Live Lining for Striped Bass - A New Arrow in the Quiver for Mikey D Fishing 14 July 19

One of the many reasons that Stripers are a premier gamefish are the many ways that they are caught.  Stripping a clouser minnow with an 8 weight fly rod in hand, tossing plugs in the middle of a feeding frenzy, jigging bridge pilings, or chumming with alewife and soft crabs are part of a mosaic of striper fishing thrills for every season.   Onboard Mikey D Fishing we enjoy each technique from spring through late fall; although success has eluded us from one method that is popular up and down the Chesapeake.  Live lining for stripers is popular among charter captains and light tackle specialists.  It is exciting, produces an unforgettable strike, and it is easy to rig.  White perch work well until spot show up in the main stem of the bay in mid June.  Spot are to rockfish what chips are to teenagers.  While Capt Felker and I have briefly flirted with live lining over the past few years during the summer months, it was too tempting to go back to the tried and true method of chunking and chumming to fill the cooler.

With it being such an odd year for stripers, and a special at Anglers featuring 12 spot for $24, I thought I would give live lining another shot.  I invited fellow angler and former colleague Brian Gant aboard Mikey D Fishing to catch an incoming tide on Sunday afternoon.  And just to be safe, I bought a pack of fresh alewife as a Plan B.  

We set anchor near one of the large cement bridge pilings on the northern span.  There was good tidal flow.  Brian tossed a spot near the piling and felt a hit almost instantly.  Encouraged but not convinced, I set up to chunk with 3 rods.  The bottom fishing resulted in 1 keeper after about 45 minutes.

Now that the "skunk was off", we focused our attention to live lining again.  I hooked the spot just behind the dorsal fin.  We casted just above the piling to allow the spot to dive to where the rockfish were holding in about 15 feet of water.  Just like chumming with bait runner reels, patience is key.  Brian again felt the unmistakable tapping of a nervous spot followed by a bent rod.  However, before setting the hook and commencing the fight, we waited for the striper to flip the spot to inhale it headfirst.  And then, finally, it was on.  Within 30 minutes we brought 2 keepers to the net, the largest was 22".   The filet table confirmed the rockfish spot addiction.  One of the keepers still had 3 spot in its belly.  While the stripers weren't the biggest we have dragged across the gunwale, it was still cause for celebration as Mikey D Fishing added another arrow to the fishing quiver!

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Back in the Rockfish Groove 13 Jul 19

I was glad that Bery Edmonston and his Coastie son Jonathan were able to come aboard Mikey D Fishing on Saturday.  Jonathan had liberty for the weekend, but I guess it is much better to be on the water with a rod in your hand versus a mop on the deck of a Coast Guard cutter.  Conditions were typical for July.  There was a 5 knot steady breeze from the west.  Temperatures were in the low 90s while surface water temperatures had climbed to the low 80s.   We were working the first part of an outgoing tide as forecasted by the Nautide fishing app.  It not only predicts tides and weather, but it also gives insight into potential fishing activity throughout the day.

Most of the charter fleet had transitioned to working the pilings on western side of the Bay Bridge.  Hoping to get back into our traditional method of chunking for stripers, we sunk alewife chunks and soft crabs in hopes of enticing some keepers.  As a refresher, chunking involves fresh bait on circle hooks (at least 8/0).  We use Penn and Okuma bait runner reels with 3 or 4 oz. weights.  The weights are attached to a sliding swivel allowing the enticed target to take the bait without feeling resistance as the bait runner drag readily yields line.  It takes some patience and discipline even for experienced anglers to let the striper peel line off the reel before setting the hook and fighting the fish.

After setting up on a spider piling, we consistently marked fish on our Simrad.  The fish finder didn't lie as we proceeded to bring 10 stripers to the boat including 4 keepers, the largest of which was 24".  Most of the fish were caught in a 45 minute window on the incoming tide.   The bait of choice was soft crab outperforming the alewife 2:1.  Bery and Jonathan both landed nice keepers within minutes of one another.  For a brief period we almost doubled up as fish began to bump multiple rods.

Finally I feel like we are back in the game.  While the numbers aren't as strong as the last few years and the probability of limiting out a bit lower; nevertheless we are catching healthy keeper sized stripers again!  Fingers are crossed that strong summer fishing will continue and eventually give way to robust fall top water action.

Tight Lines, 

Mikey D Fishing

Potter County Fishing Report: West Branch Fishing Creek Lost and Found

Mid-July means daytime temps in the mid-80s and low water in the small streams.  But with evening temps down in the upper 50s to low 60s, the water temps are cool enough in the early mornings and late evenings to wet a line and not stress out a trout.

So this evening I grabbed the flyrod and forceps, tied on a single foam hopper, and headed down to the Pavilion Hole at Camp Bearclaw about 7:45.  The stream had returned to its mid-summer form after torrential thunderstorms over the 4th of July weekend; low but with enough places for trout to hold.  Fishing upstream and close to the bank, I slowly worked the hopper up the right side of the hole.  Finally, at the top of the hole, a fish came after the fly, but slow reflexes after a fishing hiatus for a week scored a victory to the trout.  I decided to give the spot a few more casts, hoping that the fish had not tasted steel and might be stupid (or hungry) enough to take a second time.  Sure enough, a few casts later the fish hit the fly again, and a nice 10 inch Brookie came to hand.  I'm pretty sure that the trout was the same wild fish that took Elliot "Bearclaw" Felker to co-victory in the Extravaganza Trout Derby a week and a half before.

After a few more casts and a waterlogged hopper, I decided to walk down to the lower hole and give my fly a chance to dry out.  Fly fishing for trout is at best aspirational.  Anyone who expects to catch trout on a fly is either too new to the sport or too arrogant to realize how fickle the trout gods are.  The two Golden Trout are still in the hole, although a lack of recent catching got me thinking that the Goldens had chased off other fish.  Or perhaps Mr. Heron was filling his belly with the six Brownies that I had stocked two weeks before. So with my foam hopper semi-dry, I gave the hole a few casts.  The hole runs lengthwise about 20-25 feet, with a riffley entrance that churns up the water at the top of the hole, and moves fairly quickly down the rest of the hole.  On the far side is a sunken log that runs about the entire length of the hole, and has eaten many a fly.  As I only had one fly, and it wasn't in the best of shape, I tried to keep it afloat by putting it in the calmer water.  As the hopper got to the end of the log, I was surprised to see a fish, not a Golden, take the fly.  From there, though, it got interesting, as the fish wrapped itself around the lower tapered end of the log, leaving enough line for the fish to move a bit, but not enough for it to break off.  I tried to unwrap the line from the log, but that didn't work.  And I didn't want to lose my only fly (or the fish), so I hopped in the water, waded over, broke off the end of the log, and brought a 10 inch Brownie to hand. As it wasn't too colored up, I figured it was one of the stockies.  One down, five to go.

Since I was in the water, and my sandals (like my fly) were soaked, there really wasn't any reason to get out, and it allowed for a more concealed casting position.  So I gave the hole a few more casts.  By this time my hopper was sitting just below the surface, and no drying (again, I was minimalist fishing; no floatant) was going to save it.  But I figured a terrestrial is also likely to sink a bit, so I kept casting.  Sure enough another trout hit the fly just below the surface.  This Brownie was again 10 inches, but colored up, so am thinking that it was a wild fish.

A few more casts without a take convinced me it was time to head back to the tavern for a cocktail and blog entry.  But as I was climbing out of the creek, I happened to look down and saw a green foam hopper laying on the grass.  I noticed a few days ago that one had fallen off my vest, a routine occurrence for me.  So the trout gods seemed to be telling me that I would be rewarded by switching out my soaked hopper.  Which I did.  But, as I said, the trout gods are fickle.  And my attempts to pull one more trout from the stream went for naught.

So with the sun setting it was time for the tavern.  On the walk back a young spike buck and doe almost walked into me.  The field had just been cut, so the two might have thought they were still invisible, but recognized their camouflage as gone when they got within 20 feet of me.

Three trout and a found fly.  All in all a decent evening.

Tight lines,

MikeyDFishing

Paddling for Pescado - 1 July 2019

                                                                                                                                          1 JUL 19

Those of us who fish know the siren call of the water.  That call is even stronger on the ocean's edge.  At the start of our family's annual migration to Bethany Beach, Delaware; I woke Sunday morning, July 1, to find the Atlantic as calm as a lake.  It was perfect for a morning of paddle boarding enhanced with a fishing rod at the ready.

Right after I put in I was surrounded by sea life.  No sooner had I stood on the board and crossed the surf zone, a pod of dolphins swam toward and under me.   Calm winds enhanced the visibility down to 10 feet or so.  Perfect for sight casting.  There were several groups of dolphins within a mile or two of the shore and ospreys, terns, gulls, and pelicans patrolled overhead.

It wasn't long before I was able to ease up on a school of alewife and swap the paddle for a jigging rod tipped with a 1/2 oz jig head and a chartreuse paddletail.  Jigging for alewife is nothing to brag about, but feeling the tug of a snagged 10" forage fish is not a bad way to start the day.  I lost interest after a few fish were caught and released and began to scan the horizon more intently.  About 1/2 mile off of the beach I noticed all manner of sea birds diving on another school of baitfish.

As I paddled closer to the dark mass of fish being worked by fowl above, I saw the distinct flashes of snapper bluefish slicing through the school.  Even more interesting was that the school of baitfish was composed of thousands of silversides 1 - 3" in length.  As it goes in the Chesapeake in the fall, so it goes in the ocean in the summer.  Following the birds pays off.  Predator and gamefish prefer the smaller silversides this time of year and my first cast into the frenzy confirmed it as I was rewarded with a bluefish.  As I removed the hook, the snapper blue regurgitated a half dozen silversides. Without missing a beat, the bluefish chased more bait as soon as it was released to the water.   I caught two more before the blues tore up my paddletail, then attacked my jig head, before cutting my line.

Adding to the excitement, a 4' shark (probably a blacktip or a smooth dogfish) cruised through the bait in search of a quick and easy snack.  Given that I was occupied with paddling, fishing, and generally trying to stay afloat, my pictures are limited to a quick shot of the shore and a pic of the nervous waters generated by one of the massive baitfish schools.   I am determined to bring the GoPro next time to provide a better photographic perspective of the bounty just beyond the surf!

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Potter County Fishing Report: West Branch Tavern Fourth of July Extravaganza Fishing Tournament

The highlight of the summer party season, the WBT experienced another great 4th of July extravaganza.

One of the reasons reasons was the main course:

We also had a pretty good fishing tournament.  Unfortunately Amy Coleman, last year's winner, was unable to attend.  But that opened up the water to the rest of the anglers, who spent the morning dunking all kinds of bait, both live and artificial, to the trouts lurking in the west branch of Fishing Creek.

Temps were in the upper 70s, with partly cloudy skies and high humidity.  Water conditions were normal for July; low and clear, although Bob "The Trout Whisperer" Volkmar, who arrived earlier to ply the creek (and wound up with a nice 14 inch Brown, although regrettably caught before the official start of the tournament), reported that the water was cold.

Success for the anglers hoping to have their names immortalized on the official tournament plaque proved mixed.  The "b-dults," as Elliot "Bearclaw" Felker calls them, could not put a fish in the net.  But, the stream was rewarding to the five-and-under-crowd, who each managed to hook and land a decent trout.

I had stocked the stream on Friday with a dozen and a half Brown Trout, all around 10-11 inches.  But Elliot and his cousin Lily Whitfield wound up netting holdovers, perhaps even wild fish; a 10 inch Brookie for Bearclaw, and a nice 12 inch Brownie for Lily.

Picking a winner proved difficult, as both fish met the criteria for victory.  After convening for several hours, the Rules Committee decided to name Bearclaw and Lily as co-winners of the 2019 tournament.

Of course, what made the extravaganza a success were the family and good friends who ventured up to the "high lonesome" to hang out, fish, ride the ATV, play some shuffleboard, quaff a few beverages, and of course enjoy some roast pig.  Looking forward to seeing everyone at next year's soiree!

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing