Welcome Aboard!
You are not logged in.
Had some great and not so great days the last couple months. I'm targeting specks and they have been pretty reliable, but stripers have been shockingly absent. I made 11 trips from 10/7-12/31 and caught a grand total of 1 striped bass that measured maybe 14". That is very worrying to me as typically I would catch several on every trip in Fall and Winter. I've caught a few small puppy drum but other than that it's been all trout, mostly on homemade lures. Here's some pics from November and December.
Had to cast between ice patches this day.
Offline
Those are some hefty specks! Well done!
The stripers are thick and fat right now in the bay and 'mac. But you need a big boat to get to them. I turned out an invite to go one day and the crew caught many 40"+ beasts and it was flat calm! Oh well....
Offline
I've heard of some great striper catches on the Eastern side of the bay too, but something kept them from their shallow water haunts this Fall. 4 years ago if you told me I'd only catch 1 striper from Oct-Dec I would not have believed you. They used to be so thick they were a nuisance. There's been no shortage of bait where I've been fishing so something else is going on.
Offline
There is a huge debate about the striper populations. I have some friends that are deeply involved in the policy side and it ain't pretty. The YOY recruitment (baby fishies) has not been good for the last few years. The authorities put restrictions on rec fishing by closing when you can catch and keep fish. But the recs get mad because the commercial sector gets no closures. Who kills more fish?
This year, there has been a slug of big fish (cows) in the bay and river. Thankfully, it' been C&R for the bigger ones so that the brood stock is protected. The struggle is what you described. Where are the schoolies?
The problem is much deeper than what I just wrote but it's serious. And unfortunately, every state has different rules.
Offline
Amazing specs! You are dialed in. Congrats!!
Offline
Absolutely beautiful trout and lures! Ernie's summary is a good one, and for better or worse stripers seem to be much concentrated in recent years compared to the past. The upper Chesapeake Bay bite last spring, summer and much of fall was concentrated almost exclusively in the Patapsco river, pretty much unprecedented. The overall population of large fish (> 40") seems sound, but if their lack of reproduction success continues, it may prove very challenging to effectively manage the fishery to satisfy all of the recreational and commercial interests. Anecdotal evidence and recent NY/NJ catches seem to indicate that the Hudson River and other CT/New England river spawning stocks are playing a more prominent role in the fishery, so lets' hope that many of these rivers have spring conditions conducive to a great spawn in '24!
Offline
John (Mhen) had invited me to go striper fishing yesterday. I could not go as I had a more important event (Debbie's birthday) to attend.
They killed it (not the fish, the fishing)!
PS- sorry to hijack the thread Bryan!
Offline
WOW!!
Offline
She better make some babies this year!
Offline