Fall Fishing

[chiefrcd]

Fishing the last week of November, we were thowing 39" fish back.

[Russell]

Great looking fish Chief. I hope they are on their way down here. The biggest I have gotten so far is 22 inches. Do you have outriggers? Russ

[Butch]

Yeah that is sweet, The fish up here at Eastern Bay have just left town but Ihave had a great year all around Bloody point and the eastern Bay...great Flick

[chiefrcd]

No out riggers on my boat. I usually fish 6 lines, sometimes 8 but six is the most I can handle without too much confusion and tanglement. I fish two off the back with powerpro line and 24 oz. mojo's as weights trailing 6" storms about 15' back. These are my deep lines, then I trail two more 16 oz. mojo's and storms about 10 to 15' off the bottom and then I have two more lines called WayBacks..these are usually spoons or bucktails with little to no weight. On RARE occassions I wil use unbrella rigs but honestly I'm not convinced they are worth the trouble. When the stripers are really hitting, I think you could trail a beer can with a hook and catch them.
Here is the layout...if I trail 8 lines I use the two upper holders or two more that are further forwar on each side.

[Mariner]

What kind of fish are those?

I've had no luck salmon fishing here lately. Still catching plenty of crab though.

[chiefrcd]

Those are Striped Bass....locally known as Rock Fish. Probably one of the best eating fish on the East Coast.....very similar to grouper in taste and texture.

[Russell]

That must be someone else's boat in the second picture with what looks like an outrigger line on the starboard side. I like your suggestion about powerpro for the mojos. I have two wire line rigs and was thinking about converting to powerpro. Have you caught fish on the mojo itself or just on the storm? I have never had one take the mojo. For long lines I have had good luck with the Tomic plugs with an 8 ounce in line weight to take them down.

[Mariner]

It's funny. Rock fish has a very different meaning here. They're bottom feeders and look kind of like catfish. You only find them in very deep water (several hundred feet), and, generally, they're off limits to fishing.

Also, I always though bass were freshwater fish, and I've never even heard of "grouper".

[Elizabeth Ann]

Nice Fish Chief! There is nothing I miss more about LI then Striped Bass and Weakfish.

Fishing in the keys for me is not easy when the Great South Bay was your back yard for more than 20 years.

So, you finally installed those rod holders in the transom? How was the project, tough or easy?

[RicM]

What speed do you troll at for striped bass (rockfish)? The local wisdom here in New England is as slow as you can go, ideally 2-3 kts. I understand that the Albin 28 idles at about 5-6 kts, great for tuna or bluefish but a little quick for stripers. Anyone use a trolling valve?

[Russell]

Yes, I use a trolling valve to go slow enough for the stripers. And yes this stripped bass species is the same one found in fresh water. It has the ability to adapt to salt or fresh water. And it is a nice firm fish great on the grill or almost any way you like. Tonight I am broiling some sprinkled with lemon-pepper, covered with grated parmeson cheese and a chunk of butter.

[chiefrcd]

Russell, that was a friends boat, and yes he does have out riggers. I also troll at about 2 to 3 mph....and yes, it wants to troll faster. I just kick it in and out of gear when I need to. If I'm going against the tide, I'm fine...or cross tide I'm pretty good. They will bite up to 4 knots, but as the water gets colder they slow down and like you to drop the bait in their mouths...I personally think Striped Bass are the best eating of all the fish here in the bay.....cooked just about any way you can think of. Some times I'll bake a big one for about 4 to 5 hours at 275/285 degrees...then the meat comes out like huge chuncks of lobster except more tender. Just dipped in butter and eat until you get sick......

[Mariner]

At slow idle, ours kicks along at 3.7 knots. To get the salmon to bite here you have to stay under 2.5 in the summer and 2.0 in the winter. It's virtually impossible to get the boat to go that slow. Kickers are the method of choice, but there is no good place to mount one on our boat.

[chiefrcd]

Mariner, most folks here use trolling valves which allow the boat to drop down in speed. My problem is that I have a VelvetDrive 5000 and they don't make one for that transmission. If I ever have to replace the tranny, I'll go with a different model that allows for the installation of a trolling valve.