on a trolling clinic. I joined the fray and was mostly a spectator but I did eventually hook a dink striper. After that area dried up (even for John) I went back to Hog Island to reintroduce myself to the perch. They hadn't left. But no stripers had come to join them.

                        I got kind of lonely so I radioed Harry to find out where everyone was. Harry gave me his location and I found him and Hugo and Travis working a small bay. As I got there Harry told me about the catfish Travis had just caught. I said, "You're kidding. I didn't know catfish were here."

                        Right at that time I cast out a Fat Sam paddle tail on a 1/2 oz. jig head and boom...I hooked something strong. Harry asked me if it was a ray. I said I didn't think so but it was heavy. Soon I got a glimpse of it and was relieved that it wasn't a ray. It was a catfish! This guy here:

                        E.jpg

                        I can hardly remember the last time I caught a catfish. In fact I don't even know what kind of catfish it is. Does anyone know? But I'll tell you, it gave me new respect for them and anglers who target the truly large ones must be exhausted at the end of the day.

                        So it was a good day even though I caught only one tiny striper. The perch kept me busy and the catfish was an unexpected surprise.

                        Thanks again to Harry for calling us together and thanks to all who participated.
                        Last edited by Mark; 08-05-2014, 07:28 PM.
                        Mark
                        Pasadena, MD


                        Slate Hobie Revolution 13
                        Hidden Oak Native Ultimate 12
                        Lizard Lick Native Ultimate FX Pro

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                        • #13
                          Nice report and congrats on a successful trip.
                          2013 PRO ANGLER 12
                          2013 Cuda 12

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                          • #14
                            great report guys! looks like an awesome place to launch too. might have to check it out!
                            Michael
                            2016 Hobie Mirage Outback
                            Ocean Kayak Prowler 13

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                            • #15
                              Great report and what a terrific time you guys had. Thanks for sharing your excellent adventure.
                              Peggy

                              Native Slayer Propel 12.5 Max
                              Cobra Explorer

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