Kipto/HRBT Sun, 11/6

[tufnik]

Kipto:

Actually the plan was to go to CBBT early Sunday morning after waking up at 3 am. As forecasted, the winds were 10+ mph, and very cool. Water was disappointingly too rough, so Plan B was the call.

I hit the water at Kipto 0945 hrs. Winds were 10+ mph NNE. A fellow yaker caught two togs (largest 19"). He said he caught them earlier that morning and the bite had slowed down. Sure enough, we got nothing the rest of the day. From the words of surfdog, "I should have got my butt outta bed earlier!"

Another yaker trolled along the wreck perimeter. He caught about a dozen and most were keepers (his largest was 24"). He also gave me his earlier-caught 19" striper because he wanted to keep his larger keeper (the 24") as his second catch. I did a little trolling and got a hit that came off. I stuck mainly to tog fishing. I quit after 4 pm.

For me, I wonder if the bite really disappeared, or did I use bad bait. I used shrimp, mole crabs and leftover frozen quartered blue crab. I used mostly the blue crab (from two weeks ago). This was the third time I used this blue crab and it really smelled. Is there such a thing as blue crab bait being so bad the togs won't even touch it?

HRBT:

After Kipto, I had a Subway, rested in the car and hit the water at Willoughby Launch at 8 pm. I was tired, but the fish called. Pedaling out, the water was oh so calm, almost glass. Winds were cool and very gentle. Clear sky. Almost full moon. A perfect night?

Several yakers and boaters were out there. One yaker caught about a dozen stripers, but they were mostly shorts. I got out there at the beginning of slack tide, so the striper activity died down. The water was the smoothest I've seen yet. You could see fish swirls.

I used a white/gray Gulp shad on a 1 oz jig and a chartruse bucktail with speckled grub worm on a 1/2 oz jig. I trolled and jigged, and picked up a short speck and a take-home 20" striper. I also tried shrimp, mole crab, and stinky blue crab along the pilings. Got nothing, not even a nibble. Hmmm....I wonder if togs hang here.

I quit at midnight and got home at 5 am. I'm off today and recuperating.

[Shady]

Thanks for sharing and glad you were able to bring home some dinner. I think if the blue crab smelled bad to you, the fish probably feel the same way and thus stayed away from it. As far as togs at HRBT, I've never heard of people catching them there, maybe its not quite the right environment for them...

[HokieDJ]

Well at least you caught something. There was nothing at the BB on Sunday.

It's not scientific but since they are not the scavengers, so instinctively they probably will avoid rotting food for health reasons.

[tufnik]

If that's true.....DANG! I'm suppose to catch them, not repel them

[surfdog]

you are a fishing machine! if the bait stinks so will the fishing. frozen is ok fresh is better, crabs are the worst they turn bad quick, shrimp are a close second

[robchoi]

Good report Tufnik. I actually have heard of people catching togs at the HRBT in the fall. I personally never tried in the fall, but I have a boater friend who has caught them before. Just thought I'd share...

[ToddF]

Tufnik,
I think I may have met you at the HRBT Sunday night. My trip report is here:
http://tkaa.org/index.php?topic=2791.0

Reading your report, and if you are the guy I think you are, I may be able to offer you some advise that can help you do better on your next trip to the HRBT light line.

At the HRBT, the stripers cruise up and down the bridge just inside the darkness, hitting bait illuminated by the lights. If you approach the line from the downstream darkness, the stripers are silhouetted against the lighter backdrop. When things are good, they will stack up in the line so thick they brush up against each other. Other times, like Sunday, they are more scattered.

The key to catching them is not to spook them. When they are visible, they are actively feeding and can be caught by casting into the light in front of the visible fish. If you get too close to the line with your kayak, it puts the fish down for 15 minutes or more in a particular spot. The same thing happens if a kayak, or much worse, a motorboat, trolls past in the light. It is simply infuriating to be stealthily fishing from the darkness, casting to 20 fish in front of you, and have a motorboat go trolling by. The fish vanish, and that spot goes dead.

As bad as that is, for the most part, the motorboaters simply don't know any better. That has been the accepted way to fish for stripers at the bridges for decades. And, it does produce results. Trolling can get you a handful of fish a night, so trollers think they are doing pretty good. What they don't know is that kayakers can catch 20 to 30 fish each, in a night, by being stealthy.

Being stealthy means staying in the dark, at least half a kayak length back from the light. Never let your kayak protrude into the light enough to make a shadow, or you will spook the fish. Do not troll down the lighted side of the upstream bridge, or you will spook the fish. If you hook into a fish and allow it to pull you into the light, that spot will be ruined, so it is often better to let the fish take line, or even break off, than to follow it into the light. If you do have to go into the light, (to free a snag for instance) paddle straight away from the bridge until you get to the darkness, turn parallel to the bridge and paddle until your lure comes free. To return to your spot, go far from it, go directly under the bridge to the other side, and approach your spot from the darkness.

During the best times, the stripers will be stacked up, facing out into the darkness. They will hit just about anything you throw in front of them. Those nights are just glorious. On not so good nights, they are more scattered, and are cruising, swimming parallel to the bridge. These fish are more easily spooked and take more work to catch. That's when lure selection, presentation, and stealthiness matter most.

I hang on the WKFA and TKAA forums. When you head down our way, post your upcoming trip. Maybe we can hook up some time.

cheers,
Todd F.

[Memory Maker]

Hey ...... thanks for the report ........

As far as bait ......... ALWAYS use the freshest possible bait. It has the natural juices and stuff that attract the fish .........

Spend whatever it takes in time and $ to get the best possible bait ........ it will mean the difference between the time between bites and fish in the box ........

I went fishing with a guy that just sent 20 grand for a boat and 100 in gas to fish for flounder but wouldn't spend $10 for bloodworms to catch spot for bait ......... I bought the bloodworms and caught all the spot ........ the fish bites only caught 1 spot, blood worms 20 .......... we caught 5 legal flounder and a bunch of shorts but we would have been out if luck without the blood worms .........

[MetroMan]

Tufnik,
I think I may have met you at the HRBT Sunday night. My trip report is here:
http://tkaa.org/index.php?topic=2791.0

Reading your report, and if you are the guy I think you are, I may be able to offer you some advise that can help you do better on your next trip to the HRBT light line.

At the HRBT, the stripers cruise up and down the bridge just inside the darkness, hitting bait illuminated by the lights. If you approach the line from the downstream darkness, the stripers are silhouetted against the lighter backdrop. When things are good, they will stack up in the line so thick they brush up against each other. Other times, like Sunday, they are more scattered.

The key to catching them is not to spook them. When they are visible, they are actively feeding and can be caught by casting into the light in front of the visible fish. If you get too close to the line with your kayak, it puts the fish down for 15 minutes or more in a particular spot. The same thing happens if a kayak, or much worse, a motorboat, trolls past in the light. It is simply infuriating to be stealthily fishing from the darkness, casting to 20 fish in front of you, and have a motorboat go trolling by. The fish vanish, and that spot goes dead.

As bad as that is, for the most part, the motorboaters simply don't know any better. That has been the accepted way to fish for stripers at the bridges for decades. And, it does produce results. Trolling can get you a handful of fish a night, so trollers think they are doing pretty good. What they don't know is that kayakers can catch 20 to 30 fish each, in a night, by being stealthy.

Being stealthy means staying in the dark, at least half a kayak length back from the light. Never let your kayak protrude into the light enough to make a shadow, or you will spook the fish. Do not troll down the lighted side of the upstream bridge, or you will spook the fish. If you hook into a fish and allow it to pull you into the light, that spot will be ruined, so it is often better to let the fish take line, or even break off, than to follow it into the light. If you do have to go into the light, (to free a snag for instance) paddle straight away from the bridge until you get to the darkness, turn parallel to the bridge and paddle until your lure comes free. To return to your spot, go far from it, go directly under the bridge to the other side, and approach your spot from the darkness.

During the best times, the stripers will be stacked up, facing out into the darkness. They will hit just about anything you throw in front of them. Those nights are just glorious. On not so good nights, they are more scattered, and are cruising, swimming parallel to the bridge. These fish are more easily spooked and take more work to catch. That's when lure selection, presentation, and stealthiness matter most.

I hang on the WKFA and TKAA forums. When you head down our way, post your upcoming trip. Maybe we can hook up some time.

cheers,
Todd F.

Thanks for this!

[HokieDJ]

Thanks for the info. The one time I tried with Tufnik was a bad day with 3ft waves. I couldn't do jack and saw jack and felt lost out there in the night

Odds are I'm going to make it down to VB for some fishing Friday and if I'm lucky I might be able to try out HRBT thursday night.

You in Tufnik?

[ToddF]

Here is a bit more info about the light line:
http://kayakkevin.com/images/sightca...elightline.pdf

Todd F.

[tufnik]

I much rather be a catching machine, surf.

Ok, I'm learning, and boy have I learned my lesson on this trip about crab bait Never skimp on bait, especially when you spend so much time driving and yaking.

Good info, Rob. I won't rule out togs at HRBT.

I do remember a fellow giving me a tip on fishing the light line. (I guess you got a kick out of me crashing the light line..lol... I was in a yellow Outback). Your well detailed report shows a pic of you, and you sure look like that fellow. Appreciate the tip, and hey, thanks a lot for the post on how to fish the light line. The kevin link was very useful too. It's especially valuable for out-of-towners like me who have to drive southbound 3-4 hours to good fishing areas like HRBT, Kipto, etc. So much to learn about those fishing areas, and I really enjoy meeting the locals there who try to help fellow yakers.

Hokie, I don't think I can do Thur/Fri. I was thinking PLO this Saturday for possible big ones in the deep water near the light platform. Depending on the wx forecast, I may even go southbound again. I really really want to try CBBT 1st island for togs, but it's hard to catch good water conditions.

BTW, on my trip driving across CBBT from Kipto, I saw the water was fairly calm. Winds were low. It was about 5 pm Sunday. I wanted to fish the 1st island, but it would be at night. Also, since I never fished there before, am not familiar with currents there, and I may very well be the only one out there, I decided to play it safe and go to HRBT.

[tufnik]

Rob, know where your friend caught the togs? Along the pilings? Along the rocks at Fort Wool?

[robchoi]

I think both. There's a drop near the island that I would try along the pilings and near the rocks. There's also several deep holes near Fort Wool too.

[robchoi]

All this talk makes me want to go try it now!