On Sunday, 11/29/20, I met Doug Schopman at his 215 Kencraft CC boat, powered by a 250hp Yamaha. This is an excellent boat to fish the Chesapeake Bay in. We were searching for larger stripers than the ones we'd been catching in the Upper Bay, so we headed south to the Middle Bay. We both understand to maximize your time on the water, you should know the current speeds at the locations you plan to fish prior to selecting the time to leave the dock.
We ran south on the 30 foot line and then crossed the Bay looking for blitzing birds, but no birds were sighted. Our next move was into a couple of tributaries were gulls were flying high or sitting on the water. We only saw one fish caught and after a few more drifts we headed back to the western shore. The water temperature was 47 degrees.
There was a strong flood current causing the boat to drift over 1.5 kts. We started catching some nice striped bass to 30", on light tackle with lures, until just before dark. Thanks Doug for taking me fishing on the Chesapeake Bay.
We ran south on the 30 foot line and then crossed the Bay looking for blitzing birds, but no birds were sighted. Our next move was into a couple of tributaries were gulls were flying high or sitting on the water. We only saw one fish caught and after a few more drifts we headed back to the western shore. The water temperature was 47 degrees.
There was a strong flood current causing the boat to drift over 1.5 kts. We started catching some nice striped bass to 30", on light tackle with lures, until just before dark. Thanks Doug for taking me fishing on the Chesapeake Bay.
Majority of Stripers Were Caught on the Bottom
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Tom Hughes Catch the Big One This Trip
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Most Productive Lure: ZMan, Scented Jerk ShadZ, 7", Pearl fished on a Coach Jigheads, 1oz. in Pink & White
Most Productive Technique: Horizontal Jigging: The lure will be jigged while moving horizontally on the bottom and back toward the boat. Cast the lure upcurrent and count it down to the desired bottom (on average lures sink 1 foot per second). With the rod tip pointing directly at the lure (0 degrees), parallel, and just above the water, start moving the rod tip, horizontally from 0 degrees to a distance of 90 degrees while jigging the lure. Take all the slack out of the line when moving the rod tip back inline with the lure. Repeat this again and again until the lure is back at the boat.