Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Rock on the Rocks


I have always wondered why they call Striped Bass "Rock". The consensus seems to be that it was because they migrated into the bay and rubbed against the rocks to remove the sea lice. Since few if any fish in the South River come in from the ocean, I have always felt it was because they like the warmth that the rocks provide. As the water temps have dropped over the past few weeks, I have been mainly catching fish right up against rocky shorelines. This supports my theory, but I will need more tests. Again, I had a small window to fish before dark, so stayed within sight of the marina. Just as it was getting dark, I picked up a feisty 17 right up against the rocky shoreline behind the old island (now called a shoal). So the fun continued for a least another day.


5 comments:

Steve Bradford said...

Are you having any luck with the top water this tear?

Steve

Rick Weaver said...

No. The weather has really thrown me off my game. The last 2 weeks of april have historically been great, but not this year. I have only managed 1 26 on plastic. Have been out to the shoal at least 6 times. We need a few windless days.

CS said...

Rick - are you going to keep up the Blog? And have you seen any change in wQ for the South River? R/CSP

Rick Weaver said...

When the season started back in March I had every intention of keeping up the blog...now I am not so sure. I have actually fished more days this year than ever, but have not had one single "post worthy' fish. Between the wind, rain, and stained water fishing has been tough. Still, the fish should be there, but they are not. I have not had any problem catching dinks, but have caught maybe 2 fish over 18.

The water quality this year has been horrible, but I do not think that is the problem.The little guys seem to find the plugs just fine. In my opinion the Striper population has collapsed and we need another moratorium...now. Since I have never had success in June, I plan to try my luck at some of the local ponds for Bass. Hate to be so gloomy, but it is real bad out there.

Rivercat09 said...

Rick,

I've enjoyed reading and learning from your blog, and I have to agree with you about the rockfish population about to crash. Spring was mediocre at best, and the summer so far has absolutely sucked.

Low salinity has thrown the croaker and spot bite off, but low salinity should have no effect on rockfish.

Another moratorium? Perhaps, but whet we definitely need will be to give rockfish game-fish status along the entire east coast. Make the commercial guys all catch by hook and line. The commercial take is what is really killing the rockfish.

I hope to read new posts from your blog in the future.

Tight Lines,

Don

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