Well we were back at it Wed. with a couple of my CBA friends (Don-Hunter, Bill-smellslikefish), a good friend I share boats with (Mark), and my cousin (Charles). The Captain brought along some buddies as well.
We ran south from Deale with the intention of looking for fish where we left off last time in the Plum Point area. On the way down; John saw nice bait with good marks mixed in. We slowed to trolling speed and the bait continued.
Putting out 9 lines with 4 experienced guys was quick to say the least. Soon after, rods started to go off and we were bringing a variety of size rock over the side.
This was a fun trip with guys who had just finished the tropy season, so we weren't keeping 18 or 19 inch fish. We had some even shorter than that, all fat with mayworms. The 21 inch fish went in the box and Pat (John's friend) hooked into a nich 28 inch fish that made the others look really small.
This was going to be too easy. But never count your chickens before they hatch. The bite died and we either lost the school or the tide changed quicker than predicted from the computer. I always have the tide change written down on a piece of paper with me when I fish, but I always need to remember this is an approximation. With several days of south wind, a lot of water was pushed north and it's possible the tide started to run out earlier than I expected.
We ate some lunch, told some stories, and trolled to new fishing grounds on the Eastern side of the bay. Where's the bait? Captain John said "pull the spread and let's go back to out orininal area". Turned out to be a good call.
We got back on the bait, with some fish here and there. Small keepers again went back. The action was not hot. Then, as he made a turn, boom several rods went down. We could once again pick through the ones we wanted to keep. As John continued to make lazy turns over the bait, the action continued. My cousin, who rarely fishes, brought in another 28 incher to make his day.
We ended with a limit of fish, but had to put our time in to get them. We pulled rods at 1pm and headed back to Deale.
If we learned anything yesterday, it was to first find bait, and second get lines as deep as possible. I even considered "bottom bouncing" with a 28 ounce sinker off a threeway and a lure of choice behind it.
It's hard to believe these fish will hit a lure with a belly full of worms. I can't wait for the mayworm hatch to be over with. Fishing should improve when we are not compeating with the worms.
5th (Marty)
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