Quote:
Originally Posted by Chessie27
How did they do?
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Well; I couldn't be happier with the rocket launchers
.
I now have enough for 20 rods
. I will only run 18 rods, but this gives me room to "move" some rods when bringing in fish. I also had two "plates" made to attach my planer board lines. We installed them where I "guessed" they would work best. I could have moved them a little more forward, but they are bolted in place now
. They run fine with two smaller (6 ft) rods midgunnel, but 6 1/2 ft rods would touch the planer line on a sharp turn.
Now I guess you want a "fishing" report too. As you might notice, I put fishing in quotes. That's because we did a lot of fishing, but very little catching.
The crew was Don (Hunter), Dan (what the hell is his handle?), Mike (Garlien), and myself. An experienced crew for sure
.
We left Chesapeake Beach at dawn and headed south. My plan was to troll the CP Bouy area down to the Gas Docks and catch a few fish on the troll. We had jigging rods for plan "B"
.
With Don acting as "mate" I handed all 18 rods back to the deck and stayed at the helm. We quickly had all rods in the water and had the CP bouy in sight. As we approched, we saw a Mako CC fishing the area as well. He hailed us on the radio and we aggreed to stay in contact throughout the day. It's always good to have a second boat out there with you. Not only can you exchange information, but with the water as cold as it is, a second boat can be a safety item as well.
We watched the Mako boat a nice fish and congratulated him. It turns out this was going to be the only legal size fish boated by the two of us all day
We found some bait and some fish on the western side in 50 ft of water. We trolled through some nice marks, but nothing hooked up. Now there wasn't a lot of marks around, just some
. In fact, I was disappointed in the lack of bait and fish seen on the sidescan/downscan.
Some birds were spotted near the Gas Docks and we trolled through them. They were small terns working small rock. We expected this and only made one pass through them. We did see some gannetts diving, but just singles spread out and not concentrated in one area. Most gannetts were sitting in singles and pairs and you could spend all day chasing birds sitting over unmollested bait
.
Eventually; we racked the trolling rods and broke out the jigging rods. We ran back to the birds at the gas docks and jigged up some 12-15 inch fish. As we drifted, we continued to talk "smack" to each other and "cracking" on Mike about his picture post here on CBA with his rattletrap attached to a huge snap swivel
. I told him that most LTJ experts argue about whether to tie directly to the lure; or use a loop knot to the lure, but none use a snap swivel
. Everyone laughed (at Mikes expense).
Don checked his tackle box that he had brought with him, and low and behold, he had a rattletrap in there. Mike went crazy and quickly attached it to the rod he had brought. Yes it was equipped with a snap swivel
. No sooner had he cast it out, when he hooked a rockfish. The boat erupted with laughter. Mike's system is a tried and proven one. He has been catching rock in the upper bay consistantly with LTT these babys.
Celabration was in order; and Mike had the beer for it. Now don't get me wrong, when we go out fishing, we plan on putting fish in the boat. Often, we only take a few home with us and we CR the others. If we are spending money to go fishing, we want it to be productive. However, if you can't have a good time enjoying a day on the water, laughing with (and occasionally at) your friends; then don't accept an invitation from us.
This was essintionally a "shake down" cruise for my fall spread. I wanted to check out the new rocket launchers, and see what items I forgot to bring and store on the new boat. It appears I remembered most of the items I needed. The only thing I forgot, was a clipboard with my spread filled out on it. Don is as "detailed" as I am and he carries his clipboard with his spread whenever he trolls. The lures he has on each rod, as well as their weight and color are written down on paper. I kidded him about not having my "clipboard" and goodnaturely ribbed him about carrying one on his boat.
I had mostly large nine inch baits in the water, as we were looking for an early big fish. If I were going again, I might have a few more small (6 inch) baits throughout my spread.
After we left the birds by the gas dock; we ran to the eastern shore side near Sharps Island Light to check out the mouth of the Choptank and the coast of Tilghman Island. We scoped the area with binoculars and found nothing
. We ran back to CB with an eye out for birds. Nothing doing!!
We loaded the boat and drove home tired but thankful for a day on the water.
I love the new Judge, but would like to pull some more fish over her sides. I have Charters (Fri,Sat,Sun,Mon) over the next few days, so I should have some more fishing information for you next week.
Stay safe, all the best to you fishing.
5th (Marty)
Rocket Launchers
Hybrid Mode
