24-25 June: Cow-Nose Rays Can't Slow Down the Striper Action

Yep, the middle Bay is full of them.  And if you're not paying attention, you'll hook into a 20 minute fight, only to cut your line at the end and put nothing in the box.

Undeterred, Captains DiPaola and Felker set out Friday afternoon with C.C.'s dad Charles, sister Amy and brother Jeff to put some fish in the cooler.

With some time before our "clients" rolled in, we decided to hit the perch hole outside Burley Creek to throw some baitfish into the live well.  Captain Joe complemented a successful perch run with some cast-netting which brought a good number of small Virginia Spot in as well.  The it was off to Cantlers for a couple of beers and some fried Rockfish bites.

Bottom line a complete success, made even more impressive by some pretty rough water out there.  Got out on the bay around 1:30 and initially planned to head to our go to spot on the eastern bridge pilings, but quickly changed the game plan and headed up to Podickery Point.  Must have been something going on up that way, as there were at least 70 boats all concentrated in the area.  We set anchor as the southernmost boat, threw the chum log overboard, and sank some cut alewive baits.

For the three hours that we were out there the action was consistent. Netted 10 fish; 3 that went a bit over 20 inches, and a solid 26 incher that Captain Joe brought to the net.  We even picked up a few fish bottom bouncing soft crabs.  Even more impressive was that these fish were caught with the boat rocking and rolling in 20 knot winds and 3 foot white caps.

A video recapping Friday's events can be found at:  https://youtu.be/jLMEc6-XjwI

By Saturday afternoon when the Mikey D headed back out the winds had died down and the Bay calmed down to gentle swells.  For Saturday's charter it was just Captain Felker, as Captain DiPaola headed out to Bethany beach with his family.  Minus one crew member, I decided to forgo anchoring and just bottom bounc soft crabs and jigs as we drifted over fish.  Drifting off Hacketts initially, we were rewarded with a nice 18 incher.  But that was it.  So we headed up to Podickery, only to find a lot of boats but no action.

So off to the eastern bridge pilings we went.  When we got to piling 56A we immediately started marking fish.  With an outgoing tide, I motored up about 200 yards or so north of the piling, baited up with soft crabs, and bounced the bait as we slowly drifted towards the bridge.  When we got close, it was pull up the rig, drive back up, and do it all over again.  Easy.

For the hour or so that were were in drift mode the action was consistent. Dad skillfully brought 11 fish to the boat; all on soft crabs.  I managed to pick one up on a albino soft plastic.  I also tied into a ray, which I saw too late to prevent the hook up.

All the stripers were in the 15-18 inch range, with the exception of one keeper that Dad got to the net which went in the box at 24 inches.

 An outstanding trip.  And the action should stay hot throughout the summer.  From the looks of the Lowrance the fish are hanging around the bridge pilings in greater numbers.  Time to break out the BKDs and do some jigging.  And watch the rays!

Tight lines.

Mikey D Fishing

Fish in the Box

***Late Entry*** May 20, 2016--- The end of trophy season and the new Striper limits (2 fish per person, 20" minimum and only one can be over 28" after May 15) meant greater opportunities for finding fish to take from the Bay and place on the table.  May brought few fishable days with the bulk of the month filled with cold and rain.  Undaunted, Mikey D Fishing left the dock on one of the few bright and warm Saturday mornings to set up the chum line and send hooks baited with fresh alewife to the bottom. 

Once anchored, the Lowrance HDS began marking multiple fish.  In fact, the Lowrance is so sensitive that it picked up the chum line.  As shown above, we set up at one of our more prolific spots and soon after we hooked into a keeper Rockfish.  The key when using the bait runner reels is to allow the fish to take the bait and run to allow the circle hook to set properly.  If you attempt to set the hook at the first sign of a bite it almost always results in a lost opportunity.  The video depicts the end result when Mikey D Fishing pulls it all together.  When the bite slowed, we moved to the #1 can buoy off of Hacketts Point.  We caught a few undersized stripers and a determined perch on alewife and soft crab.  A great day culminating in grilled Rockfish for dinner.  Back at Mikey D Fishing headquarters we followed this simple step by step recipe for grilled Rockfish:
1. Fillet with a quality knife....Mikey D Fishing recommends the Bubba Blade.
2. Leave the skin on one side
3. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper
4. Add a dusting of lemon pepper panko
5. Grill with skin down until flesh is between white and translucent .... and enjoy the bounty of the Bay!