Hacketts - 5 / 18

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Planned to chum and then go diving but some times a plan falls apart.

Launched from Sandy Point at 7:15 am with fellow TFer icculus81 ( Aaron ). Fired up port engine but starboard would not stay running. I had changed the spin on fuel filter / water separators and starboard would not prime. Tried and tried but no luck. Finally took the port filter off that was full of fuel and spun it on starboard. Primed port and it ran fine - then tried starboard again. It finally took but cost us about 45 minutes of time.

Tide was very high and we idled out to the bay. Once at jetty - payed dodge with a lot of crab pot floats. Current was starting to flow as we got to Hacketts. Looked around for Perch with meter but saw few. Tried a few times with bloodworms but no hits. Current was running fast and we scanned the dozen or so boats chumming with binoculars. Saw one boat hooked up so headed east off the hard bottom to about 35 feet. Set up NE of marker over scattered blips.

Put over a chum bucket with a frozen gallon of chum and rigged rods with 1 to 3 ozs of weight. Fresh menhaden ( Angler's ) were steaked and used for bait on 3/0 hooks. Took about 1/2 hour for chum to thaw enough to put out a slick and it soon brought in a fish. Aaron got a hit on a 2 oz rig and set the hook. Fish fought well using the outgoing current to it's advantage. Netted the 30 incher - nice start. We put on fresh bait and cut the old ones into tiny pieces. Had a pair of mallard ducks swim up to the boat and tossed them a few bits of donut.

A rod with 3 ozs on bottom got hit and I fought a fish about 1/2 way to boat but it spit the hook - damn. Aaron got another hit off the 2 oz rig and reeled in a nice frisky 26 incher. Fish left a puddle of milt on the deck - what a mess. Took time to wash the slippery goo off the deck and again rebaited all lines with fresh baits.

Had a few taps / drops and current was still running hard. Hoped as it slowed fish would hit better. We tried adjusting weights and even floated one back with no weight. Same 2 oz weighted rod got hit again and Aaron let me fight it. Had it right to boat but a foot from the net when hook slipped free - son of a b*tch. Nice looking fish about 25 inches or so.

Chum was just about gone and current slowing so we ran to east side where an anchor of a friend is hung up. Current on east side was still running hard so diving was put off to another day.

Ran back to west side and tried jigging the pilings but no luck. Ended up near Dollys in 18 feet and bottom fished with bloodworm. Got a Perch but only one. Called it a day at 4:30 and ran back to the ramp.

[Spot77]

You wasted good donut on ducks?

We were out saturday night (19th) and caught about a dozen Perch off of some shallow structure. Only one had any real size to it but it was nice to be able to throw the ultralite gear and be rewarded somewhat consistently.

Caught a few keeper sized Roxk, and a few unders.

One of the coolest things about the trip.......I had bought a "Perch Trolling Rig" at the Kent Island show a few months ago. I put it on a lightweight rod a few weeks ago and proclaimed that I would leve it on there until it caught something. After 4 trips and no bites I was getting tired of it. Left it on for one last try and was rewarded with a few good bites and 2 small Rockfish that were a blast to reel in on the light gear.

The lure is basically a tandem rig with 2 small white bucktails about 15 inches apart, and a 2 ounce inline weight closer to the bottom lure. I put small white twister tails on each one.

Now that it's catching fish, I should probably leave it on for a while longer.