If the bite gets any tougher - I might start golfing . Sure miss the 2005 to 2008 trips when literally wore 3-4 crew members out by noon with 20 or 30 fish.
Still some fish around if you keep at it.
Fellow TFer David 22192 ( Dave ) met me at Sandy Point about 6:45 am. Tide was high on the piers but still incoming. Water at ramp had a brown tinge to it but cleared up once out in the bay. We ran SE to #87 against a south breeze. Turned north to deploy the spread and soon had all the rods out. Got a hit off a downrigger with a green / white June Bug spoon brella but the fish fell well short of 28. Looked to be about 14 inches but was greedy. Took that rig off and replaced it with a regular umbrella.
Saw TFers Mlag and Hunter so knew I was in right area. We trolled east / west as current slackened. Worked south towards TPL and got another hit off the far board line. Fish came loose but not before crossing another line . Figures had to be farthest out. Reeled the others in and fixed the tangle.
Had a fish hit the white umbrella off downrigger and Dave reeled it in so I could net it. Fish sure had girth but after two measurements was only 27 inches so it went back. Love to catch it next week when size limit changes.
Trolled across deep water and got a hit off the chartreuse umbrella down 25 feet. Fish hit a 2 oz Spankin' Striper John Deere. Dave reeled it up and as it got close - I set net down. We saw it was short from a distance in clear water. 25 incher was let go.
It was now about 1:00 and we kept close eye on weather and ear to NOAA on vhf. Storms were predicted but we hoped cloud cover would keep temperature down and not allow warm air to feed a storm. Bay was near flat and started to see more bait on meter. I'll give Dave credit - he never complained about the slow fishing , in fact was jumping at every noise.
Trolled into 35 feet and downrigger bounced hard. Reeled in to find nothing - the white umbrella was missing. Odd thing - the clip still held rubber band. The 60 lb Ande leader was cut clean - no idea what happened. We figured if snagged - clip on rubber band would pop.
Put on a new rig but it puzzles me still. Weather reports were still good so we continued trolling near TPL on west side. Current was moving well and saw a few scattered fish on meter. Heard the THUNK of a planer rod and Dave was soon fighting a nice fish. It hit a single white 2 oz Alien 90 feet off board. Fish fought well but soon was in the net. No need to measure but we did any way. 36 incher made the day. Whew , we sure paid our dues for that one. Iced it down and hoped for another fish.
Worked the area and it paid off with a hit on other side. Tandem rig with a 6 oz John Deere / 2 oz white. Fish ate the white lure. I reeled it in and Dave netted the nice 32 incher. It was now about 5:30 - hard to believe as day seemed to fly by. Not wanting to chance weather - we began pulling rods as auto pilot ran boat north towards Sandy Point.
As often happens - a rod got hit while pulling in lines. Dave reeled in a very feisty and lucky mid 30 incher that hit a 4 oz chartreuse parachute 60 feet off board. Let it go and ran back over flat seas and put boat on trailer.
Dave had a long drive back to Virginia but I'm sure the nice fish in his cooler helped ease the traffic head ache. Driving west on Rt. 50 - watched as what looked to be every Anne Arundel emergency vehicle raced towards the bay bridge. Saw the AA dive unit with boat - never good news.
Managed to get almost home before the winds slammed into the area. Glad we got our fish because I think neither of us was going to give up. Hard to explain but getting 2-3 tough fish often means more then 20 easy ones.
Yeah , fishermen are not wrapped tight, but still IMHO - beats golf.
Thanks for the report and general intel. Congratulations on your persistence and payoff! There certainly seems to be a fair amount of fat, healthy footballs around. The fish that we've been landing more resemble what one would get in mid to late October. I'd like to give it one more go before I hang up the planer boards until November, but that depends (as always) on the winds.
Thanks for the report and general intel. Congratulations on your persistence and payoff! There certainly seems to be a fair amount of fat, healthy footballs around. The fish that we've been landing more resemble what one would get in mid to late October. I'd like to give it one more go before I hang up the planer boards until November, but that depends (as always) on the winds.
Don
The wind wasn't as bad today, but it still had some anger issues.
I've been on lots of charters that trolled throughout the summer.....not as much fun as the light tackle stuff I enjoy so much though.
Long day but got a few - Weds - TPL
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