Ugly Day

[5th Tuition]

Ok, so I post when I have a decent day; guess I have to post on days like today as well

Mako Mike is leaving to fish the Keys shortly AND he has been struggling this trophy season; so I promised to show him how to run boards, and hopefully put a few fish in the boat. Sometimes the best intentions go unfounded.

Mike brought two friends with him, so I really wanted to put a few fish in the box. We caught nothing Had one boat rod hooked up and lost the fish transitioning the rod from one angler to the other This was an early bite, so no problem, we will get another couple of fish

It was not to be. I tried everything in my bag of tricks. We trolled faster, then slower, checked lines for snot and grass (some, but not much), adjusted one side of the boat to run lighter/higher in the water. Pulled rods about 2 hours later and cleaned lures and again adjusted rods. Nothing worked!!!!!!

After 7 hours (yes, I said seven hours) of trolling, we called it a day. I tucked my tail between my legs and headed for the barn. As we slid into the creek, the sun came out, the temperature warmed, and we made the decision to get some fuel and head back out (At least I'm not a quitter)

Fueled up and dropped lines just outside Deale and trolled another 2 hours with the same results.

I ran 16 board lines, (and 5 boat rods too). I had lines out 90, 84, 72, and 60ft off boards. At one time, I even had some 48 ft off boards on one side. It was unbelievable that we couldn't find one unlucky fish to bring boat side.

I'm mentally beat. The company was good and so was the food/drink. But it was just not meant to be.

Mike and Dale got pretty proficient at clearing lines and resetting but that was only supposed to be part of todays experience.

A lot of people struggled today, but some (named Bruce) did well on the scattered fish

It won't be long before my head hits the pillow.
5th

[Mako mike]

Its all good bro, that's why they call it fishing! Don't be down on yourself it was still a great day with great friends. Although we did not come away with any fish for a coworker he still had a great day on the water. And as for myself like every time I fish with Marty I came home with another learning experiences I will not forget. First I have always wanted to learn how to fish boards from someone without having to drag them myself alone for the first time and creating caos for myself and everyone within a mile of me while trying to learn. Marty was very thorough with how to set the lines techniques on turns and how and what rigs to use. I thought I picked up on it quickly and Marty must have been comfortable with my learning enough so that he allowed me to operate the boat even in some tight situations just to see how I handled it. Enough with lesson number one. Lesson number two I had problems picking up on but after nine hours of trolling I finally picked it up! DONT go fishing with Marty ! Seriously though every time I fish with him I come away knowing more about striper fishing. It was a great day even if we didn't catch, time to put this tired bald head on a pillow! Thank you again Marty !

[Joe Walsh]

Tough day for y'all, but at least you got out. I'm still in my driveway, so close to splashing, but wx is killing me... From what I've been reading, sounds like the bite is down south, below Solomon's.. So I'm not missing much.. Hope to see you out there very soon.

Joe

[5th Tuition]

Thanks for the kind words Mike.

Joe, I'm not sure the bite is below Solomons. Everone around Deale/CB had a good morning on Friday (opening day of the tournament). After a day of a hundred boats running overhead, the fish bite shut down considerably in this area.
But to access the fishing after yesterdays experience, would be like State Roads trying to decide where to put a bike lane while viewing a bike race.

As soon as it "calms down" later this week, I'll be out looking to take some revenge on those fish

5th

[Joe Walsh]

I hope to get in early this week, and I think I feel a cold coming on, should hit either Wednesday, or Thursday.

[garlien]

Don't take too much revenge...I may actually be able to get out next weekend.

[Breakaway]

Yesterday was a tough day. I just feel like it had to be the boat traffic. I fished the gas docks with at least a hundred (maybe more) of my best friends. There is one guy in particular that I no longer consider a friend, but that's another story! I stuck with it in that area till about noon and then decided to pull lines and move back closer to home. Only caught one but, as slow as the fishing was, I felt like I had a good day. At least you stuck with it Marty! Some times you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!

[bhl]

Marty,
Saturday a week ago I had a crew of people and it was rough and raining. I never got a bite. After the crew left I went into the head and found out that someone had barfed all over the walls, floor and head and then stopped up the head with a bunch of toilet paper.
3 hours of cleaning and picking paper out of the impeller on the head.
"Some days you're the windshield and some days you're the bug"

[Drew S]

I was skunked Saturday afternoon/eve as well near Love Pt. Although we did have a knock down that didn't come tight as we were going super slow reeling in our gear. Saw another boat on the water, a Jupiter, trolling very, very slow. As we were going back in on the Bodkin saw that same Jupiter docked and taking pictures of two nice fish. Perhaps a slow, 2-2.2 mph was the ticket...

[No Ragrets]

Originally Posted by Drew S

I was skunked Saturday afternoon/eve as well near Love Pt. Although we did have a knock down that didn't come tight as we were going super slow reeling in our gear. Saw another boat on the water, a Jupiter, trolling very, very slow. As we were going back in on the Bodkin saw that same Jupiter docked and taking pictures of two nice fish. Perhaps a slow, 2-2.2 mph was the ticket...

Fish were in shallow this weekend. We caught ours inside the triple bouy area outside Rock Hall.