Rolling the Dice and Coming Out on Top 10/11/12
 

A Window of Fishability, October 11, 2012

Summary
Norm was out of town, so I went solo today. I was underway at almost 2 pm, and I finished up at sunset at a little after 6 pm. I’m starting to sound like a broken record, and this is a little embarrassing, but I caught around fifty undersized rockfish today on the jig up to 16+ inches, and I left fish biting in numerous locations in my quest for quality fish. I kept two blues for the smoker in the 12 to 13 inch range, and lost a 16-incher at the boat.

http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/atta...0&d=1350297986

I started out trolling a three-rod spread right out front after seeing some promising marks near a ledge. I trolled for about thirty minutes, got no solid hookups, and shifted gears. Next, I moved a short distance where we had left the fish biting near some structure last week and set up shop. I started tossing my 6-inch white Z-man, and within minutes, I was boating my first fish, a 13 to 14 inch striper. The bite was steady, and for the next 90 minutes or so, I caught about thirty rockfish from 11 inches to a little over sixteen inches. I stuck around here for a while, because there were blues in the mix. I also caught a fish at this spot on a handmade lure just to see if I could.

http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/atta...6&d=1350297986

Handmade Lures
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/atta...4&d=1350298104

I left these fish biting and moved a short distance away in the hopes of finding a larger concentration of blues or some larger stripers. Things got off to a bang at this second area when I pulled in a 15-inch rockfish on my very first cast. The bite continued at this second area, but the rest of the fish that I caught here were a slightly smaller grade than the first area. While the fish were decreasing in size, the wind steadily increased, and waves increased in size. I fished in this area for about fifteen minutes and pulled the plug, leaving the dinks biting in a 1 to 2 foot chop.

http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/atta...2&d=1350297986

I tried a third area very briefly, and got no joy as the wind continued to build. I threw in the towel for good at a little before 6 pm, and returned to the South River where I broke out my Beetle Spin and made a few casts at some shallow water riprap and piers. I was hoping for a couple fat perch for table fare, but when I pulled two 8-inch stripers out in short order, I packed it in and headed for the marina.

I made it back without any issues and pulled the boat. I then transferred & washed gear, cleaned my two blues, and trailered the boat to the gas station to top it off. It was dark when I returned to the marina, and after I unhooked the trailer, I finished the day casting my beetle Spin at the lighted ramp where I caught a couple six packs of small rockfish. Today was far from epic, but I did roll the dice with respect to the wind and waves and came out ahead.

I Was Joined Briefly by a Cormorant
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/atta...4&d=1350297986

Conditions
When I arrived, the winds were out of the southeast at 5 to 7 knots. The winds increased steadily during my time on the water, and by the time I returned to the marina, the winds were a stiff 12 to 15 knots. When I entered the main stem of the bay, I was greeted by a 1-foot chop, and when I headed back to the river at about 6 pm, I bucked a 2-foot chop on top of 2-foot rollers.

High tide at Thomas Point was at 1:53 pm, low tide was at 7:58 pm, and the moon was 25% visible and waning. Sunset today was at 6:33 pm, and the salinity at Annapolis was 14.3 PSU & has held steady over the past week.

The skies were cloudless, the air was crisp, and air temperatures were in the high 50’s. The water temperature in the mouth of the river was only 64.5°, and the water in the bay was 66°, a drop of 7 degrees within the last week. It felt like rockfish weather today.

http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/atta...7&d=1350297986

Tackle
I briefly deployed part of my summer spread, which I goosed a little. I swapped out a #00 Clark spoon in favor of a medium-sized gold Drone spoon in gold with the black on the concave side (Marty’s) with a #2 planer 30 feet back on the outside port. I dragged a #0 gold Clark spoon with a #2 planer 30 feet back on the starboard side using Lucille, and on my long rod was a small gold drone with a #1 planer which was 120 feet back. Unused was a large gold Clark spoon with a #1 planer which would have been the other long rod. I think that it’s almost time to switch my spread to a fall pattern of soft plastics.

http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/atta...8&d=1350297986

In the jigging department, I used almost exclusively my 6-inch white Z-man paired with a ½ oz head, which caught the lion’s share of the fish. My old and battle-scarred silver Gotcha produced a few fish, including the nice bluefish, which I lost at the boat. I must note that a handmade lure that I had fashioned out of clear, light gold glass beads produced within the first two casts.

I also briefly used the bronze rattletrap and my Lil Jimmy (Specialized Baits) in a glass minnow pattern and a 3/8 oz head; neither of these baits produced any fish. The tiny chartreuse bucktail with the 1/8 oz head that I’ve been pairing with a small chartreuse Berkley Gulp power grub, which has been an MVP in the shallows of late, went unused. My collection of topwater plugs also remained dry.

I Smoked the Blues and we had a Killer Dinner on Saturday
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/atta...7&d=1350298104

Good to see you're getting on some fish. If you don't mind - how did you smoke the blue?

My wife Kate is 1) not a big fan of blues, 2) not a big fan of smoked foods, 3) not too fond of salty foods. These blues passed the "Kate test" with flying colors; my wife loved it. Anyway, I did the following.

- Made a brine solution of water, Kosher salt, soy sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice.

- I soaked the bluefish fillets in the brine for about an hour and a half

- I rinsed the fillets thoroughly to get rid of as much salt as possible. Part of the idea of brining is to form a seal, a barrier if you will, to prevent the fish from drying out during the smoking process.

- I smoked the fish for about 2 hours and 20 minutes using hickory chips. Any quality smoking wood such as alder or apple will work.

- I brushed the fillets with real maple syrup a little over an hour into the smoking.

- I checked to see if the fillets flaked about 2 hours into it; they were not quite done, but close. The idea for smoked fish (or smoked anything) that you eat right away is to cook it until its done, and not dry it out for long term storage.

The first time I tried smoking, I got bluefish jerky. The second time I tried it, it was on the salty side. This is only my third attempt at smoking, and my best result to date

I've read quite a bit about it, and I tried to mimic what seemed to work for people. Good luck!

Thanks - I think I have everything except for the blues, and smoke :D

2 things:
First, glad to see you're wearing your pfd, especially since you were out alone.

Second, MAPLE SYRUP? Hot damn....what a great idea. Thanks!



Our wives share similar tastes apparently. I got the whole family devouring Blues by frying it with a nice coating of Uncle Buck's beer batter on it. :D