Well, I read all the posts about the striper bite heating up and all the drop shot success and decided to head out early Saturday morning after the full moon not knowing what to expect with the fish feeding all in the moonlight. There were barely any fish surfacing which got me a little nervous because I brought my son with me who likes catching not searching. Successful saltwater fishing has spoiled him a bit.
Last week if I hit the splash ring with a topwater plug, I’d get hit before closing the bail and there would be one or two buddy fish that would trail the hooked spot to the boat. Not this week. No takers on the top.
The sun was breaking the tree line, no action and I was out of coffee so I went back to what Scout’nStripers taught me and it allowed my son to busy himself with steering the boat. We started to troll crankbaits (SKing 5XD in green back chartreuse) over humps and along shore ridges. Bingo! First fish was a spot. The funny thing is, I didn’t reel in the other crankbait while my son reeled in his fish and to my surprise at some point, a little spot swallowed the other crankbait. From that point forward, it was stripers hitting the crankbaits, which was a first for my son. The stripers where small but they were my son’s first which was a big deal since we don’t target the “heartbreak” everyone else call striped bass.
Just like any other angler, I wanted to catch one more so I was pushing our luck with the rental boats hitting the water but it was worth it. We got another strike and my son pulled in his personal best, which put on quite a show. I saw him jump and just wanted my son to see what he was fighting up close. The fish weighed in at just over 4 lbs.
All fish were successfully released. I did a lot better reviving the stripers by torpedoing them into the water. The gentle tactic did not work as well in the warm water. Off the water by 11:00am.
Last week if I hit the splash ring with a topwater plug, I’d get hit before closing the bail and there would be one or two buddy fish that would trail the hooked spot to the boat. Not this week. No takers on the top.
The sun was breaking the tree line, no action and I was out of coffee so I went back to what Scout’nStripers taught me and it allowed my son to busy himself with steering the boat. We started to troll crankbaits (SKing 5XD in green back chartreuse) over humps and along shore ridges. Bingo! First fish was a spot. The funny thing is, I didn’t reel in the other crankbait while my son reeled in his fish and to my surprise at some point, a little spot swallowed the other crankbait. From that point forward, it was stripers hitting the crankbaits, which was a first for my son. The stripers where small but they were my son’s first which was a big deal since we don’t target the “heartbreak” everyone else call striped bass.
Just like any other angler, I wanted to catch one more so I was pushing our luck with the rental boats hitting the water but it was worth it. We got another strike and my son pulled in his personal best, which put on quite a show. I saw him jump and just wanted my son to see what he was fighting up close. The fish weighed in at just over 4 lbs.
All fish were successfully released. I did a lot better reviving the stripers by torpedoing them into the water. The gentle tactic did not work as well in the warm water. Off the water by 11:00am.
. Thanks ahead.
