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Mark, Raptor, and I launched my center console at Shipping Creek ramp about 8:00 am. Over the next 5 hours we nearly circumnavigated Eastern Bay. The wind forecast showed light southerly winds early and building throughout the morning. Windfinder was right about the trend, but underestimated the velocity. We started out heading to the SW and faced a stiff wind and a rough chop. Poor Mark sat on the cooler seat in the front and got the worst of the ride. We caught a few small stripers under birds, but wanted to get farther south before the winds built. Ten miles later, we began casting to shallow sod banks and stump fields. The area looked like it should hold fish, but we had no bites until the very end when Raptor found a striper and Mark found an unexpected species (I will let him provide the details).
We checked out several other shallow water spots as we moved northeast. Nothing was happening there either. Finally we found a good set of birds working over bait along the eastern edge of Eastern Bay. We cast to them for over an hour while Raptor put on a catching clinic. Mark and I caught some too, but not nearly as many as Raptor. He caught the two largest fish too.
The wind had built steadily such that we faced a long open water ride back to the ramp with steady rollers of 2-3 feet from the SW that smashed the side of the boat and drenched us with spray. The other guys did not follow my recommendation to wear rain suits and ended up very wet. It may not have mattered since I got wet in spots through my Goretex rainsuit. The spray was so intense, it could have been a popular ride at a water park. I think water must have entered the left pocket of my rain pants. I could feel a pool of water forming inside my rainpants. As soon as I stook up near the ramp, it all ran down my legs.
We ended up with 40-50 stripers, with Raptor catching the most. Eastern Bay has not been good to me this year in terms of calm seas. Most of my trips there this summer and fall involved big waves in at least one direction.
We checked out several other shallow water spots as we moved northeast. Nothing was happening there either. Finally we found a good set of birds working over bait along the eastern edge of Eastern Bay. We cast to them for over an hour while Raptor put on a catching clinic. Mark and I caught some too, but not nearly as many as Raptor. He caught the two largest fish too.
The wind had built steadily such that we faced a long open water ride back to the ramp with steady rollers of 2-3 feet from the SW that smashed the side of the boat and drenched us with spray. The other guys did not follow my recommendation to wear rain suits and ended up very wet. It may not have mattered since I got wet in spots through my Goretex rainsuit. The spray was so intense, it could have been a popular ride at a water park. I think water must have entered the left pocket of my rain pants. I could feel a pool of water forming inside my rainpants. As soon as I stook up near the ramp, it all ran down my legs.
We ended up with 40-50 stripers, with Raptor catching the most. Eastern Bay has not been good to me this year in terms of calm seas. Most of my trips there this summer and fall involved big waves in at least one direction.
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