First trip of 2012 - PLO w pics

[Southerly]

good day for BIG fish

[Spot77]

Skip....what a great day!

Thanks for the great report. I appreciate the details about the lures. As I start to troll more and more I enjoy hearing about what people are using and seeing the actual lures so I know what I'm looking for by sight as much as by name.

Did you spend the night somewhere down there or make the trip all the way back home?
You must have been beat after a long day on the water like that.

[Steve F]

What a nice day to be on the water and man that rod was bent and you put some nice fish over the rail, WTG Skip. Nothing like having cold water splashed in your face but it looks like it was worth it.

[Skip]

Spot77 - I make it a long day trip.

Leave Severn at 5:00 am - it's about 100 miles. With 1-2 quick fuel / bearing check stops - about 2 and a half hours.

It's about the limit I'll do in a day - any farther and I'll stay over night.


I'll try to put up some photos of lures - if you are still putting a spread together , this weekend 14 /15th - Tyler's in Chesapeake Beach has a great sale.Added bonus for FREE - Capt. Wayne Morgan will help you select lures and provide rigging tips. He even has a hand out with exact line lengths / lure weights.

Then on March 19th - in Severna Park , Spankin' Stripers lure maker will be at the MSSA meeting with all his lures.

All Tackle and Marty's also sell good lures. The 3 oz Bloody Point sparkle in white can be deadly fished off boards on sunny days.

Marty's carries the Alien type 2 ozs - these work great.

Then there are the three flea markets - never know what lures show up there.

It pays to put an assortment out - some days the fish really prefer a head style or color / combo.

Crazy thing - next trip - the hot lure draws a bank .

[garlien]

Skip,

Great post...Wish I was out there...Fish looked great as well...So far it looks like 2012 is starting out to be an OK year for our striped friends...I am hoping the first 6 months of this year treat me like the last 6 months of last year....

Did the Menhaden hit the tandem ? I am guessing you were running the lures deep as well ?

Keep us land locked folks going with reports !

Mike

[Skip]

Mike - I had the water column covered from about 5 feet to 45 feet.

Bulk of the lures were in the 15 to 25 foot range.

It goes against common sense but often in winter near PLO - the board rods running 5 to 15 feet get most of the fish.

About 8 years ago in late December - my dad and I were trolling off Smith Point. I saw a swirl on top and told my dad it was a big rockfish. He told me I was seeing things.

At this time - every one trolled lures deep or very deep.

An hour later - I saw another swirl and caught sight of the fish. Reeled in a rod and rerigged a 13/0 Cripple Alewive - no weight. Sent it 250 feet back off the top.

Maybe 15 minutes later - it got crushed by a 42 incher. We got 4-5 more , all off that high rod.

Couple days later - I'm there with planer boards. Light snow falling but I still put them over.

VHF had some fun chatter - guys laughing at that Grady who thinks it's spring time.

We caught fish like no tomorrow - all but 2 off the boards.

VHF - That there Grady hooked up again - fish must like it's spring time too.

Now most guys run boards in winter.

[Spot77]

I'll post more tomorrow because I'm beat right now, but I want to thank Greg (B-Faithful) for inviting me along today for the best Chesapeake Rockfish trip I've ever been on.

I know it was just an average day by his standards, but it was amazing by mine.


And Greg.....sorry about snoring so loudly on the ride home......I'm sure it was pretty scary.

[Rivercat09]

Originally Posted by Skip

It goes against common sense but often in winter near PLO - the board rods running 5 to 15 feet get most of the fish.

About 8 years ago in late December - my dad and I were trolling off Smith Point. I saw a swirl on top and told my dad it was a big rockfish. He told me I was seeing things.

At this time - every one trolled lures deep or very deep.

An hour later - I saw another swirl and caught sight of the fish. Reeled in a rod and rerigged a 13/0 Cripple Alewive - no weight. Sent it 250 feet back off the top.

Maybe 15 minutes later - it got crushed by a 42 incher. We got 4-5 more , all off that high rod.

Couple days later - I'm there with planer boards. Light snow falling but I still put them over.

VHF had some fun chatter - guys laughing at that Grady who thinks it's spring time.

We caught fish like no tomorrow - all but 2 off the boards.

VHF - That there Grady hooked up again - fish must like it's spring time too.

Now most guys run boards in winter.

Wow! Thanks for another tidbit of insight and education. Skip, you're always teaching me something. Thanks!

Don