Tidal Stripers - Maryland

[Johnsfolly]

Before this spring I had never caught a striper. Even when I lived in Connecticut 30 years ago, never really fished for them and thus did not ever catch one. Then the coastal populations crashed along the eastern sea board and they put a moratorium on this fishery.

I have been reading through the posts from Beaver and Bull Shoals and just get excited about trying to get one of these stripers. I have been catching whtie bass and hybrids over the last couple of years and would love to put another hard fighting Morone species on my catch list. In April on a business trip in Maryland, I was able to catch another cousin of the striped bass, the white perch. On my last trip to Maryland this May, knowing that there would be some stripers upstream I fished a tidal river using a variety of baits. I lost at least one ripple shad/jig combo and no real bites I went upstream of a bridge. I switched to a 3 " clown colored jerkbait and cast across the front of the bridge and jerked it cross current. As the bait passed in front of the bridge piling it got hit hard. The fish fought hard and I was thinking that it may have been a pickerel. Instead it was my first linesider. A nice 14" fish. small in comparison to the fish I see from Beaver, but I was extremely excited with this catch. I did not catch another fish before it got too dark to see and without a headlamp decided to call it a night.

After work one evening, I saw that the tide would be just falling after 6:30 pm. I headed to a inlet into the bay.

I started with the jerkbait and jigs again. Not even any follows below the bridge or along the rocks. I saw a number of small fish and switched to microfishing just to get on the board. I put on a 1/125 oz gold jig and a small piece of chartreuse plastic and caught several mummichog minnows. These had to be the fattest female minnow that I have ever caught.

I switched to the #26 tanago hooks and a tiny bit of crab that I found on the rocks. I caught another minnow species, an Atlantic silverside minnow.

As it was getting dark, I put back on a jig with a minnow plastic and got taps when I would cast out towards the end of a pier. (cont.)

 

[Johnsfolly]

I dropped the jig size down to a 1/32 oz tube jig and switched to a pearl colored baby garland crappie jig body.

A couple of more cast towards and from the pier lead to a couple more taps, but no solid bites. I head back towards the car and got back into the marina. I made a cast along the sea wall and as it dropped maybe three to four feet it got hit hard. After a feisty fight I land a nice 12" chunky striper.

I stayed in the that spot and was getting bit on each cast.

As soon as I made a cast that didn't get bit, I would fan cast to a different spot to stay into the school. I caught a total of ten stripers and a couple large white perch like this one my largest caught to-date. They tore up three of my jig bodies before I left.

I was a great evening. Like getting on a school of feisty white bass here in MO. Just a bit of a different scenery.

Heading back in the next couple of days and I will bring a new pack of jig bodies.

[BilletHead]

   Will be waiting for more of this!

BilletHead

[Quillback]

When I was young, living in Massachusetts, caught some of those smaller stripers, they call them "schoolies" up there.  Lots of fun on light tackle.  Always liked to twitch a floating Rebel minnow for them for top water strikes. 

[Johnsfolly]

I'm sure that you got into the "snapper" blues as well. Loved catching them on kastmaster spoons. We use to thread our line through those soft pink rubber balls then tie on the kastmaster. Could cast them as far as you had line on your reel. The ball was a great float and disturbed the water enough to get those bluefish looking for food.

[Quillback]

I recall catching a small blue or two, but never getting into them.  Good idea on the rubber ball. 

[Johnsfolly]

On 6/11/2017 at 9:35 PM, BilletHead said:

   Will be waiting for more of this!

BilletHead

Here you go! I started this evening throwing a Johnson spoon. I was getting hits but no hook-ups. So I put on this thinfisher blade bait.

Started catching instead of just getting bumped. I caught six stripers from 9 to 13 inches in length. I also caught three white perch with this bait.

I did snag a cow nose ray that was maybe 20 to 24 inches between each of its wing tips. I fought that fish for up to five minutes. I wasn't sure If I would get it landed. It finally pulled the hooks. There were four other rays swimming with that one. Jig bite was not good at all. I just caught another white perch and a striper. Pretty exciting evening. I may have been more excited about seeing a bunch of minnows that I have not caught before. Tomorrow heading back with some bloodworms and microhooks. Hopefully I will have something new to post about tomorrow night.

[dan hufferd]

Sweet ! What lake ?

[Johnsfolly]

6 minutes ago, dan hufferd said:

Sweet ! What lake ?

Dan

I was fishing an inlet on the Chesapeake bay in Maryland.

[dan hufferd]

Wow nice !! A little cooler I would guess.