Thread: Yhee-Haa
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Old 07-26-2011, 02:41 PM
5th Tuition 5th Tuition is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Linthicum,Md
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Default Yhee-Haa

Damn, I hate to post a "skunk"; but maybe someone can learn from our mistakes.

We have been doing pretty well lately. So, Lou wanted to take his boat today. We launched about 5:30am at SP and ran to Hacketts and started a drift. When we caught two quick spot, we threw out the marker. We continued the drift and caught 7 (including one double) on that first drift.
Lou is still learning his HDS7 so I was showing him how to follow his drift line back to the marker. Our second drift only produced 2 spot. Our third drift, two again. Even when we dropped back behind the marker, we were no longer picking up spot near the marker Each subsequent drift got longer and longer as we tried new territory (picking up only a few each time). Eventually; we had 13 in the livewell and we fiqured that might be enough for two anglers. The tide was running out, and we had a slight northwest breeze. Lou figured he knew where the marker was, because he had it "marked" off a point of land to the west. We headed off in the right direction. I watched the trail fall off the screen. Eventually, Lou got to where he thought the marker should be. He was scanning the water and saying "It should be around here". I said, "You'll never find it over here". He said, "Where do you think it is?" I "zoomed out" the gps until our trails showed, and I said, "Right there inside that loop." As we got closer and closer to the loop, I continued to zoom in until the gps was on 50 ft screen. When we hit the loop, I said, "It's within 15 ft of us, put the motor in neutral". Shure enough, there it was just off our starboard. We picked up the marker and headed to the Bridge.
As we motored further east, the waves began to build. Once we selected a piling, we spun the boat and moved off into the whitecaps and two ft waves. Where the He!! did all this wind come from? We dropped anchor three times trying to get a good set. Each time, I was up on the bow letting out anchor line and the bow was rising and falling so much that my feet were going under water as we drove into the waves (Yhee-Ha). Lou has a decent anchor and chain on his rode. We kept going further away from the piling and letting out more rode. Finally, we thought we were anchored (when ALL the anchor line was out (maybe 200 ft). I gingerly climbed back to the cockpit and hooked a spot on my line. We tossed two spot into the water and suddenly, the piling started moving toward us. I was sure those pilings were anchored securely into the bottom of the Chesapeake, but this one was running right for us. Lou's yamaha started on the first "bump", and we motored off the piling.
By now, Lou was pissed. We had a livewell full of spot and no place to anchor. I suggested the western shore side would be calmer. As we slowly made our way across the bay, we noticed most boats had TWO anchors out. As the waves slammed into the wider pilings, the waves bounced back against the incoming waves and created a "washing machine" action. Lou thought it looked like "the perfect storm" as he drove through it.
Once on the wastern side, it was easy to anchor. Easier to anchor than find fish. We hopped a few pilings, but with no windless, I was pooped from the other side. Each drop (whether directly on a piling, or a "miss" due to the pushing of the wind and guessing the wrong angle) became more and more of a chore. Those with a windless, just "reset" quickly and find themselves lined up just right for fishing.
We pulled a "skunk" but did find the motherlode of biting flies. So we called it quits; and headed home with cooler full of ice and 9 bloodworms!!!

Lessons Learned
* check the "hour by hour" weather report for more accurate wind predictions
* carry two anchors (or one big mother______)
* never stop catching spot on the number 13; get one more, or throw one back
* trust your gps to get you back to your "mark"
* hold on tightly when putting out anchor in rough seas
* Try to talk friend into buying a windless
* Take a flyswatter on the boat

Sorry the post couldn't have been more productive, today was just a an off day for us.
5th (Marty)
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Last edited by 5th Tuition; 07-26-2011 at 02:46 PM.
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