Capt. Bob's Fish Talk

As we move into October its time to target the rockfish. As the waters cool down and the stripers school it’s an exciting time to hook-up on the pride of the Chesapeake. These magnificent fish can be caught in many ways. You can cast to surface feeding fish; you can lure them to your boat with fresh chum and hook them with pieces of fresh cut bait or live bait; you can troll especially for the migrating fish; you can jig them up over deep structure; or you can break out your fly rod and enjoy the fight! Now is not the time to put the boat away; now is the time to really get out and enjoy the great recreational fishing we have here in the Chesapeake.

For fast action look for birds hitting the water and or fish splashing and swirling on the surface. Approach these schools cautiously and determine your drift. Cut your engine so that you drift toward and alongside the surface feed fish. Work your lures fast. Do not neglect the fish that may be below the surface feeding fish. Very often you will find larger fish under the school and weakfish hugging the bottom. While fishing this feeding frenzy watch out for other boats and always yield to avoid danger and/or frustration. There are plenty of fish for everybody!

Early October is the time to focus on reef fishing for school size rockfish. Usually the first couple of days are slow as the fish are still getting used to the new food source (CHUM). But as we move into the second week the fish gobble up the fresh fish pieces as they slowly drift below the surface. It’s a great time for live bait and a different challenge. The keys to chumming are very fresh chum and bait and location at the structure. Also it’s important to know what the current is doing. If the water is moving very fast it is very difficult to hook up. Go when the current is moving slowly or wait until it slows down. The more weight you have to put on your line –the less chance you have of catching.

Be patient when approaching the structure. Find out where it is and look for fish piled up in the area. Try to anchor so that your lines will drift back and down to the fish. Do not disturb other anglers who are already set up. Anchor well above and to the side of other boats. You do not want your hooks getting into anchor lines. I suggest using a wreck anchor so that you and deploy less rode and be very close to the fish without too much swing.

The top water action and chumming/live-lining continues throughout November. As we move into late November it is time to break out the bigger rods and reels and get hooked up on a trophy rockfish. I will have more on trolling techniques next month.

Meantime enjoy the great fishing and above all be safe and calm!!