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I mentioned in an earlier “How-To” article that I would write about interesting jigging situations when I encountered them. We’re in the middle of some amazing summer fishing. I’ve been chasing breakers over hard bottoms on both sides of the Bay. This is a typical Chesapeake hot-weather pattern which will usually last and even intensify until fall.
The challenge presented by blitzing fish is not in finding the right lure. Almost any lure will catch when fish are in a wild surface-feeding frenzy. I’ve caught rock and blues with a bare hook using only a cut-off piece of a pink soda-straw for bait. I know other fishermen who routinely use a church-key can-opener with attached hooks as a fishing lure for casting into breakers. When working a blitz, the difficult part comes in getting larger fish, especially keeper-size stripers out of the schools. Read More!
I got out about 7:00 PM this evening launching off the east side of Kent Island at the Shipping Creek ramp. I owed Crockett a trip and I was hoping the new moon would bring good current. It did. Some of the crab traps were almost pulled under the dish-calm water. I found working birds on the 10 to 20 ft ledge just south of Romancoke Pier, and played with a few bluefish. The schools were running back and forth between Romancoke and Hooligan’s Snooze. I could probably have stayed there all night, but I was hoping to find a few rockfish. I pointed Crockett’s Reel southwest and found birds and breakers within a few miles. I started out bouncing soft-plastics off the bottom, then tried throwing a red-head Super Spook hoping to it would be too big for the smaller rockfish and blues. I got a few better fish Read More!
Tonight’s fishing partners were Rich and James. Rich and I have fished together frequently, and this is my third time on the water with James. We launched into Eastern Bay at the Shipping Creek ramp and ran out toward the main Bay. It took a little more looking around than it did Tuesday evening, but we eventually found fish in 33 feet. We noticed a few bluefish on the surface here and there. The sonar told a completely different story though, with fish stacked up top to bottom.
When I’m lucky enough to find breakers over deep water, I always reach for the bottom with my jig, even though it’s relatively easy to catch fish at lesser depths. Bigger fish run deep beneath the breakers preferring to pick up the scraps left over by the more energetic younger fish. Read More!
Just when I thought the western shore was going to turn into the Summer striped bass hotspot, the fish showed up back over on the east side last night. Tim & Mike joined me on Crockett’s Reel for a 5:30 PM launch from Shipping Creek on Kent Island. We buzzed the Eastern Bay stopping only once when a flock of diving least terns alerted us to bait, then continued through Poplar Narrows south to an area that occasionally holds fish this time of year. My original plan was to cruise on across to the oyster flats off Chesapeake Beach, but it was soon apparent we had traveled far enough.
A few seagulls over a steep drop-off put us on a some small bluefish. As we were playing around with them and watching the fishfinder, bigger marks showed up. Stacked fish near the bottom is usually a sign of rockfish. We all three hooked up about the same time with some respectable summer fish. Read More!
Looks like we’re settled in to a pretty typical summer pattern of breaking fish over hard bottoms. The action around the mouth of Eastern Bay has slowed somewhat, but there’s plenty of fish on the west side from Thomas Point Light all the way down Cove Point. I haven’t seen any huge schools of fish yet, just roving bands of stripers and bluefish. They’re up and down quickly, so you have to have a good eye and react quickly when you see birds close to the water. Since bluefish will quickly devour soft plastics, I’m throwing mostly metal jigs but occasionally switching to some of the newer generation plastics that are resistant to being bitten off. Read More!
The period around the Independence Day holiday is typically pretty tough fishing. There’s a lot more boats on the Bay than usual, and the fish lay low until things simmer down. I got out twice this past week. My first evening was spent with a friend from the TidalFish board, Mark. I knew Mark to be a good fisherman from what others have told me, and I’ve been looking for an opportunity to get out with him to show him what I know of jigging around the Bay Bridge. He has previously tried jigging, but had more success by live-lining or trolling. We finally got the chance to go this week. Read More!
