I have been eyeballing the New Jersey coast in the hopes that the big striped bass and bluefish that have been on the beaches there may make a showing on the Delaware and Maryland coasts (a 150 mile drive from the DC area.) Years back, I had tremendous success around Ocean City in December. I would get a good nap, drive to Ocean City and get there around 1:00AM. I would fish with shad assassins and storms off the bridge to catch "schoolie" striped bass (most around 18-23 inches with the occasional fish pushing keeper size.)
Around 5:00AM I would head to Harbor Bait and Tackle to buy bunker, then I would head down to Assateague Island, where there would be a nice pick of striped bass and the occasional bluefish in the spring.
The body of ocean fish has not come to the shore in several years, and while I have still done ok on the Route 50 bridge fishing under the lights, it doesn't seem like the fishing has been as good. I have debated trying my hand in Delaware either on the beach or at Indian River Inlet, but I am limited in my knowledge and experience.
Any pointers for this guy, who is bored out of his mind not fishing the last few weeks? Also, if there is action elsewhere, report it here.
Comments
In this same note, anybody know any action that occurs in the Wilmington, NC area in the winter?
Check out the Ocean Crest Fishing Pier on Oak Island. The fishing there in the summer is arguably the best on the east coast but I am not sure about winter.
Yes that is the pier that the shark attacks were around this summer. I fished there a full summer in 2006 and it was incredible the things caught off a pier.
You want to hit the inlets south of Myrtle, like the Santee. Friend pulled in over 100 lbs of keepers this weekend from a two man boat. Drum, Red, mostly, some Flounder.
I have heard that Jolly Roger Pier in Wrightsville has had an epic giant red drum run. I don't know when it will shut down because they have never seen big red drum in these numbers before.
https://www.facebook.com/Jolly-Roger-Inn-and-Pier-314180554679/?fref=ts
If you have access to a boat behind Bald Head Island and Bull Island. There is some of the best Redfish and Black Drum fishing in the world.
You can also catch striped bass up and down the cape fear river all winter long.
shhh......
French, as I've reported to you, schoolie action remains spotty here in the middle Chesapeake Bay area, with a few keepers mixed in with a lot of really little fish. Trolling the right stuff, umbrellas, stretch plugs, etc. are bringing some in, casting and jigging with bucktails and swim shad (paddletails) have been also taking fish. Birds are on the fish, but the concentrations of fish are small and making for less than stellar action. Hoping for better schools in the near future as the water cools.
Word is, good numbers of schoolies were caught in Indian River Inlet yesterday per Bill's Sports Shop. Some had sea lice, meaning the ocean fish are on the move. A ton of BIG (20 pound-38 pound class) stripers with some big blues mixed in were caught on bunker in the rough surf at Island Beach State Park in Jersey today. I haven't heard any reports this morning other than the wind turned southeast, which may slow the migration.
Can tell you it is not gonna be any more successful any farther north on the Shore.
Long Beach Island, Brigantine, the Barnegate and Egg Harbor Inlets have been just ok to disappointing for Striper production so far.
While Tuna runs out of Manasquan Inlet have actually kept up and been productive even until last week, though weather in general ahs made Hudson Canyon runs more difficult than some years.
Interesting. The IBSP reports from Betty and Nicks have been salivating. Yesterday they did video weigh-in's for a bunch of nice fish.
I keep hoping the big blues show up in numbers. I'd love to catch a giant bass on plugs, but I grew up with stories of my dad catching giant blues down at Oregon Inlet catwalk when he was in dental school at MCV. I want to experience that just one time besides when I am running live bait for kings. (When you are live baiting, the last thing you want are blues around.)
Seems like for the most part there is just no consistency. Different Boats on same spots on days not too far apart just getting results wildly apart, wind, water, being equalish.
You got a source for that striper info? Pretty sure north of LBI is where you want to be right now. IBSP is hot, and Manasquan inlet boats are blowing up the bass between the inlet and IBSP. Check the last 3 days for this boat:
http://www.njqueenmary.com/reports.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/partyboatqueenmary/
Of course, it finally cooled down today, but the last half week has been about as stellar as it gets. I will be out either wednesday or friday next week depending on weather window.
yep- SE winds slowed it down. I bet unless they go south, it will turn on with the NE wind later this week.
http://www.betty-n-nicks.com/fish.shtml
That link has all the video weigh in's. Biggest was a 38 pounder caught yesterday on Bunker at Gillikens in IBSP.
Also, this photo has been passed around. Full grown adult bunker on left, 20+ bass on right:
They definitely have had better results than the Miss Barnegat Light, they have been very up and down. So good to see that they are out there somewhere it seems.
http://www.missbarnegatlight.com/DailyFiishinReports.html
You jersey folks have been holding out info... how bout an invite sometime? Hahahahaha.
Pops put a 33" bass in the boat last week, and it was considered a baby... Didnt even bother to take a picture bacause it was "small"
I just want to get one off the beach with a plug. Even a short. I have been catching them off the bridge for years.... managed some nice ones on bait in the surf. Never managed a plug fish. Last trip to IBSP (give or take around 2010) I got one thump on a black Bomber A at night. That has been it.
So general rule of thumb:
Big Bass move earliest. The big bass are leaving the NJ coast today(total guess, but i tend to be pretty accurate). What will follow is waves and waves of 24 to 28" fish. Those fish will be there until january in varying concentrations. Word on the street is Raritan bay is loaded to the brim with these fish right now.
Plugs are good if the bait is adult bunker. In the fall run, shads and metal are better if you end up with rainfish, peanuts or snad-eels in front of you. When i think plug fishing i think mid to late may, but it can be done in the fall too.
All out blitzes are pretty rare to stumble on unless you know the area or are well connected in texting networks. Even us locals salivate and get jealous. Its fun when you end up in one though...
Yep.... I hit one blitz of 2-4 pound blues as a kid with metal near the Boiler south of Oregon Inlet. At some point I'd love to get into the big ones off the beach. I heard there were more than many ever remembered the first week of May this past spring, however I had already booked time to head south for king mack live baiting around Wilmington.
The last couple of falls have been terrible for the Maryland run. I hope this year turns around.
Huge body of bait, if it stays inshore, y'all will get a shot.
this video doesnt mention a location, but i'd bet money its somewhere between deal and sea girt:
And because i named dropped Raritan bay, this drone video has set the internet on fire (language in video is NSFW). None of these fish have started to migrate yet...
And now i'm down the rabbit hole, another video that matches how i remember it. I take it this is the type of plugging action you want:
I have been following Sea-Money's youtube posts all fall. That dude lives the life. I wonder why he took down his Tsunami popper fish from earlier this week?
Based on the film, i think he's trying to hide locations...Did the popper video show the shoreline much? Water towers are usually the landmark giveaways.
not really... he was casting to the north of a jetty into pass showering peanut bunker. only caught one.
I don't know the geography too well. Most of my fish were at IBSP on clams. When I went out at night to the jetties between Lavallette and Mantloking (I think... I know I was north of seaside heights) all I got were parking tickets.
Maryland/Delaware folks- a 40+ pound rockfish was caught by a boat trolling plugs off Bethany Beach yesterday. Hopefully this cold front pushes them down and keeps them on the beach.
40 lb. Nice.
After the game on Saturday I may head out to OCMD and walk the bridge for some schoolies.
I ended up heading to Choptank after the UVA game and got skunked. There was no tide moving at all. Fortunately IamVTFish put me on a little pullage last week, so at least I have caught a striper this year!
North Carolina guys are catching monster false albacore on spin and fly right now. Lots of redfish and trout around as well. The albies should stick around through the end of the month so long as water temp remains where it is and the winds don't turn from the south for an extended period. I expect good fishing for reds and specks through December in the Carolinas in the surf.
Fishing in the Chesapeake Bay is good for small fish right now, not so good for the big stripers. We boated 75 stripers, mostly on fly, up to 22" last weekend in the mouth of the Rapp.
Musky fishing in the New is on fire right now for anyone down in Blacksburg. The fish are fattening up for the winter and spring spawning season. Trout fishing is also good with the rain we have had the last few days. Remember if you are brook trout fishing to leave the breeding pairs alone.
If anyone has any questions about fishing, feel free to message me on here or look up my info on www.knotthereelworld.com. I've also got a facebook page under Knot the Reel World. Always happy to help out others with fishing tips/tricks.
Love those albies. I'd love to get into some schoolie striped bass. Those are the prettiest fish in the nearshore waters.
Well, here's an update for you french, I went out twice last week while home in NJ, Wednesday from a headboat and friday off the beach. Crushed 'em both times. Miles and miles of fish leaving sandy hook bay. On wednesday i landed 5 in a 5 hr trip fishing crippled herrings.
But friday is the day to write about. Usually i fish the beach with my best friend, regardless of how the action has been. We started in Belmar at 6 AM and kept moving until we hit sand hook at about 9 AM. We ran into full on blitzes that lasted 3 hrs and we left 'em biting. Fish from 20" to 30", at times so close in the was we could kick em. Ended with about 20 fish each, and caught 'em on everything we casted. Havent had a day like that in 10+ years.
I heard they have been thick on the peanut bunker. Until yesterday they were still catching.
Hey French! I know your familiar with Bogue and off shore charters, but I got a question for ya. I just got engaged and I am planning on a beach wedding in sept/oct of next year at EI. My plan is to take the groomsmen and father in law out on a near shore charter, do you have any suggestions? I've been out in the Capt Stacy before and that's always an option, but I'm wanting to chase some Cobia, Kings, blues, mahi, and maybe lil tunny.
Captain Brian Harrington is the only guy I would book in Morehead City. His 42 foot WestMac The Run Off is no-frills for offshore, but nobody is better on billfish in the area. If you are just looking for you +1 or 2, he also has a 25 foot Contender that will boogie out to fish for kings, cobia, and especially amberjacks. In August and Septemeber, he does a ton of inshore trips targeting catch and release red drum. You will catch 40 inchers until your arms want to fall off.
If you are with a group that just wants to pull on big fish and doesn't care about keeping them, I would look at either the inshore red drum trip or a 3/4 day targeting amberjacks. Brian took my dad and I amberjack fishing and the entire day we had a school of about 200 30 pounders swimming on the surface right behind the boat.
http://www.extrememeasurescharters.com/charter_info.html
Thank ya sir! Much appreciated on the info.
So I've been trying to research him but it appears his website is down. If you don't mind me asking what's the price range we're looking at? I'd imagine competitive so some where around $800-$1200?
Always call to ask- here are the rates posted on his site: http://www.extrememeasurescharters.com/
Cost: $1700.00 full day-Offshore*
Boat: 42' Wesmac Sportfish
Species: dolphin, wahoo, tuna, sailfish, blue marlin, etc...
1-6 people
Fly fishing opportunities also available (see Fly Fishing below)
Cost: $1000.00 full day-Regular*
Boat: 42' Wesmac Sportfish
Species: king mackerel and spanish mackerel
1-6 people
Cost: $600.00 half day*
Boat: 42' Wesmac Sportfish
Species: Spanish mackerel
1-6 people
Cost: $800.00 full day *
Boat: 25' Contender
Species: dolphin, wahoo, tuna, sailfish, blue marlin, etc...
1-4 people
Fly fishing opportunities also available (see Fly Fishing below)
Cost: $750.00 full day*
Boat: 25' Contender
Species: cobia, flounder, trout, albacore, puppy drum, amberjacks, kings, etc...
1-3 people
Cost: $750.00 full day-Bottom Fishing*
Boat: 25' Contender
1-3 people
For Morehead City, these are on the low end of the price scale. As a frame of reference, most of the boats at Morehead City that go offshore charge $1850 for offshore. http://www.sensationsportfishing.com/rates.asp
If you are looking for more comfort (bigger boat) for the same money, I would recommend Oregon Inlet instead of Morehead. Better fishing (except for amberjacks) and bigger boats for the same money. The Legacy (as an example) out of Oregon Inlet I believe is $1800 for the day, is 53 foot with an air conditioned cabin and has satellite TV. My step-son (14 at the time) and my 9 year old nephew both caught limits of mahi that day. It was very roomy and family friendly. The Pelican, Fintastic, and Rigged Up are all the same size and outstanding boats. I have had great days on tuna on all three.
Outstanding! Once again thanks for the info.
This is very helpful to me as well. My granddad has a house down in Beaufort, NC. We always get after the blues and spanish but it'd be nice to know where and how to target more of the inshore fish.
Question, Ive never been saltwater fly fishing, Ive got a buddy in South Florida who takes his Paddleboard out all the time and kills it.
Is that something that has to be crystal clear to do? Ive heard of people doing it in Rudie Inlet or the Bay, but I dont know the specifics, would love to hear if people have been in Virginia or the Carolinas.
I am sure there are people who could do it, but I would fail a DUI balance test stone cold sober, so I have no clue how to answer this. I have heard of people who use a paddle board to swim out big chunk baits for shark fishing, but you couldn't pay me enough to be bouncing around in the ocean with some big bleeding chunk of fish. I have seen way way way too many things that could have eaten me for me to want to attract them.
I'm a fly fishing guide based out of Richmond and I saltwater fish all the time in the Bay and OBX. I have never fished off of a paddleboard but do own four kayaks that I take clients out on fresh and saltwater fishing. My personal kayak I can stand in so it's basically the same thing as a stand up paddleboard.
Fly fishing saltwater isn't difficult, if you can do light spin fishing you can fly fish it. A saltwater 8 weight set up is standard and depending on depth of water a floating or intermediate sinking line is necessary. For flies, it can be as simple as a chartreuse and white clouser minnow. Feel free to email me at knotthereelworld@gmail.com and I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have or provide any advice.
Fish below was caught last summer while I was standing in my yak.
https://www.instagram.com/p/5Sv_8wFcGP/?taken-by=siessel4
Thanks Man, thats super encouraging.
I'm going down to Sanibel Island in Florida at the beginning of January with the family. Planning on going on an inshore charter to hopefully land my first red drum. This is definitely the only motivation I have for pushing through finals.
They should be around. Do you already have a charter booked? I have heard good things about chartering Whitney Jones from Whitney's Bait and Tackle on Sanibel. Most of his trips the last couple of weeks have been running a little ways off shore to bust big amberjacks on super light tackle. Whitney was a legend around the OBX for a long time before moving his operation down there. I fished with him a couple of days at Avalon when he was up visiting his brother Scotty this year.
http://whitneysbaitandtackle.com/
Yes. We have a charter booked with Captain Ozzie Lessinger for a half day. He was on Bass to Billfish with Peter Miller on NBC sports channel for an episode when Peter Miller was down in Sanibel Island. This charter is a Christmas gift for me. Any other charters that I want to go on are coming out of my pocket and as a college student, it's pretty pricey but I'm very tempted to go for another day when I'm down there. I will look into Whitney Jones' page. Thanks for info. I will probably try to surf fish or try to fish off the pier there but I don't really have much experience in those aspects. Hopefully the guide will give me some solid advice for that or if you have any suggestions.
Honestly, I have not fished down there. Best bet is to use small chunks of mullet on fishfinder rigs in the surf around structure. I am sure there will be redfish around.
From the web:
Off the beaches: The causeway beaches, the beaches near the Lighthouse end of Sanibel Island, Bowman's Beach and the beaches off West Gulf Drive are areas to fish in shallow water with light tackle using live bait, artificial lures or fly rods. Early morning or late afternoon, anglers can walk the beaches and cast to snook, sea trout, whiting, sheepshead, flounder, mackerel or pompano.
Fishing pier: Fishing from the pier, or just alongside it, offers catches of redfish, snook, sheepshead, black drum, snapper and other species. Fishing on the pier usually requires heavier tackle.
J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge: good fishing along Wildlife Drive for mangrove snapper, seatrout, redfish, snook and sometimes baby tarpon.
I can tell you, sheepshead are AWESOME to catch and eat, BUT they are very light biters and you need specialized tackle to catch them (powerful but light rod with little bend and braid line to feel the bite.) Sandfleas are good bait if any are around. When my buddies go to Florida in the winter they target sheepshead.
Casting 3/4 oz -1/0 oz read jig head tipped with chartreuse gulp alive should find some redfish and trout.
On your charter- always ask if there are amberjack around. Especially if he says things are slow. Let him tell you what the best options are, and then you decide what you want to pursue. Be engaged and that will help the trip. A good captain wants to keep you happy because he needs return customers and word of mouth. Those amberjack will save a trip if the grouper or other good stuff are not hanging around.
Good advice. Add flounder to the bag that the jig head and Gulp! combo will produce. I have caught more flounder on that rig than on anything else I've used in a lifetime of fishing.
The captain said we are targeting redfish, trout and snook if they are around. He seems to be more of a flats guy that doesn't really go after amberjacks but I will ask if things are slow.
Thanks for looking up the info on fishing around there. I really appreciate the tips.
I checked in with Whitney's brother to see what they are catching. A short run offshore is producing big red drum, amberjacks, and barracudas. They got a nice snowy grouper on November 30th and got a cobia that day too. Since then, drum, jacks, and cudas.
That sounds awesome! Thanks again for all the info!
Thanksgiving day was good for schoolies in potomac north of 301 bridge. Got 2 keepers, Hope they are still around this weekend. I never knew we had stripers this far up the river except for the spring run. People telling me stripers up to 24-27 inches are there year round. Gotta explore that. Anyone up here with tips would be great.
Sadly, I have not done well on the rockfish when they come into the rivers. I have tried when they run up around Fletchers here in DC and haven't had much luck (although I have seen some big ones caught by people using freshly netted herring, which is illegal now.)
I fished with IamVTFish last week at the mouth of the Rapphannock in relatively rough seas. The fish didn't cooperate much, but I managed a keeper on a 7 inch chartreuse swim shad, whick IamVTFish got three vertical jigging smaller versions of the same bait.
French, as I told you, we struck out eeling for the big mommas yesterday, managing only a couple of "lukewarm" bites and one spiny dogfish, but the mouth of the Rappahannock was alive with birds and schoolies yesterday. On Wednesday, we jigged up 40-45 schoolies up to about 22" on bucktails and jigging spoons near the Rt. 3 bridge in less than four hours of fishing. While some captains on the radio were reporting fish up to maybe 32", most were complaining about numbers of 10" fish. One guy said there were so many around his boat that he wished he had a fly rod, but when another guy came on and said he had a fly rod on board and asked where those fish were, the radio stayed dead silent. I'd say that 95%+ of the boats out there are trolling, but jigging can not only be more fun, but sometimes more productive. While we caught some of those little fish jigging, most of our fish were over 16" and we had a good number of keepers, had we been keeping. My friend, Dave, is out eeling again today with his brother, so we may get a hero shot from him. He's consistently productive with 40+lb fish every year, and most trips except when I go with him. I'm starting to entertain a notion that I may be a jinx with eels, but I won't dwell on that notion.
And just when I build him up... my buddy struck out again yesterday. Weather's too darned nice for rockfishin'. Need the cold to push everything down the Bay. I guess. And he's eeling, not schoolie fishing, so less action is expected.
I have heard that it holds fish all winter near the hot water discharges.
Redfish and striped bass will definitely stay on hot water discharges all winter long.
As will speckled trout.
If they are around. We have had two really bad fish kills the last two winters here in Virginia
You got that right. I was at the pond on the Elizabeth River last year after the kill and was amazed at the size and numbers of dead trout lining the banks. The eagles enjoyed it, we were saddened. I am encouraged by the reports of spikes (small trout) being found this past summer, so hopefully this is a short term depletion, but it literally pained me to see all those trophies turned into bird food. I have fished the Elizabeth the last few winters, with much success for reds, stripers, and sometimes trout (never got a really big one), but that day, we caught nada.
For freshwater fishing, downstream of the Conowingo Dam on the Susquahanna, is good but probably not in the winter,
However, the outflows from Peach Bottom Power Station is very good. the water reentering is a couple degrees warmer than the river due to the holding ponds being shallow.
The divers going over to clean off the screens insist on having diving cages in the water so they can escape the large fish getting curious. When I was young I worked a couple times assisting these guys and acting as a safety watch. They tell stories about fish that you wonder if you are pulling your leg. I have had a diver I was assisting coming flying out of the water once and insisting on taking a break before going back down to give a large fish the chance to go away.
While Coach Fuente was landing big fish, I managed this striped bass and and bunch of smaller ones last night fishing at the Bill Burton Pier on the Choptank River in Cambridge, MD.
Nice catch. It is a great day when 1. The Hokies win. 2. You catch a rockfish.
We went out today but nothing was biting. Trolled, jigged, threw out cut bait and squid but no takers. Anyway that is it for the boat this season. We are not into winter on the water. There is always next year to further explore tidal potomac striperfishing.
Northern Outer Banks: On the sound side, we have a fair number of 17"-20" striper on the bridges (legal over 18") but not really schooling up in open waters.
The ocean temp was 59 degrees this weekend... good for surfing, bad for fishing. The ocean striper are likely going to stay north this winter.
My buddies have been doing well on the sound side bridges for a couple of weeks on hexheads and bucktails for those schoolie stripers. It is awesome that there is a good fishery for them.
As for the ocean stripers, there are two completely separate groups. One is in the mouth of the bay now, and there have been a bunch of really big fish (40-60 pounders) weighed in on eels. I note, I don't want to deprive anyone of a treasure, but in this day and age with replica mounts and the poor food value of those older fish, I hate seeing them killed. There is also a big body of fish (generally smaller sized) at the mouth of the Delaware Bay in New Jersey waters. Delaware and Maryland surf fishermen are frustrated because those fish keep bypassing the beaches as they head south after they chewed the beaches up in November up in Jersey for the whole month.
A lot of the schoolies we've been catching have sea lice on them even though we're catching them in the Rappahannock.
Does anyone know the new law from last year well, I still dont get it, come January 1, is there no max weight limit for
strippersEDIT: STRIPERS haaa anymore?Anything 28 inches and up, 1 per person?
I didn't realize I was in the fishing thread and this comment confused the hell outta me
Hahah I would have never caught that, I kept reading over the second p haha. max limit strippers haha.
I am not sure. In the bay, The regs were 1 fish between 20 and 28 inches, and a second fish 20 inches and up this year. They are always changing.
The ocean limit I found was for 2015 of one fish, 28" minimum. There was mention in the articles I Googled of Va maybe upping the limit two two for 2016, but I can't find any information indicating that is the case.
Rockfish tourney this past weekend in Mathews was won by a fish caught all the way up near Tangier. Haven't heard the weight yet, but this "heat wave" hasn't done the rockfishing any favors down this part of the Bay.
Big bluefish are hitting well on the beaches of central Jersey. It sounds like the main body of rockfish are in the mouth of the Delaware Bay. I will defer to IamVTFish on the numbers of ocean fish that have moved into the Chesapeake.
And I'd be clueless in that regard, deferring to Hokies further south.
All you eeling folks (we know you are here) that head out of Rudee and Lynnhaven to fish around the bridge and Cape Charles- chime in!
Folks who have boats in North Carolina- giant bluefin tuna have been caught just outside of Beaufort Inlet and Ocean Isle Fishing Center down below Wilmington. Here is an 112 inch (that is nearly 9 feet long!) bluefin tuna that was landed today off Ocean Isle Beach (Frying Pan Knuckle Buoy.)
https://www.facebook.com/OceanIsleFishingCenter/photos/a.325787687482808...
That is kinda scary...I had no idea they got that big!!
Had that coming I guess...
I tried to resist, but I just couldn't...
I can tell you from experience... being hooked to one 70-80 inches is a humbling experience. It makes you feel small.
Jigging for schoolies again yesterday. Got some near the Rt 3 bridge on the Rapp, then moved out and found some on a small rockpile off of Stingray Point. Again no big fish, 22+ was the biggest, but we got four keepers nonetheless. Most of the local captains are bemoaning the recent lack of birds and bait on the screen, so we felt like we did ok. Spro jigs with a chartreuse curly tail was the bait of choice yesterday. I really think the warm weather/water is hurting the usual blitz we enjoy here in the middle Bay.
Getting four keepers is a good days work!
NE FL finally feeling cooler than Sept. though still very warm. Lots of undersized reds and nearly to barely legal trout. Reds were hammering small swim baits today.
I did catch a tripletail (my first ever, I don't go offshore) blindcasting to an oyster bar; thought it was a flounder or sheepshead 'til it got to the boat. An eyelash short of a keeper.
Tight lines to all!
Tripletail is yummy stuff (sorry this one you caught was just short). Great catch on an inshore oyster bar. Usually more prevalent offshore near buoys. They look so darn prehistoric.
So I've heard.
It was truly an eyelash short, like an eighth of an inch, but I could see it was short and that's a rule I just don't break. But I really, really, really wanted to try that fish!
Good on you for sticking to your guns. You'll get another opportunity.
I was able to sneak away from holiday festivities in Abingdon to take my dad and join @HokieObsession for a day of striped bass fishing on Smith Mountain Lake. Our host did an amazing job of finding some big gizzard shad on a day where it looked like most of the available bait was small. Those big gizzard shad did the trick as we found a Virginia citation 37 3/4 inch striped bass. This beautiful fish had some massive shoulders (his tail was nearly 10 inches wide- the picture doesn't do justice on his shoulders.) It was a beautiful December day and my dad has been smiling ever since we got back. I can't thank HO enough for taking a day to share it with us!
Dude! That's a pig! Well done!
That's some good eatin too!!
Got six bites eeling on Sunday, landed a 33" and a 44", lost another big fish and just flat missed the others. Ran into a beehive of terns on acres of schoolies on the way back and caught them until we had to run on in. The 44 weighed about 35lbs on a hand held scale. Not as big as they often run on eels, but nice fish nonetheless. Cold nights seemed to activate/move them down into our part of the Bay, but the warm up may just stop that in a hurry. I promised myself that if we got one over 40 lbs I would learn to use imgr, but alas. Did send pics to French, but he was out getting his own big striper. Nice fish, Jonathan!!
You guys had an awesome day!
Another Pig! Awesome!
via GIPHY
Thanks for that, French. I know I need to learn to lift the load myself, but am appreciative that you took time off of your busy holiday schedule to post that shot. Dave's 81 year old father landed the biggun after a momentous fight, and I was with them last year when we got him a 45 lber, so he's doing quite well for any age! I will give the nod to the fish, this time though. I couldn't believe how hard that fish fought. Dave's dad was worn out and white as a ghost when we got it in, but what a way to celebrate the ending of the rockfish season. I've said it before and will repeat myself, I'd rather catch them jigging on light tackle, but it's hard to beat eeling for big fish.
Edit: While I don't care much for striper, Dave smokes the big fish and it is an absolute delicacy when it comes off of the smoker. French, Dave said next time we get together, he'll have some of that smoked rock for ya.
Boom!
Really good striper fishing in the Bay yesterday at mouth of the Rapp and out on light tackle. Friend of mine pulled in a 34" and lots of fish over 20". Birds everywhere he said. Not sure if I'll be able to get out there, will report if I do. I am planning on heading to Charleston for 5-6 days around NYE to party with some Hokies and chase schooled up winter redfish with the fly rod.
Momma was from Charleston, know a couple of guides down there. Great city, great folks, and great inshore fishing. Good luck and Happy New Year to you.
Struck out on my first day surf fishing on Sanibel Island. A couple bites from blues that were in the area but no catches. Used a bottom rig with live shrimp. Trying again tomorrow. Going on a charter on Thursday.
Last near shore report I saw from Whitney's was king macks out on structure. December 29
Gotcha. I was fishing around a sand bar in the surf. I have talked to people on Sunday that caught snook and redfish in the same area
There definitely should be some redfish around.
Seriously, if you're fishing from shore, try a 4" chartreuse Gulp! Swimming Mullet on a 5/8 oz Gotcha jig head, light line (10lb max) and bounce the bottom. Move around and hunt for anomalies in the surf where fish might be ambushing bait. Reds will absolutely gobble that stuff up and it's more fun than standing around with bait waiting for a hit. Yeah, bluefish will destroy the Gulp tails, but so will just about anything else that swims. Good luck with that charter.
Thanks for the info! Will go to the bait shop and grab some of those.
I caught one ladyfish this morning. I'm definitely getting frustrated sitting around waiting for something to bite.
He isn't lying. There should definitely be puppy drum chewing.
I just picked them up! Looking like it will storm right now. Will hopefully report back with good news once the weather calms down
Another key lure for me for trout, reds, and snook (I've even caught pompano and big jacks on it) when I lived on VIP Island in Grant, FL (look it up - fishing heaven!) was the MirrOdine XL27MR Suspending Twitchbait in the 808 color scheme. I would use this on my snook rod (Star Stellar Lite 7 ft Medium Heavy spinning Rod with a Shimano 3500 Baitrunner) with 20# powerpro and 30# flourocarbon leader without a swivel. That setup was deadly!
Had a lot of blackened fish for dinner on that rig!
I'm not sure that color works as good in the clearer blue water of the FL west coast beaches vs the Indian River in East CFL, but I also used that rig in the keys backwater and around Sebastian Inlet with similar success. The 27MR size can be cast a long way with a smaller diameter braid to sneak up on fish. PowerPro is great around docks and mangrove as well and can survive a tough snook battle (their mouth and gill plate can shred your line!).
Good Luck. Tight Lines!
Just returned home late last night from Charleston. Spent three days on the water over a six day partying/fishing trip, two on my skiff and Sunday on a friend of mine's boat who happens to be a captain. NYE and Saturday I fished with friends in a back bay area off of Mount Pleasant that has been producing tons of fish. We got maybe one bite in 8-9 hours of fishing throwing artificials and flies. The place looks loaded, but they simply weren't there. Saw numerous other guides back there and no one was catching fish.
Sunday my buddy Ricky and I hit the water the entire day. We cast net some deep hole shrimp in the harbor and took those to numerous spots spots around the area. Extremely tough fishing until we got to the last dock with two hours of light left. As soon as the tide started falling we started whacking the fish, catching trout up to 19", one red at 25", several small black drum and losing three reds to the dock pilings that put up much bigger fights than the 25" red. We put at least twenty fish in the boat and I even brought a few home to eat, which is rare for me.
Overall a great day, I learned a ton more about fishing in the area (its all tide dependent and if they won't eat anything else, live shrimp is a damn good bait) and Ricky and I traded tips on spots to catch fish. Surprisingly he did not know any of my secret holes that I regularly fished when I lived there for a summer, which was a great feeling for an out-of-towner to show a local some new tricks.
I'm still a newb when it comes to posting photos here in the text boxes, so here's a facebook link to a pic of some of our fish.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10104007124127983&set=pcb.101040...
Oh and coming home from 75 degree Charleston weather to 17 degrees this am in RVA sucks. I'll be tying flies the rest of the winter.
Really hoping this cold snap will move the fish from the northern regions down through the middle of the Bay. Looking forward to a few more weeks of catch and release action.
Edit: Talking about stripers.
The charter went well today. We ended up catching 3 reds, 3 trout in the 18-20 inch range, 2 snook.
nice!
The first red was caught a couple minutes after the first bait was in the water. Can't wait til late summer to catch a massive bull red
Glad you had a good time. Thanks for the pictures, but I couldn't get them up. Since I am a technodunce, it's probably something I was doing wrong.
Heading out today to try for a trophy striper during catch and release season in the Bay. Water temps have dropped precipitously, maybe too quickly for good fishing, but hoping some of those big mommas up the Bay have moved down here to the middle/lower sections. We'll be eeling, so the action will likely be slow, just hoping for a big bite or two. Report will follow, and if I get Ms. Big, I will be trying to learn the imgr thing to try to save French from having to post for me. Wish me luck!
Good news, bad news. Good, the Bay here is still chock full of bait and big rockfish. We caught three, missed two, and lost one at the boat. The bad? I don't have to learn to use imgr...again. When you swing for the fences, well, sometimes you just don't get there. We landed two dinks, 24&28" in the morning, and then landed a 36" late in the pm. Lost a big fish after an 80 yard runoff and a good fight, but she shook off right at the boat and we didn't get a look. Probably not going to be the 50+ we were hoping for, but was probably going to be 40+" anyway, but, well, that's fishing. It has been my theme this year, caught a lot of fish, but the trophies have eluded me. Cold as a titches witty out there, but man, what a way to spend a winter's day!
Hopefully this works for you Tom!
If anyone wants me to post fishing pictures and can't get the interface to work, email me at french60wasp@gmail.com and I will post them!
Could you see my fishing pictures from the other day? I know IFishVTIam was saying he couldn't see them. They don't show up on my phone but I can see others pictures.
When last I posted, they were still just icons. But when I just looked, I saw beautiful pictures of nice fish. Don't know if you fixed it or the ethernetosphere just cosmically decided to enhance things, but they are loud and clear now. Nice.
Edit: And as soon as I posted, they were gone again to iconry. Probably bad on my end, but at least I did get to see them.
I haven't changed anything so I don't know what is going on. Oh well at least you got to see them. Pretty happy I got the first red 5 minutes after we got to the first spot
I am showing just photo icons
To 3rdGen: The imgur links are wrong, so the pictures won't show up. When using the "img src" tag, the provided URL needs to end in the file extension of the image, e.g. .jpg, .png. imgur provides the link (don't use the link to the page containing the image, use the link to the image - the one that says "for websites/blogs").
Thanks for the help! Looks like it worked
Bold suggestion French. I have A LOT of fish porn and I am not afraid to share it
Jonathan, I thank you and appreciate the post. I will readily admit to laziness in addition to ineptitude at this computer game, but you capably and dependably lend a hand. Just another reason to be glad you're here.
Puppy drum, my white whale!
it's an "eater"
I'm jealous of the bull reds that you have caught off the pier this year. We brought the reds to a local restaurant and they prepared them for us. It was the best fish I have ever had.
I am jealous of the pups. I have never caught one under 39 inches. They are good to eat and look like a ton of fun to catch on artificial lures. The.The big ones have no food value and are less sporting on the heavy gear I use.
They were a lot of fun to fight on light tackle. We used freshly cut pin fish and circle hooks to catch the reds. I'm definitely not an experienced enough angler at throwing artificals to do it. It seems super cool and exciting but I was happy just to catch reds. Definitely want to try artificals in the future.
In my experience, and to my taste, once they get over 24" their food value diminishes quickly. The younger fish are, indeed, delicious, and in the hands of a good chef, outstanding table fare. For their size, they are terrific battlers and that first surge is their biggest asset around docks and pilings. Being able to find them in shallow water without snags and hang up problems is one of the funnest fishing experiences available. Couple of years ago, we got them like that in the summer here in the Middle Bay. Six lb test and unweighted Gulp Jerk Shad (6") on unweighted 4/0 worm hooks was the ticket. The fish were in 6" to a foot and a half of water, and the blow ups were incredible. Hope that pattern returns in my lifetime here.
We fished in about 2 feet of water in Florida. The run of the reds on light tackle was awesome.
For anyone interested, the Richmond Fishing Expo is taking place next Friday-Sunday at the Expo Center (same exit as Kings Dominion north of Richmond.) I am going to go down Saturday, well, at least that is the plan now. I enjoy the seminars and will be keeping a look out for some more tackle storage and a new cobia bucktail reel.
I think it is $9 at the doors.