Mako Mike's boat sits just a few feet from mine at Shipley's Anchorage, but we don't get a chance to fish together very often. I do a lot of my fishing on weekdays; Mike is quite busy with his job during the week.
When he invited me to fish yesterday (Saturday) on his boat out of Breezy Point, I jumped at the chance. Mike wanted a chance at something other than Rockfish and since I had the fortune of just releasing a big red; he was hoping I might be able to offer some "local" intel on the area.
If you remember, the highlight of the previous trip was the red with not so much action on rock and blues
We rolled into Chesapeake Beach and saw the big flag blowing out of the southeast
Nowhere to hide !!
Mike runs a 28 ft Mako outfitted for offshore. It was my first time seeing outriggers used as well. We headed in the general direction of the CP Buoy because the tide would be slack when we got there. Often the bait is chased to the surface and birds show us the way to fish.
We had five rods set up with planers, some Captain John Spreader Bars made up, and a couple of tandem rigs (6 inch) left over from Spring season.
Dale, Mike's friend, began setting lines off the riggers. We put over the tandem rigs first. As we were setting the second line, the first rigger pops. What's that, I said (didn't sound like a planer board line off my roof). Mike says first rigger was hit. Sure enough, the rod had a nice bend to it. We were trolling at about 5.5 mph so that added a little bend as well.
As Dale brought the fish in, I could tell from the size of the open mouth, this was going to be a keeper. I leadered the fish and flipped it in the boat (22 inches).
This was a good start!!
Finished setting all the other lines and trolled toward the fleet at the False Channel. My thinking was, if rock were present, we should be able to pick up a few off the troll. Unfortunately, we were very successful in catching patches of grass floating on top of the clear water. Yes, clear water. You could look down and see the prop wash coming off the motor with ease.
Cleaning lines became a PITA. We picked up a few more shorts, but it was evident that trolling was not going to be the best method.
We ran to Black Wallnut Point, off Tilghman, and had a slow pick of spot (and whiting). With about a dozen in the live well, we made the run back to the False Channel. We set up among the charters and private boats and kept an eye on the action.
Not only didn't our spot get eaten, we didn't see many fish caught by others. Frank Carver on the Loosen Up came out with his second trip and we watched him cut through the fleet searching with his depth finder for something good enough to drop anchor. He made several attempts, and moved off several miles to the east and set up.
This is never a good sign
Frank is one of the best Captains on the bay, and when he leaves your area for more fertile grounds, that's disheartening to say the least.
With a single keeper in the box, we made the run back to Breezy and found the incoming tide had the ramp almost underwater. Getting the boat back on the trailer was going to entail some wet feet (thank goodness the water is still in the high 70's).
Fishing may not have been the best, but I was impressed with Mike's total rig. His F250 is one sweet truck and pulls his boat effortlessly while providing all the comforts inside. His 28 Mako cuts the short chop of the bay with his offshore deadrise with ease. And, those twin 200 Yammys get you to the fishing grounds in a hurry
I love fishing other peoples boats just to see something new. I've caught a ton of fish this year, but learning the outriggers was enough to keep my interest. Getting another 18 ft off the boat makes a lot of sense. We all use outrodders or something similar to "stretch" our boat beam; and planer boards are often not an option. I can see why riggers are a choice to get four more lines in the spread.
So I had a great day on the water. Thanks Mike for the invitation. As the water cools, fishing will get better and better. I guess the last Harvest Moon didn't help us either, but hey, you go when you can go
5th