A good day of fishing
 

Much better than a day at work!

Very nice,, We need a story..

:D

Chesapeake Bay, met a friend over on Kent Island. We trolled 6 rigs on the planer boards 3 parachutes off the transom. Its the trophy season we can keep 1 per person over 28" we caught 2 in 5 hours a 39" and a 34" one with roe, one without so we are probably in the middle of the spawn. Made a good dinner and breakfast and have 6 meals left.

Now that's the way to spend a day!

Cool fish. Striper fishing is great. There is no wondering if you have had a bite or not.

How do you cook 'em?

Nice striper. That's my favorite to eat besides fresh salmon.

Striper
 

Is catching a big fish during spawning skll?

We are fishing the migration, skill, well when trolling the skill is involved with the Captain putting us on fish, finding the bait balls and reading the topography of the bottom. As I understand it, the fish enter the bay following the bait, the spawn happens in sweet water and yes they are very venerable then. I work at APG the eagles and ospreys are eating very well as we hold prime spawning grounds, most of the good area is restricted due to range fans and SDZ's.
I prefer surf fishing but a day on the water is a good attitude adjustment tool.

I will be in Chatham MA Mid july and would like try to fish the surf for striper. do you have any advice on setup or techniques?

I haven't fished up there since I was a kid, but the summer months are tough. Lots of skates and dogfish, some small blues to keep things interesting. I have read about a insurgence of folks fly fishing the flats off LI, you might want to hire a guide who knows the AO; check out www.stripersurf.com. As a youngster we would go out in a small skiff snag bunker and let them fall through the water column, blues and stripers would scarf them up. Clams after a good storm work too, you need to be able to read the water and find the cuts in the sand bars. I would look into a guide but the fall is really the best time.
Enjoy and eat some lobsta!

Striped bass fishing is tightly regulated in the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries such as the Potomac. Seasons and size limits are set to protect the populations. In the Potomac during the 60, 60 and 70s they were commercially harvested and fished to the point that the spawning fish never made it up to DC. Also there was an issue pf the chlorinated discharges of multiple sewage treatment plants and the powerplant. Following the moratorium on all fishing for striped bass in the 80's the populations rebounded and we now have striped bass spawning in the DC. Also in the 80's and 90's all chlorine discharges were neutralized first.

Striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay seems to be limited more by forage fish availability than brood females. The lack of any reasonable and sensible controls on commercial harvesting of menhaden has caused the striped bass to eat themselves out of house and home. This has caused them to turn to secondary food sources such as blue crabs and that has caused secondary ramifications in that species.

None of the above is meant to be insulting or argumentative. Your concern is reasonable and the wholesale slaughter of the brood females that used to occur is exactly what caused the problem in the first place.

Thanks BuffaloBob, good history and a great answer.

Especially when you're catchin' a nice dinner or two:cool:

Must be why we were all so happy in Panama - lots o fishin' means great attitudes. :D

Yeah man :D