Times: Fished from 0730 to 1100 on Wednesday, 1200-1800 on Thursday, and pretty much all day on Friday.
Weather: Sunny skies on Wednesday and Thursday, cloudy on Friday. Temps began in the mid-50s, climbing to the mid to upper 60s by the afternoon. Winds less than 5-7 mph all three days.
"Striper Thumb!"
Water conditions: The Bay was calm the entire three days. Water temps around 64 degrees. Perfect time to be on the water.
The fishing: The Simrad did not lie: the Stripers were schooled up "bigly" in the river inlets, feasting on the baitfish that were moving in and out with the tides. So, while finding the fish was easy, catching them required a bit of work and perseverance. The birds helped a little putting us on fish, but there wasn't the rampant blitzing action that you normally see this time of year. Water temps were probably a factor, as the bay is still pretty warm.
The tide charts for the three days were also not ideal. But, even with less than perfect conditions, we caught over 60 fish over the three days. Although we made one foray down to Thomas Point and the South River, and marked a lot of fish, all of the catching was done at the mouth of Whitehall Bay and Severn River. Most were in the 8-12 inch class, but we did manage a decent number of 18-inchers (on Friday), and boated 7 keepers between 19 and 21 inches. Most fish were caught with 1 1/2 ounce Gotcha metal jigs. Color didn't seem to matter that much; if the jig happened to be in the vicinity of a Striper, it hit it hard. We also picked up a keeper on a top-water popper.
Overall a solid three days. Hopefully the bay temps drop slowly to extend Rocktober into November.
Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing
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