Summary
On Friday the 30th, I had the privilege of riding along as an HO with Joe (21Parker) out of Buzz’s Marina along with John (fishcrazy). I was scheduled off for Friday, and was originally going to go solo out of the South River. With the water temperature of the bay at 48º, going solo, even with while wearing a PFD, was a risky endeavor. When I saw a call for an HO by 21Parker on Thursday, I jumped at it, and my plans were changed.
We had a successful trip today, on this first ever trip for me out of Buzz’s. We landed two healthy fish on the troll, a fat mid 20’s football landed by John, and a strong 37-inch female landed by me. We got the smaller fish off the boards, and the larger off of a deep boat rod. During the course of the day, we got some intelligence courtesy of The Hunter that green glitter shads were a hot bait. Late in the afternoon, we found working birds of various sizes in front of the marina, and we enjoyed some jigging success. We caught some undersized fish; I landed one 20-inch keeper and lost another, bigger keeper.
The skies were clear, and the winds started out at 5 to 6 knots out of the south. Initially, the seas were stacked up a bit as the last of the outgoing tide opposed the breeze out of the south. When we entered the main stem of the bay at a little after 7 am, we encountered a 1 to 2 foot chop on top of 2-foot rollers, and by the early afternoon, the seas lay down significantly.
Details may be found below
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The Boys in the Band
On Thursday evening, I joined my band mates Norm and Mark for a little jam session in Rockville, and on the way home to the Bowie area, Norm and I ran into a traffic jam on 495. I finally made it home after a 30-minute delay, and did not make it to bed until 12:15 am.
Running on Adrenalin
I arose a few hours later at 3 am, and running on adrenalin, was on the road by 4:20 am. I arrived at Buzz’s marina by 6:15 am to a flurry of activity. Several boats were already splashed, including Don Ritchett’s vessel, The Hunter, and several more were arriving at the ramp. I chatted briefly with Don and his crew, and soon Joe was backing his 21-foot Parker walk-around to the ramp.
The Tricky Channels
I greeted Joe and John, and we made short work of splashing the capable Parker and loading gear. In the early morning light, we made our way through the tricky channels at Buzz’s marina, and made our way to the main stem of the bay. Plan A was to look for birds to cast at with trolling a planer board spread as a backup. When no working birds were found, we deployed the trolling spread off of Point Lookout. While I piloted the vessel, Joe and John deployed the spread.
A Fast Start
When the spread was about half-deployed, I looked back from the helm to see John holding a fat 25-inch fall football. “What the heck?” I though to myself, and then called out “Way to go!” The skunk was kicked off the boat early, and the rest of the spread was deployed after the fish was iced down. After the rest of the spread was deployed, Joe took over the helm, and I joined John at the stern of the vessel.
A 37-Inch Cow
A little while later, as Joe, John and I were engaged in conversation, a boat rod with a deep umbrella and a pair of chutes got slammed. I stared for a few seconds in a semi-daze as the rod twitched violently in its holder before John called out to me “Fish on! Go get it!” I grabbed the rod and began a retrieve, and I knew immediately that this was no small fish. The stripers this year have been very spirited regardless of their size, and this fish was no exception. I did a pump and retrieve when the big-shouldered fish permitted it, and a few minutes later, we saw a large form appear in the prop wash. John motioned me forward, and slipped the net under the strong and stout 37-inch cow.
Good Company
The rod was reset, and we continued our troll with visions of catching our limit. The limit was not meant to be, and we did not get another knockdown on the troll the rest of the day. As morning gave way to early afternoon, the sun warmed our skin, and the seas lay down. At one point, The Hunter, with Don at the helm, passed us on our port side. Earlier, Don and I exchanged phone calls and information, and I learned that green glitter shads were being very good to him. With good company, good conversation, and good weather, the morning passed very quickly. Soon, it was time to pull the spread and head back to Buzz’s, and Joe and John made short work of retrieving the gear.
Birds!
We sped back to Buzz’s, and finally found what we set out to find in the wee hours of the morning, working birds over feeding fish. The birds were right out in front of the marina in about 30 feet of water. There was a mix of the tiny terns with more than a showing of the larger gannets and pelicans in the mix, leading us to believe that there might be a few quality fish to be had. There were one or two other boats working the birds, and we drifted up to our own group and cut the engine. Fish were stacked up like cordwood on the meter. I grabbed the casting rod rigged with the 6-inch white Z-man BKD style jig with ½ oz head and started casting from the bow of the vessel.
A Lost Keeper at the Boat
Within minutes, I tied into a 14-inch striper, and soon tied into another. Reasoning that there might be larger fish feeding in the lower third of the water column, started paying out line and letting my jig fall to the bottom instead of working the breaking fish. Within minutes of doing this, I felt a strong “thunk” and made a hook set. My rod doubled over and twitched violently as a strong fish started running parallel to the vessel. “I’m on again, and this is no dink!” I announced in an excited tone. As I fought the fish to the surface, it occurred to me that I was not going to just haul it aboard like the countless dinks that I boated throughout the summer. I then made my way to the stern as I continued to fight the fish, all the while managing to keep a tight line. Just as the fish was about to reveal itself at the surface, my line went limp. “Oh s—t! I finally get a nice one on the jig, and it gets off!” I announced with disappointment and heartbreak.
The Hunter on the Prowl
Blind Squirrel Theory
We all continued to cast, and soon, the school of feeding fish moved to the north. John slowly moved north, and soon the meter lit up again with activity. I initially had the lucky hand, and boated most of the fish. Even a blind squirrel will eventually find a nut. The white Z-man that had been so good to me in the early fall continued to be a hot ticket, and so Joe and John switched out to jigs similar to mine. We continued to cast and move for about 30 minutes, in which time I boated a 20-inch striper, literally my first boated keeper on the jig of the season. During this time, the gallant crew of The Hunter joined us. Joe had some family obligations, and we were more than late. So, at about 3:30, we packed it in and headed back to Buzz’s, tired but happy. I lost track of how many fish I caught on the jig, but it was in the neighborhood of 10 to 12 spunky stripers.
Packing It In, and a Big Thanks
We returned to Buzz’s, and made short work of pulling the boat. Just as in the wee hours of the morning, the marina was awash in activity, as one by one, vessels were pulled. Most of the returning boats had tales of a successful day of trolling or jigging. Don and his crew on The Hunter did very well, limiting out on overs, and catching eight big rockfish overall. The previous afternoon, after I made arrangements to meet up with Joe and John at Buzz’s, I opened up a fortune cookie. The fortune read, “Your present plans are going to succeed”. I would have to say that they did indeed. John had to get to a previous commitment, and we bid him a farewell. Joe gave me the 37-inch fish, and I thanked him for his generosity. Joe left to meet up with his son, and I cleaned my fish as The Hunter pulled up to the dock. I chatted briefly with Don and company before I left as happy as I was exhausted, very. I want to extend a big thanks to Joe and John for their companionship and camaraderie.
I Looked a Little Miffed, but I was Just Happy and Tired
Photo Courtesy of Buzz’s Marina
Sunday Breakfast
On Sunday Kate and I had a breakfast to die for which featured one of our favorite fish recipes, Panko Encrusted Rockfish.
HO’ing Success out of Buzz’s, 11/302012
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