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  • Croaker!

    Yesterday Foursteps and I went out to catch us some croaker. With the action being hot at the North Beach pier the other day, we figured we'd give it a second shot from the yaks. We planned on trolling for stripers during the early evening, then switch over to bottom fishing for croaker as the night fell. A few days prior to, we went to Bass Pro Shops to stock up on things we'd need for this trip...whistles, anchor kit & accessories, stern lights...etc. We debated on where to launch, with out options being Breezy Point Marina, or Chesapeake Beach Marina. We launched from Chesapeake Beach.

    After spending over an hour at the ramp rigging up our kayaks and talking to boaters, we finally hit the water shortly after 6pm. I had Jay in tow until after we cleared the jetty. Got the usual "WTF" faces as we passed people at the marina Once we unhooked, we began trolling.



    Jay stayed in rather close, while I made a B-line to the drop off. Using the nautical chart app on my phone, I knew exactly where I needed to go. I was trolling a mini umbrella type rig, with a 9" chartreuse shad. I got my line set out and rode the waves! it was a bit windy with light chop. (I trolled using my Okuma Avenger ABF50) As I neared the drop off, I marked quite a few fish. I have no idea how much line I had out, nor do I know how deep my bait was. After marking a few fish, I hear my line chatter. BZZZZ...BZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!! When I grabbed the rod, there was nothing on there. The striper must not have bit the hook. I bet if I had a stinger hook rigged up I woulda nailed 'em. That the extent of my trolling excitement. I definitely have to get out there and troll again someday. I was quite a ways out, so I motored back in to meet up with Jay.

    Being out there in the open water by yourself is something else! Kinda hard to explain the feeling.

    After I met back up with Jay, we tested out our temporarily-rigged anchor trolley systems. With a couple of carabiner clips and some rope, we made it work...flawlessly I might add. We anchored up in 5-6' of water and let the games begin! We had shrimp and bloodworms for bait.

    As the fun began, Jay started out red hot as usual. I was anchored about 50' away saying to myself "this dude is about to show me up again!". After a little while I decided to move inshore a lilt bit closer, then I commenced to catch croaker. The action REALLY heated up for me at one point, as I got simultaneous double headers on my two rods. Light tackle fishing can be exciting. My "wal-mart special" (Shakespeare Pro-Am rod I've had since I was 14) was bowed over with every fish. The action was steady for most of the night. Not red hot the entire night, but it wasn't bad at all. We didnt bother moving from spot to spot. Once we dropped anchor that second time, thats where we stayed.

    We stayed out there on the water LATE! We finally called it quits around 12:30am. As I was reeling in, I caught one last fish. I love it when that happens. At that point we realized we had to make the trek all the way back to the marina in the dark. Thank goodness for the trolling motor. We hoked up the tow rope and went full speed ahead. The waves began to pick up a little bit, making the ride back pretty slow. We did about 3mph in the open water. Once we got in the waters protected by the jetty, we did about 4mph. Not bad considering we launched at 6pm...and this was with a fully loaded kayak in tow. The Torque definitely extended our range...

    I ended up bringing home 20 fish in my cooler at the end of the night. Jay had a pretty nice stringer full as well. It was a great time out there. This was my first time kayaking at night. Not sure if I'd ever do it solo, but we had fun out there as usual.

    If I have time, I'll be taking my catch to the wharf to get 'em cleaned. We'll be having fried fish at our mother's day cookout!

    (And I'll hopefully be able to use this "mother's day" excuse to get out there to catch more fish!)

    <insert witty comment here>

  • #2
    Oh, and FYI, its $5 to launch there on the boat ramp. There's a guy who runs a kayak rental outfit there at the marina. If you want to use his kayak launch (which will keep you separate from the boats on a busy day at the ramp) its $5 extra.
    <insert witty comment here>

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    • #3
      Excellent report, gents. That first pic is awesome. Being by yourself out in open water like that is interesting. You're definitely on your own, but it's kind of cool at the same time. Being out at night takes that to the next level. How big were the croakers?
      Yellow Hobie Revo Rube Goldberg
      Yellow Tarpon 120

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      • #4
        croaker

        Thanks for the detailed report. Nice work on the croakers. What size did they run? Be careful, night time fishing is addictive!

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        • #5
          Awesome report....nice job on them croaker!
          Hobie Revolution 13
          Hobie Fishing Team

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          • #6
            Excellent Job on the croakers! I did not know you were fishing so late, if I did I might have joined you for some local croaker action. How big were the croakers? In the James River last Sunday I caught some, but they were on the small side. So close to home, you are now making me think of going their in the late afternoon today....

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            • #7
              Thanks guys. The croakers were average in size, 13-14 inchers. Jay caught a couple of horses. My smallest was around 10 inches. None were small enough to think twice about measuring.
              <insert witty comment here>

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              • #8
                Nice report! Sounds like an excellent evening. Much better than my day trolling on a boat. Windy and not one knockdown.

                Originally posted by MetroMan View Post
                Oh, and FYI, its $5 to launch there on the boat ramp. There's a guy who runs a kayak rental outfit there at the marina. If you want to use his kayak launch (which will keep you separate from the boats on a busy day at the ramp) its $5 extra.
                $10 to launch a kayak!?!? Highway robbery!

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                • #9
                  Snagged Line Exclusive...

                  I was able to load my track onto Google Earth. My app allows me to export the .kmz file. I forgot to start my track at launch. I turned it on when I was finished trolling. I also forgot to STOP the track after I returned to the launch lol...

                  <insert witty comment here>

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by MetroMan View Post
                    Snagged Line Exclusive...

                    I was able to load my track onto Google Earth. My app allows me to export the .kmz file. I forgot to start my track at launch. I turned it on when I was finished trolling. I also forgot to STOP the track after I returned to the launch lol...

                    I always love the pics of the tug boat in action. I wish i was there to see the boaters faces as you steamed by.

                    Thats a great way to recap a trip. Is there a app that you need to load to get that info or is it part of Google earth?

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                    • #11
                      Thanks for the information on the launch and the track info! Awesome you found the croaker, hoping to do the same on Friday from here, troll and then soak some bait.

                      TJ

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                      • #12
                        TJ good luck on Friday. Keep in mind that we were only in about 6ft of water and tossed the bait 10 to 20 yards from the yak. We were this shallow because we knew that it was the same area we had good luck fishing from the pier the week before. We anchored up and did well. A couple guys went a few days ago and drifted but didnt do so well . Not sure if anchoring really made the difference or not. BW and shrimp are the best baits. We set up a couple hundred yards from the NB pier. Let me know if you need any more info

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                        • #13
                          I second that, I believe the bloodworms and shrimp are the best bait. Some guys were also catching croaker right outside of the marina north of the seawall. The we also caught some on a slow night right outside of the the peir at North Beach.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by mmanolis2001 View Post
                            I always love the pics of the tug boat in action. I wish i was there to see the boaters faces as you steamed by.

                            Thats a great way to recap a trip. Is there a app that you need to load to get that info or is it part of Google earth?
                            My app generates the .kmz file, which is viewed/opened with google earth.
                            <insert witty comment here>

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                            • #15
                              Thanks guys! I'll get some frozen shrimp and bring them, and try Joe's method and cook a few as well to see if they really do outfish the frozen. I will try them shallow!

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