Mad House off PLO 1-9 w pics

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Left the house at 5:45 am for the 100 mile trailer to Point Look Out ( PLO ). Weather prediction was almost too good to be true - light winds and temps. over 50*. My one friend had to cancel but fellow Tfer Blue Lou ( Lou ) was going to meet me at ramp. Traffic was not too bad until I got to the Rt.4 bridge over Patuxent at 7:15 am. It was a slow crawl up that steep grade but gave me a chance to glance out to the bay and the river. Both looked flat and saw two oyster boats sitting - waiting for legal time to start.

Got to the park and the bay was smooth as I drove along the cause way.





I could hardly believe how flat it was and got to ramp at 8:00am. No one else was there and I was extra careful launching the boat. A fall off the pier could be bad news in the cold water and no help near. Lou called on cell phone - he was running 15 minutes late due to traffic.





Had everything ready to go when Lou got there and off we went on a SE course towards the Md / Va line. Running 30 knots on the GPS but felt slow because bay was so calm.






Ran about 11 miles until we got to deep waters. Saw a gill netter working about 2 miles north of line so stayed south of them. Started the day off by dropping first board over it's tow line - had to reverse and clear that screw up. For Christmas - kids gave me a CD with a lot of my favorite songs and Lou was game to listen to it. It was playing as we sent rods out. Auto pilot had boat on a SSE course along deep water edge - weather was perfect , great day to be fishing. We set far planer lines back farther then normal but also had some shallow. We had most rods out when a fish hit a planer rod and Lou grabbed the rod since it hit on his side of boat. I slowed boat 1 knot but turned up the CD player.

Picture if you can - flat seas , a nice fish tugging and Anthrax cranked up loud.


http://youtu.be/uGHsxMqpL0c



Here it is just before 10:00am and we are hooked up.





Lou did a good job with the fish and soon it was boatside.









He held up the 35 +/- incher for quick photo and then let it go. Fish hit a 2 oz chartreuse Alien with white shad that was tandem with a 6 oz - back 70 feet.







We got rest of rods set and swung back - hoping to hook more. Meter showed very little - just a single fish here / there down 30-40 feet. We trolled east / west as incoming current slowed. Saw a north bound ship so we trolled west to channel edge. There is a yellow marker near Smith Point and north bound ships pass it to port - most times. This one left marker to starboard but a quick call on VHF #13 helped clear up what pilot was doing. We laughed as he apologized to us for cutting close to us and he turned slightly to put some room between us.






Slight breeze picked up from south as current started out going. We hoped this might get fish to bite but lack of any bait on meter did not bode well. Had a hit off board but no hook up. Had another hit off boat rod and thought might be smaller Rock. Put on a June Bug 2 oz white bucktail with 6 inch white shad. Trolled into the afternoon and the new lure got hit. Sure enough - it was a 24 +/- incher.





Let the little guy go and continued looking for fish. Saw 5-6 Gannets circle an area and trolled through but nothing but a small pocket of baitfish on meter. Worked across the area and had a hit off down rigger but no hook up. It was about 4:00 but too nice to quit.





Sticking it out paid off when a planer rod got hit. Since it hit off the side I set - Lou let me reel it in. Fish was half way in and then swam quickly to the boat. So fast - thought it got loose. It plowed past stern - then towards surface. Lou got leader and the 36 +/- incher was photographed then set free.





It hit a Spankin' Striper John Deere parachute back 100 feet.





The current was really moving - boat speed on GPS was 1.6 going north. We continued to troll as sun slowly dropped.





Began to reel in rods as it was getting dark but we still held out hope for another fish.





We finished reeling everything in and then brought in the boards. Had little mess up as it was tough seeing them in the dark.





With minor set back - we began the run back to the ramp.





Easy run back - only bad part is the strobe lights on antenna at PLO. The flashes really take away night vision compared to normal lights on marker buoys. We got back to ramp after 6:00 but it was still nice out.





Lou glided boat to trailer and I went onto walk boards to hook the cable. Shoes were slimy from low tide and almost slipped in.
As boat winched onto trailer - took time to look up at stars. PLO area is fairly dark and stars show up brightly. Secured everything and headed off on the 100 mile trailer back home. Crossed the Rt.4 bridge about 7:20 pm - just 12 hours earlier I was headed other way. Easy drive home and temperatures were still warm enough to give boat a wash down. Often it's too cold and needs to wait until next day.

Not a lot of fish but still great way to begin 2013 season.