Sometimes in fishing, patience is the most important virtue. This certainly proved true on a recent outing with Bill McHugh aboard MikeyDFishing. Bill had been aboard before, but conditions were less than ideal on past trips and we returned to the dock without a fish story to tell. After viewing the blog post featuring a former squadron mate's success (See Oct 9, "Early Fall Blitz") Bill was anxious to find a respectable fish versus the "dinks" that he landed the last time out.
We entered Whitehall Bay on a cool autumn morning. The sun wasn't strong enough to burn a fog bank lingering over the Severn to the east of us. Water temperatures were finally below the 70 degree mark. An ideal set up for larger stripers. Just outside of the Mill Creek channel small pods of baitfish were breaking the surface. Smaller terns dove in and out of the nervous water. While that was promising, Captains DiPaola and Felker have noticed that the trigger are the larger gulls that sense when larger stripers and bluefish are slashing through the alewife and norfolk spot in order to snag the scraps.
With a dearth of sea birds above, we transitioned into the Severn to look for more activity and to see if the fog provided additional cover for stripers to come to the surface. The Lowrance indicated a lot of fish below, but we were unable to produce a hookup by jigging metal jigs.
Time was running out before Bill and Joe had to start their work days, so we took another look in Whitehall Bay. Small groups of gulls were gathering just off the shoreline where the water depth was 8-10'. Captain Joe tossed a metal jig in the middle of breaking fish in an effort to get down below the action. Simultaneously, Bill launched a "Smack-it" top water lure just outside of the bulk of the action. A few short jerks of the rod tip soon produced a strike followed by a strong pull that was a clear indication to grab the net. While Bill didn't land a keeper, he did find redemption!
Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing!
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