Fishing The Choptank
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Choptank has been real slow this year because of the weather and the salinity of the water. Usually fish from mid to 3 lights from the end with luck. Depending on tide is which side you fish on. Both usually produce. If you want to throw lures into shadows from other bridge and you can pick up some rockfish along with blues. I will probably hit the tank again when the water temps drop at least another 5 to 10 degrees. Tight Lines!
Right now...
November is the best time I think, but it's lure fishing, of course....
Looks like a better size of fish, with rattletraps you (should, no guarantees in fishing, of course) be able to catch a limit of legal rock in 30 minutes to an hour most any night with an outgoing tide.
The last 5-6 lights on either pier, fishing the east side where the lights are.....the bigger rock hang out on the edge of the shadow in the water from the lights.
November is the best time I think, but it's lure fishing, of course....
Looks like a better size of fish, with rattletraps you (should, no guarantees in fishing, of course) be able to catch a limit of legal rock in 30 minutes to an hour most any night with an outgoing tide.
The last 5-6 lights on either pier, fishing the east side where the lights are.....the bigger rock hang out on the edge of the shadow in the water from the lights.
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So why is it suddenly "lure" time? bait won't work? Or is it that live bait is scarce
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I've done good at the Cambridge side(very end of it) on Stripers using an 1/8oz White bucktail with a white grub,gottcha plugs,and 3"Sassy Shads on jigheads.It might be that time again.
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Fishing lures from pier
Any thing different about fishing off a pier with a RattleTraps, I have serveral for fresh water fishing. Are you using a steel leader? Are you casting out away from pier or are you casting along it? Am us to standing in a boat and casting, not a peir 20' above the water.
Anybody try any Rapala's out there??
What size RattleTrap are you using?
Any thing different about fishing off a pier with a RattleTraps, I have serveral for fresh water fishing. Are you using a steel leader? Are you casting out away from pier or are you casting along it? Am us to standing in a boat and casting, not a peir 20' above the water.
Anybody try any Rapala's out there??
What size RattleTrap are you using?
Shadows
Fish the shadows that the light poles cast off...you don't need to cast far..its also very good at the end of the pier if you cast towards the main channel...I have only done bait fishing so far this year..but the next time I will be throwing lures..I want to start getting my money's worth out of my Rattletraps and BA's also.
Fish the shadows that the light poles cast off...you don't need to cast far..its also very good at the end of the pier if you cast towards the main channel...I have only done bait fishing so far this year..but the next time I will be throwing lures..I want to start getting my money's worth out of my Rattletraps and BA's also.
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bitterchild you can use live bait(white perch) or even cut bait,but some of us like to jig for them,use a lighter outfit,there's nothing like a nice rock hitting a lure and fighting it,it's a lure thing!!!!!!!!TRIGGER:jawdrop:
Right about this time you get schools of menhaden (aka "bunker" to most fishermen, aka (incorrectly) "alewives" to Cheseapeake Bay fishermen) comprised of fish about 2-3 inches long that hang out just below the surface on the edges of the light lines from the pier lights, and that's what the Rock feed on.bitterchild said:
So that's why lures now outfish bait.
Re: Fishing lures from pier
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Good lord, no steel leaders. There are NO bluefish of any kind at the pier now. I use 18" of 25 lb. Fluorocarbon with a tiny barrell swivel at one end and a snap at the other, I tie the barrel swivel to my line, which is 15 lb. Fireline.
I'm sure the fluoro isn't necessary.
I don't like to tie the fireline direct to the lure because I like to grab the leader and hold the fish up by that as I drop the fish off the rattletrap trebles (you MUST crimp your barbs down to make catch and release easy) with needlenose pliers so I don't touch the fish at all.
As noted, you cast out to the edge of the light from the bridge.
It IS a bit tricky being that far up. It's best to sorta lean out over the rail and hold your rod DOWN so the rattletrap is deeper. When you get a hit, set the hook by suddenly reeling faster and bringing the rod towards the pier; if you jerk the rod UP you'll jerk it away from the fish and get fewer hookups. After you are solidly hooked you can bring your rod up and fight the fish.
Most keepers are 18-22" so I just tighten my drag down once they're near the bridge, point my rod at the water, and simply crank them up and grab them, even though I use a fairly light freshwater bassin rod.
There are a few 24" and a chance of larger, so I do bring a pier net, which I rarely use. You will need a large pier net for fish larger than 22" or so.
Rapala and Tsunami make Rattetrap knockoffs that I suspect would work pretty well.
But, like I've said, every single time I've done this out there (and I go about 6-10 times a year in the fall) silver rattletraps have easily outfished everything else. It matches what they feed on exactly.
I use 1/2 oz. and 3/4 oz. rattletraps (like the 3/4 oz. more now because short rock almost never get them inside their mouths, just hooked on the outside, and you will be doing a lot of catch and release.Orest said:
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Good lord, no steel leaders. There are NO bluefish of any kind at the pier now. I use 18" of 25 lb. Fluorocarbon with a tiny barrell swivel at one end and a snap at the other, I tie the barrel swivel to my line, which is 15 lb. Fireline.
I'm sure the fluoro isn't necessary.
I don't like to tie the fireline direct to the lure because I like to grab the leader and hold the fish up by that as I drop the fish off the rattletrap trebles (you MUST crimp your barbs down to make catch and release easy) with needlenose pliers so I don't touch the fish at all.
As noted, you cast out to the edge of the light from the bridge.
It IS a bit tricky being that far up. It's best to sorta lean out over the rail and hold your rod DOWN so the rattletrap is deeper. When you get a hit, set the hook by suddenly reeling faster and bringing the rod towards the pier; if you jerk the rod UP you'll jerk it away from the fish and get fewer hookups. After you are solidly hooked you can bring your rod up and fight the fish.
Most keepers are 18-22" so I just tighten my drag down once they're near the bridge, point my rod at the water, and simply crank them up and grab them, even though I use a fairly light freshwater bassin rod.
There are a few 24" and a chance of larger, so I do bring a pier net, which I rarely use. You will need a large pier net for fish larger than 22" or so.
Rapala and Tsunami make Rattetrap knockoffs that I suspect would work pretty well.
But, like I've said, every single time I've done this out there (and I go about 6-10 times a year in the fall) silver rattletraps have easily outfished everything else. It matches what they feed on exactly.
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Orest not really,what you have to do is get one of each,their about 2 - 3" long. What you should try is the storm wildeye lure a couple of weeks ago I was invited out on a boat and fished the Severn River and we caught all our Rock on them,the color we used was Pearl and I think they were 4" & 6" long. So this week sometime I'll be out shopping.
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