Post by 31Airborne on Apr 12, 2019 4:43:23 GMT -5
An old Army buddy, Rick, came in form Iowa for a visit. We go back 35 years, managed to stay in touch all this time. Linked up in 2000 for a fishing trip while I was stationed in MD. This time I got to show off SML. It didn't disappoint.
Put in at the state park and made a short run to some midlake stuff around the S-turn. Found fish ~almost right away w/ a fluke and spinnerbait. I got hung up on one cast - as I went in to fetch it I marked fish holding tight to the bottom right on the first break (~4-6' of water). I pulled back and threw in the c-rig. Hooked up on the third cast. Rick wanted to experiment w/ some lures he'd never used so I tied on a jerkbait. Maybe 5 or 6 casts into it he yells, "holy ****." I turn to look and his rod is doubled over hard and the tip is bouncing with every shake of the fish's head. Get it up to the boat and it's a barely-keeper striper (the first he's ever caught). From that point on Rick was striper hunting. We motored uplake vic the 122 bridge and worked similar structure and cover. The c-rig continued to produce. Rick had a couple more hook-ups on the jerkbait but they were all green fish, much to his disappointment.
We packed it in around 2, just as the sun was getting high and warm.
Observations. 1) Saw 58* at the state park ramp at launch, 60.8 at our first stop; warmed to 61.4 by 10. Saw 60.5-61 uplake. This held steady for the entire time we were up there. 2) Water has cleared up nicely. A very slight stain at the state park but you still have 4-5' of viz. You pick up a bit more stain the further up into the [ROA] river you go but you still have 3-4' of viz. 3) Marked lots of baitfish everywhere, much of it shallow. Saw a couple surface events w/ some gizz and whatever was herding them. Didn't last long but is always fun to watch. 4) I threw a spook for a good bit but never hooked up, even with a slow cadence. Had 2 swirl on it but they never committed. 5) C-rig bites were kinda weird. It was like they snuck up on it and sucked it in, then started swimming w/ it. I missed a couple fish initially because I wasn't paying attention to how they were eating it. Once I figured it out I started hooking up. 6) Majority of our bites occurred along transition lanes - last set of secondary points leading into coves/cuts. This pattern held up everywhere we went. 7) I noticed fanning activity just about everywhere I went. I had a few bites on the c-rig where it was obvious the fish were moving the bait off of beds. This week leading up to the full moon should be interesting for bed fishermen, esp w/ the water clearing up the way it has. 8) Very little boat traffic yesterday. A few fishermen, a couple 'toons, and a couple rec boats. Won't be long before the fun-n-games begin.
This will be my last report for a bit. Shoulder surgery on 25 APR. Hoping this is the last of the invasive procedures. Sure would like to be able to spend a day on the water pain-free. Doc says it's my former profession catching up to me. C'est le vie. Not too worried about this one (my 4th). I know how to do this, and I have a great surgeon and rehab team. Already have 2 events on the calendar for the fall - one in SEP, one in OCT. Those are my marks - won't be 100% but they'll be a good test of recovery progress.
peace,
B
Put in at the state park and made a short run to some midlake stuff around the S-turn. Found fish ~almost right away w/ a fluke and spinnerbait. I got hung up on one cast - as I went in to fetch it I marked fish holding tight to the bottom right on the first break (~4-6' of water). I pulled back and threw in the c-rig. Hooked up on the third cast. Rick wanted to experiment w/ some lures he'd never used so I tied on a jerkbait. Maybe 5 or 6 casts into it he yells, "holy ****." I turn to look and his rod is doubled over hard and the tip is bouncing with every shake of the fish's head. Get it up to the boat and it's a barely-keeper striper (the first he's ever caught). From that point on Rick was striper hunting. We motored uplake vic the 122 bridge and worked similar structure and cover. The c-rig continued to produce. Rick had a couple more hook-ups on the jerkbait but they were all green fish, much to his disappointment.
We packed it in around 2, just as the sun was getting high and warm.Observations. 1) Saw 58* at the state park ramp at launch, 60.8 at our first stop; warmed to 61.4 by 10. Saw 60.5-61 uplake. This held steady for the entire time we were up there. 2) Water has cleared up nicely. A very slight stain at the state park but you still have 4-5' of viz. You pick up a bit more stain the further up into the [ROA] river you go but you still have 3-4' of viz. 3) Marked lots of baitfish everywhere, much of it shallow. Saw a couple surface events w/ some gizz and whatever was herding them. Didn't last long but is always fun to watch. 4) I threw a spook for a good bit but never hooked up, even with a slow cadence. Had 2 swirl on it but they never committed. 5) C-rig bites were kinda weird. It was like they snuck up on it and sucked it in, then started swimming w/ it. I missed a couple fish initially because I wasn't paying attention to how they were eating it. Once I figured it out I started hooking up. 6) Majority of our bites occurred along transition lanes - last set of secondary points leading into coves/cuts. This pattern held up everywhere we went. 7) I noticed fanning activity just about everywhere I went. I had a few bites on the c-rig where it was obvious the fish were moving the bait off of beds. This week leading up to the full moon should be interesting for bed fishermen, esp w/ the water clearing up the way it has. 8) Very little boat traffic yesterday. A few fishermen, a couple 'toons, and a couple rec boats. Won't be long before the fun-n-games begin.
This will be my last report for a bit. Shoulder surgery on 25 APR. Hoping this is the last of the invasive procedures. Sure would like to be able to spend a day on the water pain-free. Doc says it's my former profession catching up to me. C'est le vie. Not too worried about this one (my 4th). I know how to do this, and I have a great surgeon and rehab team. Already have 2 events on the calendar for the fall - one in SEP, one in OCT. Those are my marks - won't be 100% but they'll be a good test of recovery progress.
peace,
B
