SlateDog
10-04-2009, 07:37 PM
Plenty of nice spot all over the Rapp today. Did not seem to matter where you tried. Water was nice and clear and 70 degrees. I caught some nice #1 size fish at both the Red Barns and the Pickle Factory plus a few nice croaker that were still hanging around. All fish caught on blood worms. I was taking the small bait size spot and throwing them in the live well for use at the bridge later.
After getting enough nice spot for dinner I went to the bridge and joined a rather large group of boats fishing the bridge pilings. I got tight on the down river side of the paint barge which had sealed off a pair of pilings. It offered some shelter from the boat wakes and breeze that was kicking up around 11:00AM this morning. Rigged up the Shimano Bait Runner and threw out a live spot. Missed one fish right away by jerking the circle hook instead of a nice steady pull when the fish was taking line . After losing that fish I then made a bigger mistake. I love my 22 foot Grady White Tournament dual console as it is a really good all around set up but it can present problems with the bimini top up when fishing alone. I had fished for a while but then got lazy and moved to the bow of the boat to sit on my fat can on the bow cushions. The bimini top was up. I then hung a real nice striper and got him to the starboard bow. Due to the obstructions of my bimini top and dual windshield I could not easily work him back towards the cockpit where my net was at. While trying to land him off the bow without a net I basically screwed around and lost him on a head shake at the side of the boat. Oh well, learned a lesson there. I then ran home to clean the spot and catch another frustrating Skins game. I know they won....still frustrating. Beautiful day on the water. Sure am glad rockfish season is here again. I think its going to be a good one.
After getting enough nice spot for dinner I went to the bridge and joined a rather large group of boats fishing the bridge pilings. I got tight on the down river side of the paint barge which had sealed off a pair of pilings. It offered some shelter from the boat wakes and breeze that was kicking up around 11:00AM this morning. Rigged up the Shimano Bait Runner and threw out a live spot. Missed one fish right away by jerking the circle hook instead of a nice steady pull when the fish was taking line . After losing that fish I then made a bigger mistake. I love my 22 foot Grady White Tournament dual console as it is a really good all around set up but it can present problems with the bimini top up when fishing alone. I had fished for a while but then got lazy and moved to the bow of the boat to sit on my fat can on the bow cushions. The bimini top was up. I then hung a real nice striper and got him to the starboard bow. Due to the obstructions of my bimini top and dual windshield I could not easily work him back towards the cockpit where my net was at. While trying to land him off the bow without a net I basically screwed around and lost him on a head shake at the side of the boat. Oh well, learned a lesson there. I then ran home to clean the spot and catch another frustrating Skins game. I know they won....still frustrating. Beautiful day on the water. Sure am glad rockfish season is here again. I think its going to be a good one.