Rhode River, Thurs Oct 9

[Fishinfool]

After consulting with the Tides 4 Fishing site which indicated a strong incoming tide from about 2 to 4 pm, I decided I would try a new launch for me; the County Wharf at Rhode River. I was there at low tide, and it's pretty rocky on the shoreline there, much better at higher tide but still doable.

I stopped off at Marty's Bait and Tackle for some ice and advice ( hey that rhymes). Nice guy at the counter and with the store empty, I plied him for intel. He advised heading out to the mouth and start looking for birds, trolling hard plastics or spoons (to defend against blues of course).

I followed his advice and headed for the mouth and around the point at Beverly-Triton Beach about 2:00 p trolling three rods the whole way. It got pretty windy and choppy so I headed back up river, so far nothing, not even a strike in about two hours of trolling, an hour of which supposedly was prime time incoming.

Heading upriver again, I crossed over to the south side and starting working the shoreline. With a lot of shoreline to cover I trolled mostly. Up to about 3:30 I was thinking it was going to be skunk day, but I pressed on finally getting a 10" perch on the rattle trap near a pier. Rounding the shady area near an Island the rod doubled over HARD! A fat 19 incher that fought so hard he bent the hook on my quarter ounce jig w/ a chartreuse 4" curly tail! On the way back to the launch, another big strike this time from a 12" w perch who was hooked near the dorsal fin.

The takeaway? Don't give up on a day too early. Keep those rods working until you find the fish!image.jpg. image.jpg. image.jpg

[Shady]

That's a chunky perch! Thought it was a lmb at first, nice!

[Fishinfool]

Thanks Shady. Sometimes the perch seem annoyed by a rattletrap and just try to punish it by smacking the hell out of it LOL. The poor guy had a surprise.

[JAR]

That big perch looks like a bucket mouth laying next to your striper at that angle. Nice job!

[Fishinfool]

Thanks Jar. Had him for din din tonight, he was goooooooood!

Both had not missed many meals either. I cleaned 'em this afternoon. The striper had THREE menhaden in his stomach, about 2-3 inches long. He was definitely chowing down before winter sets in.

[Cowpokey]

That is a fat striper! Nice.

[Fishinfool]

Thanks Cowpowkey. He fought like hell, see bent jig hook.

I was wondering just what is the best way is to fight a fat angry striper? Should I let him run with the lure some and tire him out, or just try to get him up and in the boat ASAP? I am thinking that if I leave him out there too long, he may shake the hook. On the other hand, getting him to the boat quickly when he still has his strength can be dangerous too especially when he sees me and the boat. Any thoughts on this?

[JAR]

Thanks Cowpowkey. He fought like hell, see bent jig hook.

I was wondering just what is the best way is to fight a fat angry striper? Should I let him run with the lure some and tire him out, or just try to get him up and in the boat ASAP? I am thinking that if I leave him out there too long, he may shake the hook. On the other hand, getting him to the boat quickly when he still has his strength can be dangerous too especially when he sees me and the boat. Any thoughts on this?

Tire him out especially if you're in open water. Stripers usually give you 2 good runs and they are done. Landing a fish with a lot of fight left in it can be very problematic when you try to take the hook out. Been there, done that and kept the 4x 3/0 treble hook as a souvenir/reminder from the ER.

[Cowpokey]

Set the drag to the line strength and pull them in. I use 20# braid, so I can put some pretty good leverage on them...with a medium to med/heavy rod.

As long as you keep the line tight, they (should) have less chance to throw the hook. Unless you're Mustafa*, he had one pulling drag yesterday and it got off while the reel was screaming.

*Sorry Bro, the opportunity presented itself. LOL

[JAR]

I'll set my drag tight if fishing over/around structure but always make sure to use stronger hooks for this type of fishing. A decent sized striper will have no issues opening up a cheap hook with a locked drag.