Great fishing in the last two years

I haven't posted on this blog in a long time, it surprised me when I realized its been over two years, the years go by so fast. LOL. I post almost all my trips on my facebook page but have almost forgot about this page, plus I think it has a lot to do about being lazy. but I haven't really been lazy when it comes to fishing, the last couple years have been great with lots of nice catches, my most recent Striper weighed over 50lbs, just an estimate since I never weighed it, since I was catch and releasing I don't like to waste to much time weighing. I basically went by the length (48"), girth charts to estimate the weight. I was actually a little disappointed when I looked at the picture, I thought it looked a lot bigger in person. I need to lose a few pounds so my fish can look bigger, ha ha

I caught so many nice fish in the last couple years, I really can't post them all but its been good, last year (2016) was one of the best years for Rockfishing in a while, you could go out and catch legal size fish all day long if you wanted, very plentiful! heres a couple pics from some of my better days. I plan on posting more but who knows, I said that two years ago. LOL

Another good season coming to an end

Finally got a boat back in September just in time for the fall fishing. luckily the fish stayed around the upper bay lumps and shoals later then usual so I never had to travel very far to get them. The fall fishing started out slower then usual, I still caught fish on every trip but I had quite a few trips where I only caught one or two, but November turned out to be a good month with plenty of good size schoolies while casting lures, but once the cold weather came in it stopped the larger fish from migrating father up the bay. Now I'm pretty much fishing the local reservoirs from shore (always fun)and anticipating some spring trophies, now that I have a more seaworthy boat I may be able to get out more!

Not fishing much lately

I've been getting emails from people asking why I haven't updated my blog, I never even realized anyone read it, LOL. The truth is I haven't been fishing much lately, back in may my boat got some serious damage to the hull and I may be getting one soon, And I got another deer tick on me in one of the worst possible areas, My crotch was itching for two days and I just though it was chaffing from wearing a safety harness at work, until I took A closer look and realized it was a deer tick. after that I haven't been in the woods much. I'll wait until the weather cools down some and there are less ticks. I did get into some nice Rockfish this spring before my boat feel apart, and I had a fantastic spring fishing for Large mouth. Summer has always been my least favorite time to fish anyway, to many boaters out there, crowded ramps, biting bugs, ect...hopefully I will get my next boat soon, I can't miss out on my favorite time of the year, Fall!

 

 

Here's a video from a spring Rockfish trip

The fall bite is on

Its been an awesome summer for Stripers in the upper bay. Catching legal size Rockfish has been routine, had many days where I caught until my arms were sore. There were lots of spots that held good fish. one of my favorite spots this year held fish since June (and is still a reliable spot).  For half the summer I was the only person fishing there until a few people found out about it. The great fishing for large White perch has been an added bonus

The fall has started out very good with a larger grade of fish that moved in. Large schools of Menhaden moved in back in September and I knew it wouldn't be long before the fishing busted wide open. One method I have been doing lately is cruising around from spot to spot and if I notice a school of bait near one of the spots, I know my chances of catching will increase. usually the schools of baitfish will look like an area of slightly disturbed water,  Even spots that have smaller breaking fish will still have larger fish near by. normally the larger fish will be near a drop off. listening for larger splashes has paid off.

 

fishing this spring and summer

Haven't posted in a while. I live right down the street where the Train explosion in Rosedale happened and I've been busy replacing windows and carpet, plus it happened right when I started remodeling my bathroom and other rooms. plus I've been working more then usual. oh and I'm also really lazy ; )
But I have been able to get out and fish when the weather allowed, Which didn't seem like very often.
In the spring I got out a couple times and caught some trophy Rock while trolling (The picture below is of me and Anthony from a charter trip on the Katherine http://katherinecharterfishing.zenfolio.com/)

also had some good days in the spring and early summer casting lures alone the shoreline at loch raven and Liberty reservoir catching Largemouth and  Pickerel and the occasional Rockbass

jigging for schoolies in the upper and mid Chesapeake has been off the hook all year

One of my more recent trips I was casting lures along the shoreline in a creek that feeds into the Bush river, catching mostly small Bass, but I kept hearing large splashes down the bank aways, figured it was probably a beaver that was slapping its tail because it didn't like me in its territory, but when I worked my way down in that direction I noticed it was actually carp feeding in shallow water, so I went back to my truck and got a can of corn that I keep just for this type of situation, and started catching them right away. Carp have got to be one of the most under rated Sport fish, they put up a great fight!

first Trophy trip of the year

Finally got a day with calm winds on April 6 so I headed down near the Bay bridge and trolled 5 lines, the water temp was almost 47*, didn't see many marks but every once in a while I would see what looked like a Rockfish or two in 70' or more water, ...started to think I may get skunked but about an hour later I hooked up with a pretty nice fish, continued to troll with the remaining 4 rods and caught one more about the same size. I was satisfied with my first Striper trip of the year so I headed in early. Spring is here!

cold water fishing

Its been a cold winter, but there's always fish to be caught no matter how cold the water is, you just have to target fish that prefer colder water like Crappie, Pickerel, Northern Pike, Walleye ect...
The key to catching fish in cold water is to work your lures slowly with plenty of pauses, Usually the fish will hit when the lure isn't moving or the instant you begin to move it again after a pause. In winter fish don't usually move around much, so if you work your lure to fast it won't look natural. If you see a fish in cold water you will notice it hardly moves, and when it does it moves very slowly.
I know for me it can sometimes be difficult to work a lure slow, I have to constantly force myself to be patient and work the lure slower, but that's the big difference between catching and not in the Winter or early Spring. Even Summer and fall slowing you presentation can pay off big. I don't think theres to many times when a fish will ignore a baitfish because its to slow and easy to catch, but they will if it looks to frisky and speeds by them.
Also when fishing for most freshwater fish in cold water you have to concentrate on the bite, It will usually just be a light tap or you will notice your line slowly moving away, when ever you think you may have a fish on the end of your line, don't second guess, set the hook and ask questions later!  Its surprising how many times I felt such a slight movement on my line that I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination but it turned out to be a fish, sometimes the biggest fish give the smallest taps...
If you set the hook and it turns out to be a snag or nothing at all, just chalk it up as a part of fishing, but watch out for your lure flying back at you if it does turn out to be nothing.
This Winter (when I have had a chance to fish) I have been fishing mostly at Loch Raven for Pickerel and Bass (And wishing to get a Northern), Mostly casting Spoons and Sencos from shore. Its been pretty good but its been slow. Shouldn't be to much longer and the fish will begin spawning and the fishing should get a lot faster.