A Leisurely Summer Troll, August 15th, 2013
Summary
With repairs on my boat winding down, Norm and I got out on his big trawler Witch of November on Thursday night and trolled the mouth of the Patapsco along the channel edge for about an hour; we got one 17-inch striper around sunset in a dying tide for our effort. We were underway at a little before 7 pm, and we were tying up at the Marina at about 10 pm.
Our spread consisted of a tandem chartreuse bucktails (1 oz and 2 oz) set back 14 bars, and smaller tandem chartreuse bucktails with white twisty tails sent back about 120 feet.
The Tide Was Slack, But We Had A Gorgeous Sunset
Conditions
Low tide at North Point on the Patapsco was at 7:41 pm. The moon was 54% full and waxing. Air temperatures in the mid 70’s when we got underway, and were in the high 60’s by the time we headed home after dark. The air was dry, and there were high thin clouds. Salinity in the mouth of the Patapsco was about 5.5 PSU. The waves were kind to us tonight, and ranged from a mild to mid-sized chop; the winds were anywhere between three and eight knots.
These Ospreys Will Be Heading South Before Long
Additional details may be found below
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Slack Tide
Unfortunately, by the time we got the two rod spread out, it was almost slack tide. “Maybe we’ll get a fish dumb enough to bite” Norm commented, to which I replied, “I’ve found that fish don’t read tide tables.” Once we made it to the channel leaving the port of Baltimore, we turned to the southeast and quickly set the rods.
View From The Stern
“This Boat Doesn’t Run and Gun”
Next, we went to the vessel’s flying bridge, relaxed, and enjoyed the beautiful evening as the sun approached the horizon and painted the sky in gorgeous hues of orange. I looked towards the open bay, and Norm must have been reading my mind. “Don’t even think about breaking out my binoculars and scanning the horizon for birds. If you spot birds, they will be long gone by the time we got over there. This boat doesn’t run and gun.”
Dinner Time
A little while later with the boat on autopilot, we went downstairs and towards the stern and enjoyed some delicious fried chicken from Lauer’s supermarket in Pasadena. We continued our heading for about 20 minutes, and then turned around and started our trip back to Norm’s marina as we continued to run the channel edge.
Hooked Up
About ten minutes into our return trip as the sun was dipping below the horizon we were readying to pull the lines. We noticed that Norm’s rod with the heavier bucktails had a slight bow to it, as if it was carrying some extra weight. “Hey Don, why don’t you get on that rod.”, Norm said. I picked up the rod and began a retrieve, but started complaining about Norm’s left-handed reel. Norm grew up using spinning reels with the cranks on the left hand side of the rod in a standard right-handed configuration, and so all of his bait casting rods and most of his trolling rods have hand left-handed reels.
Good Natured Jawing
There definitely was something on the end of the line, but about 20 seconds into the retrieve, I put the rod in the holder and said, “You bring it in Norm; I can’t stand that stupid reel of yours!” I then grabbed my own rig, as Norm grabbed his. With the vessel continuing up the channel on autopilot, Norm and I did some good natured jawing as we retrieved. “Don, you’re a wuss, and you’re probably going to miss out on a fish!” Norm barked. “Those reels of yours suck!” I snapped back. “F--k you!” Norm growled. “No, f--k you!” I replied as we continued our twin retrievals.
The Skunk is Kicked Out
I retrieved my rig first, and had it stowed away in time to watch Norm continue his retrieve. “Hey, Don, we have a fish!” Norm said with joy. Sure enough, a fish appeared in the wake of Norm’s boat, and we both started cackling with glee. Norm was soon slinging the small striper over the swim platform and into the boat, and we exchanged high fives. The fish hit the smaller of the two bucktails, and it spit the hook as it flopped on the deck.
With twilight quickly descending on us, I took a couple quick pictures of Norm and his fish before it was released back into the Patapsco. We put away the last rig, and Norm did a quick rinse of both rigs with his fresh water washdown.
A Large Wake
With nightfall approaching, we continued up the Patapsco, and minutes after the rigs were stowed, we passed a huge cargo ship heading out of the harbor towards the open bay. The size of wakes and waves look deceivingly small from Norm’s flying bridge, but we were soon broadsided by a three to four foot wake stirred up by this massive seagoing ship. “Holy s—t!” I said aloud as Norm’s trawler rolled back and forth. We continued on, and we continued to get reflective waves from the large wake as we continued towards Rock Creek.
Football and a Beer
The wind was increasing in speed now from 4 to 5 knots to about 7 to 8 as we entered Rock Creek, and we were soon tying up at Norm’s slip. It was fully dark now, and we then watched the Ravens preseason game in the comfort of Norm’s cabin as we each enjoyed a “Red Sky at Night” beer (one of the “Heavy Seas” beers by Clipper City Brewery). It’s been a very enjoyable couple weeks fishing from Norm’s trawler while my boat was out of commission. Repairs to Unfinished Business were completed the following Saturday, and so we hope to return next week to run and gun the ledges.
Trolling Success in the Patapsco, 8/15/13
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