Fall rockfish (beginner)

[melfutrell]

thinking about taking my boat out and going fishing Sunday out of herrington harbour. Does anyone have any suggestion of good spot and techniques to try.

[5th Tuition]

First, welcome to the board.

When I was first trying to figure out how to fish and where to fish, I would go through all the posts with a pencil and paper. If trolling was what I expected to do, I would write down what was successful for those posting. You will soon see a patern.

I was out of Chesapeake Beach on Monday. Our best success was between 78 and 78a.

Best of luck
5th (Marty)

[MikeVJ]

Thanks Marty,

I've been trying to catch Rockfish the past two seasons without much luck. I caught one 34" trolling on the Eastern edge of the channel across from Sandy Point Lighthouse early Spring of 2012.

Been skunked ever since... About 16 trips = no Stripers. *Unless you count the little 7" babies I catch on bloodworms when Perch Fishing. Bunches of them...

I've tried trolling plugs, spoons, parachutes, umbrellas, tandems; green, white, you name it. I built planer boards and have spread 3 lines each side and one off each corner for a total of 8 lines in my spread. Last year I even bought a downrigger to try and 'dial-in' my depth. I am THE unluckiest fisherman in the Upper Bay. It really gets discouraging when I hear folks on 68 radio'ing "24 in the boat" and boats all around me are hooking up - but not me.

At this point, I don't think I have the tackle wrong - I think it must be something wrong with my boating. Maybe I'm trolling too fast / wrong direction / wrong tide / something.

Can you share any specific tips on what I should be doing with the boat? I feel like I'm losing this fight at the helm.

Thanks,

Mike
The Miss Adventure

[Rivercat09]

To the beginners, I might suggest either taking a charter or tagging along with one of the top dogs to see how its done first hand. There are a lot of subtle nuances, and you can pick up a lot of tips going with a charter or one of the many ringers who post here.

[5th Tuition]

Mike; I was out today and will try to post a detailed report later tonight.
5th (Marty)

[Ed D]

Mike VJ

Book a charter with Capt. Wayne Morgan out of Deale. He runs a 'teaching charter' where he shows you what to use and how to use it.

If people are hooking up around you and you aren't getting hits, then its either lure size or depth. After the spring season, you want to try and /match the hatch' by putting out spreads that match the size bait the predators are feeding on.

I went through my first year catching exactly 2 keepers until my last trip out. For that one I went to single lures and made them much smaller...caught 5 in an hour.

Ed

[Joe Walsh]

Mike, just fish next to Marty...

Joe