Spring Rockfishing
 

Time to get "caught up" on my own personal facebook page; as was pointed out by a fellow CBAngler:rolleyes:.

I've been fishing most every day (except today) on the "Patent Pending" out of Deale. We have brought back a limit to the pier on every trip. This is not meant as a brag, simply a fact that supports that fishing is definately better than last spring.
Our fish have not been huge. Most fish are from the lower 30's to the upper 30's with 36-38 being normal. Most all our fish have spawned out, however, yesterday we caught some fish with sea lice. I hope this is an indication that another group is entering from the ocean.
We have been turning south on all out trips and finding bait before setting lines. We are running 22 rods, so I am covering lots of water and different depths fairly easily. Most private boats can't run that many, so I thought you might be interested in our most productive lines. REMEMBER, this weekend is the MSSA tournament and we may need to adjust a few lines deeper with all the boat traffic.
I have a 2/4 tandem out 8 bars closest to the boards. Then a 2/8 tandem also out 8 bars. Then a single 4oz out 6 bars followed by a single 8oz 6 bars back. Then I start back with tandems 2/4 out 4 bars, and a 2/8 out 4 bars.
The baits closest to the boards have been hot.
As for umbrella's, I have a small umbrella with 2 oz chute out 200 ft and on the other side the same chute out 180. We also run big umbrella's with twin baits, but they have been less productive.
Early in the season, white was the go to color. However, both white or green have been productive lately.

As noted, the tournament may cause us to adjust the spread, but if you get out after the tournament, try some of the above suggestions. One day last week, the water was calm as glass and we could see bait flipping on the surface. The lighter baits caught five fish early in the morning.

Our spread gets tweeked throughout the day. As each fish pops a clip, that rod gets put back out at the shortest position (4 bars). Eventually, the side winds up with maybe one six bar lure and all the rest 4 bars. When this happens, wait about 40 minutes. If no fish are caught off the boards, I reset the side and often a newly set 8 or 6 bar tandem gets hit.
On real sunny days (which we haven't had too many) I don't mind the side being light, but on cloudy/windy days, I reset.

Best of luck to all this weekend, the weather looks good and lots of fish will be caught, I hope a CBAngler at least places in the tournament.
5th (Marty)

Thanks for the info Marty.It dose seem to be more fish being caught this year.Do you think most of the fish are just staying south of the muddy waters?Making for more fish in those areas?Cool deal working as a mate.
Dan

Marty...thanks for the detailed report...I was sure there were more fish this spring than last..(not being sarcastic)...but on TFish...almost every troller is catching fish..or the guys that aren't are not reporting...
I was really hoping that a new slug of fish wouldn't arrive till after the "Big Money tourney" this weekend...hope all is well...
Haven't been out...waitng till the crowds clear a little...I figure another week or so and it will be time..

Mary,
Thanks for the report. I was out Tuesday east of CB and had caught a few nice fish and one really large girl. Singles with a wide mouth near the boards were my hot bait. We kept one fish that was 32 and released the rest without removing them from the water.

Good luck to the guys fishing this weekend.

The difference is the cooler water this year. Last year the majority of the fish were in and out before the season started.

Yep...I was talking to a couple of guys today and we said the same thing...

Thanks for the update Marty.

Regarding the water temps...that water is starting to warm up quick now. Water temps at TPL today are 5 degrees warmer than same day a year ago. Water has warmed up 5 degrees in just the last 4 days:eek:. Hit 61* today. http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/buoy.../24/TPLM2.html

FWIW: Solomons guys are catching and roughly 1/2 have not spawned yet.

Better so far then 2010 but no where near 2002 to 2009.

63-65* is the magic temp for a few really good spots LTJing...good to hear...

The water temp in the creeks and rivers last March, got into the 60's. The fish did their thing and left. Fish don't spawn at Thomas Point Light.

Marty,

Thanks for the information...

Glad you are able to get out all the time...Great way to spend retirement !

:)

Mike

I opened one of my first ones, and she had eggs. :eek: I was afraid to open up any of the others; I was afraid of what I may have seen.

BTW. Marty, thanks for the detailed post. I am going to have to be more proactive in goosing the spread throughout the day andshorten some of my lengths.

Don

First day of the MSSA Tournament. We were worried that the large numbers of boats would ruin our streak. Not to worry:D.
We left the pier at 6 am. Radar showed lots of boats off CB. We found some bait and dropped our lures short of the fleet.
Water was pretty calm, so I put out the spread and included two of my "dipsey divers". I love these and run them whenever I can. They act as a poor mans downrigger. In choppy waters, they keep popping and won't hold properly, but today was a classic diver day.
I estimate the lure was down 25 ft and it got HAMMERED. The first guy up on the charter grabbed the rod and drag was being taken. He said "What do I do?" I said hold on and don't drop that rod tip. After a short run, we started to gain ground and netted a 42" spawned out female for our first fish of the day.
We continued south on the troll and a second fish hit a mid depth umbrella. Good two in the box before the low tide at 8:30.
We hit a dry spell and I told the customers I didn't expect much action until about 9:30. When 9:45 came around, all he11 broke lose. I couldn't keep up with putting rods back in the spread. I even had to cut a few lures off the leader and place the fish with lure intact in the box in order to get the next fish to the boat. With the tide now moving and the sun shinning, the single chutes out 4 bars were smoking.
We quickly filled the box with our six fish, and I slowly began bringing in the spread. One of the customers said, "You want us to help you bring the rods in?", and I told him "The slower I bring them in, the more chance you have to catch another fish".
Bang, a roof rod goes off and our first C/R fish gets kissed and sent back to the deep. Thump, another roof rod bends with authority. Second C/R fish swims away. I was wrapping the rods after they got hit, but the customers were loving it. Whack; another rod pops a clip and after the third C/R fish is released, the captain said "Get the rest of those rods in and lets get out of here". It was 10:30 am:eek:
Back at the pier, pictures were taken and everyone was talking about another trip (like I could reproduce this one). I got a larger than normal tip from the group (I think they really liked the C/R part of the trip and the fast action at the end).
I know several of our friends were out today and had success as well. I hope they post.
Most of our fish are falling in the 36-38 inch range, nice fish, but not what the tournament guys are looking for.
5th (Marty)

Make sure you have a Bayer aspirin on you Marty. I'm gonna start callin' you Little Charlie:D Hope all your days are like this one..............Gary

Yeah today was pretty amazing. By far the most incredible day I've ever had trolling!

Chew, chew (cough) (cough), chew, chew, (cough)

Boy crow is hard to swallow. What a terrible day. Sat. morning started with a stronger than predicted wind, but not a big challenge for a 46 ft Markley. However, the scotty clips decided it was just a bit too strong and began poping on their own:mad:.
Now I have the option of rubberbands, but I figured if I just sink them a little deeper, the problem will be fixed. Good, now the clips are holding tight:). Set both sides of the boat and begin to sit back and enjoy the sun in my face. We should have a fish on soon.
I hear a loud pop and think we have the "bubba" that all the MSSA guys are looking for. What the f^&*; the planer board line has snapped and all the rods on the starboard side are laying limp in the water and the planer board is floating away from the boat a steady clip.
Lucky for us this happened when their was no tournament going on and seven hundred boats were not on the bay:eek:. Oh; yes there was:rolleyes:. I start realing in lines like crazy while the captain tries to get back to the floating board that is getting smaller and smaller.
We eventually get the board back and I feel sorry for the "mate" because he has a mess to deal with. Oh wait, that's me:cool:.
The crimp at the board must have weakened the line, because the snap was still attached (along with a slight pigtail of planer line).
I get that side back out and figure the other side was dropped down in the mud, so I reset the port side as well. We have pretty much lost the morning because we had a low tide at 9:30 am.
No sweat, after the tide change we will smoke them. Well we saw great marks and no hookups. Threw everything and anything at them, Raised the lures and dropped the lures. Added weight and took off weight. Nothing would entice them to bite.
Finally picked up a 38 inch fish for a 15 yo kid we had on the charter. But, it was the only one of the day.
We went from limiting out (even on two charter days), to lucky to get one today. Maybe the coldfront, maybe the boat traffic, maybe we missed the morning bite, but we sucked today.
Back at it tomorrow, hopefully with better luck.
5th (Marty)

At one time, I used to coach lacrosse and I had a habit of always wearing something yellow (It's my favorite color, and brings me good luck).
When the alarm went off this morning, I saw that my lovely wife had replaced my original shirt with a yellow one. She had heard all about the miserable day we had on Sat. and this was her way of telling me today would be better:D.
Left the pier at 6am and headed to a different location (somewhere less crowded). Dropped the lines and had a deep umbrella rip a few feet of drag off a reel. I yelled "fish on" and everyone stood around like you get it, no, you get it. The fish got off:mad:. Then a green planer line poped and I handed down the rod to the closest customer. The skunk was off the boat:).

The day was not fast and furious, but a steady bite allowed me to stay in contact with another CBAngler who was working the same general area. We were both producing fish, so no need to run to each other, but good to know we had a friend out there who I consider one of the best fishermen on the board. If we got into trouble and needed one more to fill our limit, I knew he would have some good information to pass along.

Lucky, we didn't need him. We had a few more pull downs with out hooking up, but we eventually caught our limit before the tide slacked and headed in.

One cool thing was we had our photo taken today by the helicopter. Our group said "Is that a helicopter so close to the water?". And I told them they could have their photo taken and they could buy it off the internet. "Hell yeah" they said. We only had two in the box at that point, so they picked up the fish and posed for the camera. I'm interested to see how it turned out as well.

It sounded like today was definately easier than yesterday for most anglers. I don't know what will win the tournament, but most of our fish remain in the 36-38 inch range.

I have Monday off, I'm sleeping in:eek:.
5th (Marty)

Saturday was surely a tough day. I am feeling much better about my 2 fish outing after hearing about your crews one fish day and Charlie S taking a skunk. Worked for them 2 fish I tell ya. Phil and I kept joking that if we kept working south with that dang wind much longer that we were going to end up at the cbbt. Today was definately much easier and much much more enjoyable. Thanks for the continuing report..................Mark

That sure was thoughful of your wife, glad you guys found some fish. A few days of getting up at 4:00Am and standing on a rocking boat will wear you down.

Monday, my Captain called and said he had an angler he needed to take out Tues. morning and did I think I could fill the remaining 5 spots. I owe so many guys a ride on my boat and never seem to be able to get them involved when I only normally take 3 guys.
A chance to invite 5 guys makes paybacks a little easier. I've fished Skip's (27 Sailfish) boat, Don's (Hunter) boat, and Mark's (Mlag) boat. Jim (2 Jims) from Marty's has been a big help to me with tackle store, and Rich (Hockleyneck) turned me on to his electronics guy to install my new FF/GPS-radio-and bilge pumps.
I know I have more "debts" to pay so I hope to do another trip like this again soon.
The day started quickly with 3 in the box, then we had a short lull and 2 more came aboard. The final fish took a while to find, and I think we may need to head south to find a better concentration next week.
All fish were good quality (avg 36-39 inches) and put up a good fight.
We had some nice whitecaps and the scotty clips had difficulty staying tight. I switched to rubberbands (#32) and still had a couple break. Learning each time out:D. I'll head to Office Depot and buy some 64's for those nastier days.
A great crew made my day easier. Everyone knows how to set a spread and pitch in to help. Capt. John surprised the crew with a crabcake lunch cooked onboard. Good eats, and good fishing; what could be better?
Thanks to all who jumped on a great opportunity quickly to help us fill the boat.
Til next time;
5th (Marty)

Fished today with Allan (JustChillin) on his boat. Found some bait near Parkers Creek and pulled one fish out of it after several more attempts, we left to find a better area. Yeah right:D.
Trolled different water depths and found not another single fish. 16 lines in the water and nothing.
Could this be the beginning of the end of Trophy Season?
5th (Marty)

I talked with Mlag and they trolled down the bay until just off the power plant (opps...burned that spot) and worked their way back north to the CR. Caught one 30" fish at the very end. At last communication with Hockleyneck (Rich), Mark indicated they were struggling as well. Not sure if the fish are as sick of this dirty water as we are, but I would say we are well past the peak. Solomons is probably where you need to go....Don

We had a rough day as well. Set lines about a mile north of 78 and headed south. After looking around 78 with not even a knockdown, we went up the east side of the False Channel. Went all the way to the "Goal Posts" not sure of the buoy numbers but its the red and green cans right across from one another marking the northern end of the FC. Worked the western edge and headed south back towards 78. Looked around the mouth of the FC without a bump. A buddy was going to the O's game and we had to pull lines at 1:00 so we trolled north . Pulled lines at 78A without a knockdown. This was my annual trip with some buddies from college so its was disappointing not to have any action. Saw Mark and was thinking he was going to have a long run back to the South River.

It was just that kind of day out there. We trolled 20 rods for 8 hours and one 30" fish to show for it. I don't know if it was dirty water or a day after a blow but they had lock jaw. The meter show fish everywhere at 10-20 feet. The ride down to the power plant was tough into the wind but the ride back to the South river wasn't bad. Can't complain, fun to be out there and a fish for dinner..........Gary

We got 5 out of 6 strikes - all in a small clump of bait about 2 miles south of #78.

Water was stained on incoming - then dirty on outgoing.

We took a skunk on Friday from 82 down to the radar towers. Wind was out of the south at 8 to 12, and the tide was outgoing negating a lot of the current. WE have our fair share of thick fillets in the freezer, but it's been that kind of year.

Back on the charter boat this morning. Left the dock at 6 am and ran out to 35 ft of water. Started setting lines; the first board line goes out, the second board line goes out and while setting the third board line; the second one pops and "fish on". Great way to start.
We had 5 in the box by 8:30 and High Tide was due at 9am. The tide slacked and we ate lunch. At 10:30, bang, the last fish was put in the cooler.
All fish came off the boards or unbrella's with no weight. I only run 3 deep rods, but they went untouched again today. Early, the longer board rods (8 bars) were getting hit, but as the sun rose, the lighter rods out 4 bars (with some of them single baits) got hit the most.
This was good for me because I didn't have to reset my spread at all today. As a fish hit a board line out 4 bars, I just reset that same rod out 4 bars again.
Todays fish were not 38-39 inches like all the trips before, todays fish were 33-35 inches but fiesty. I don't know how much longer they will be here, so hit this good weather hard before the trophy season ends.
Good hunting
5th (Marty)

Marty, Thanks for sharing your trips with us on here. It has been some tough fishing in the Yoo Hoo.............Gary

What a difference a day makes:eek:. Tough bite this morning. After limiting out fairly quickly yesterday, we thought today was going to be a piece of cake:D.
Definitely not the case. We were marking nice bait and fish, but they were deeper than yesterday. We caught 4, with 3 coming off deep rods.
We headed for the barn around 1 pm and I understand it "turned on" around 1:30 where we were today:rolleyes:. Oh well, that's fishing.
We are going to be downsizing most of our baits in anticipation of the 2 a day limit coming up soon. We have been seeing some "unders", but most fish are still in the low to mid 30's. I understand another CBAngler caught some nice size (38-39 inch) fish today, and had a whopper come unglued at the boat:mad:.
The winds layed down in late morning and it was a beautiful day on the water.

Not looking to get out until next Monday. Look for a report next week. Best of luck, 5th (Marty)

Marty, you may have said before and I missed it, but what boat are you working on?

The 'Patent Pending' (46' Marley-1 year old) out of Deale. A very nice boat.

:):):):):):)
5th

You mean Markley 46'? Has some of it's roots here on the Eastern Shore.

Looks almost too pretty to fish... note that I said almost :)

5th Tuition

I'm totally confused about the "Patent Pending", maybe you can help me out.
The website for Patent Pending shows a picture of the boat. It mentions that it has room for 12 guests. But I see no T boat necessities, in the picture.

Markley 46 is correct; typo. I understand from talking with Marty that it was built on the eastern shore. 2 guys was the entire crew I think. That boat still has a new boat smell, even after one year. Fair amount of beautiful wood trim in the forward areas. Wood flooring as well.

REDS; I'm not sure what websight you are looking at. As of last week, Capt. John had no websight for "Patent Pending". He has a websight for his resturant/deli as "South County Cafe" and was hoping to put a link to the boat.
I'll poke around the internet and see if I can find a websight for him. We run out of Deale (Harrington Harbor North). He has a 6 pack; but also does dinner cruises in the evenings during the summer. This is my first year with him, so I don't know how many he carries on a dinner cruise.
5th (Marty)

Just did a web search and he does indeed have a websight for the boat. Capt.John must have been busy this week and got a websight going.

Reds, I have to show my ignorance and tell you I don't know what you mean by ""no T boat necessaries". I believe that if you are liscened for more than a 6 pack, the boat has to have additional safty equipment. You need either a rail or 36 inches off the floor to the gunnels and I believe a raft along with life jackets.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
5th (Marty)

The boat has no rail in the picture and if memory serves me, Markleys are not 36" in the stern. Is the picture just not updated and the boat is?

Also T boats have to be documented. Is the captain's first name Bill?