Striped Bass on Topwater

Fall fishing is in full swing! The Striped bass are schooled up and feeding for winter. Water temps are in the mid 50's. We had a bit of a warmup Friday night with air temps at 58 to start the day. Wind was a little more than we like but still doable. We left the dock with the intentions of trolling first then switching to jigging. Sure enough the birds were right where we left them last week. We dropped 4 rods in and started trolling. Birds were working but not hard and they were jumping around a lot. Once I marked fish I could see that they were deeper than previous trips. So we readjusted and deployed all 6 rods accordingly. It took about maybe an hour and we started getting hits. Usually this is fish hitting the teasers and not the hooks. But we kept at it and not long we had a fish on. Josh was up first and before he could get the fish halfway to the boat another rod goes off. Kyle jumps on and then a 3rd rod goes off. We boated all 3 fish. Beautiful fat fall keepers. Nice and healthy. In the box they went. We circled back and after a few passes another fish on. Thats 4 in the box and 1 more to go for a limit. A couple more passes and fish on. Before that fish gets to the boat another rod goes off. We boated them and that makes a limit with 1 to throw back. We made a couple more passes and managed 1 more throw back before the bite died. This time of year the fish may or may not feed for a long period. At that was the case. We stowed the trolling gear and went looking for a jigging bite. The wind was dying down perfectly. Its hard to jig on fish with 1 to 2 foot waves but it was dying out like predicted. We went to a reef that is old bridge decking and concrete rubble. There was a boat there and they were catching. After a few minutes they pulled up and left. We made several drifts and sure enough Josh hooks a Nice 26 1/2 inch Striper. Couple more drifts and several more Stripers and I notice commotion off the Starboard side about 100 yards. They are busting on the surface. With no birds around. We motor over as quiet as possible and everyone is hooking up. They didn't stay on the surface long as there was a boat that kept trolling by. But they did pop back up several times and we were able to get the them before they went down. We caught and released numerous healthy Stripers. Mostly over the 24 inch keeper size limit. After a while Josh hooked into something huge. It wasn't a striper that's for sure. We had to follow the fish so he didn't get spooled. It came near the surface a couple of times. With the fall water being so clear on the last time near the surface I was able to make out the color. It was copper, a big Bull Red. Unfortunately after a 15 minute battle he got it near the boat and it went straight down. It stayed there, then wrapped the reef and pulled the hook. These are some powerful beasts that is for sure. We got back at it and caught a few more Stripers before calling it a day and heading back in. The ride back in the water was almost glass smooth. Back at the dock we measured and weighed the fish. Then filleted and packaged them for their ride home. The smallest was just over 4 pounds with the biggest at just under 6lbs. They made for some nice dinner filets for the table. We still have dates available. This cold snap coming should fire them up even more. Big ocean run fish are on their way. We usually start seeing them within the next week give or take. Every year is a little different. The largest fish ever on my boat was a 46 1/2 inch Striper caught on Veterans Day. That was definitely the fish of a life time. You won't know if you don't go. So contact us to set to a trip. Till then Tight lines everyone. We are going to get back at for now.

Well at 2:19 pm today it will be officially Fall. Saturday was a rough one. NE wind which makes fishing difficult by itself. But add in 10 to 15 mph winds and it was definitely a grind. We managed to tuck up inside the river to get out of the wind. We found a few spot but not many and the bite was definitely slow. But we did find a couple keeper croaker. Roberto caught a 14 incher. That’s the biggest I have seen in quite a few years. The wind layer down some but not enough so we went to live lining. Wind and waves made it tough to position properly. But we gave it our best and was rewarded with a nice Striped Bass. Bottom fishing is slowing down with the cooler weather so we will be focusing mainly on Stripers until the winter closure. Now is a good time for jigging and chasing breakers. We also do trolling trips if that you like. We will still be live lining also but we will be buying our spot ahead of time. There will be additional charges for that but we will work it out with you ahead of time.

Cooler weather is in the air! Water temps have come done and the days are cooler! Striped bass are staring to transition to fall patterns. We have seen some very nice healthy Stripers the past few trips. Jigging structure has been productive and so has been live lining. Its not a home run right away as conditions have to be right for live lining. But we have been making it work. Bottom fishing is still decent. But the fish have moved a little deeper. Still some big jumbo spot still around tho. This weekend we had some Whiting show up and even a Flounder. Bottom fishing should be good for a while and Striper fishing will get better as the fall goes on. Birds are starting to work but not real consistent yet. But it is only a matter of time. November is when we usually see some Big migratory Stripers start to show back up. Its isn't a given as every season is different but you don't know if you don't go. If your looking to catch a monster Striped Bass late November thru March is the best time on the Chesapeake! Message us to setup your fishing adventure today! We trailer our boat to be as close to the fishing action as possible and give you more time fishing then running.