Kipto or bust

[bass-ackwards]

A buddy and I are headed to fish the ships this Sunday. 8hr round trip, but those beasts are starting to bite and I just have to try for one. Current weather forecast is OK, not great. Figure it'll change 20 times between now and Sunday.

Anyone care to meet us there?

JR

[Friday]

I wish I can.
Last time it took me 4+ hours one way to get there including stopping for gas and live eels. I need someone from Fairfax to go with. That place was pretty crowded, I remember.
Good Luck!

Joe

[redfish12]

I'm heading this weekend from Arlington, first trip down! Any tips for the newcomer?

[Friday]

Redfish,

1. That place is ok when wind blows below 12MPH for everyone. East wind @15MPH is OK.

2. That place will be packed. Everyone is coming from the North. This is the last weekend for the most of people. Finding parking spot can be problem. You may park far away from the ramp. Bring a cart. I can carry everything on a cart. And I can store the cart inside the bow hatch. I can carry everything at once. So I don't leave my stuff unattended.

3. Possible Long line at the ramp when you leave the ramp and come back.

4. If you have a partner you may use the board-walk and launch from the sand beach. You need to lift your kayak to go over the guard rail at an L turn on the board walk. Hopefully someone can tell you about other kayak launch spots at the park.

5. On the way to the State park, you can buy eels at some bait store – I think you need only 2-3 eels. Bring a one-gallon zip lock bag. Put the zip-lock bag in the cooler. Keep the eel cold. Eel can live a whole day in the cooler. Search "Baits and Tackles Norfolk, VA" on Maps.Google.com. You will find a bunch of stores, such as “Oceans East 2 Tackle Shop”. Get the phone # for several places and call them in the morning when you drive for sure.

6. Fill the gas tank 15-20 miles before the CBBT. There is no gas station from few-miles before CBBT (it is long) to the Kiptopeke state park. I need 4 gallons of gas on my truck before I hit CBBT to come back to the first gas station.

7. Learn how to carry/handle/rig eels. The answer is on the web. Don’t carry an eel rigged on the rod (vertically) – Eel will be tangled on the rod (rod guide).

8. The depth of the place (excluding the channel for the traffic) is, if I remember correctly, 13’- 28’. Bring you favorite lures/Jig head according to the depth.

9. Bring a head light and other lights if you think you may fish after 5:00PM

10. The back up place (if the wind is too strong) can be HRBT (from FT Monroe) or Coleman Bridge.



Joe

[bass-ackwards]

We went yesterday instead of Sunday. Beautiful weather yesterday - windy at first, but then it layed down. The afternoon was dead calm. We made it from Gaithersburg MD to Ocean's East in just over 3 hrs. Another 20 minutes or so to kipto. Surprisingly crowded for a tuesday, but then again, this is peak season. Too many boats to count. About 10 yakkers. We fished the tail of the incoming, high slack, the outgoing, and low slack. Nada. Didn't see anything caught, except for a dogfish. We left at 4pm (just in time to hit HRBT traffic). Some others were going back out at 4, but don't know if they got into anything. They had caught some late Monday night. Water warmed up considerably on Monday/Tuesday - that's one theory for the lack of action.

to Joe's points: always leave a rigged eel in the water and yes, you only need a few - we bought way too many.

for redfish - read this page - all you need to know is in there..... Kayak Kevin, Kayak Fishing Chesapeake Bay, Kayak Touring on the ICW, Kayak Fishing Photography (http://www.kayakkevin.com/kiptostriperhowtos.html)

[Friday]

BA,
Thanks for the report. Based on your report, this Saturday, the state park will be packed.


Redfish,

If you go out at night you have the better chance with less people. There are locals who fish at night most of time. Don’t be misled by the glorious stories by those a few got lucky. The most of people report only when they catch.

Now you know why I am heading for HRBT for schoolies. If I want to do C&R the big stripers, I will try Bay Bridge. Recently I learned that BB holds some good size fish in winter.

I forgot to mention another back-up place since you will be driving a long hours. Nothing is the worst after driving hours and found out that the wind forecast was completely wrong. This is the sure-backup place even at 20MPH of wind. You will be cold and drifted fast but there won’t be high waves in this place. The place is called Hot Ditch.

In case you don’t know the place, this place is a pretty good place for Specks. I will be there after December. Here is some Info about this place:

I drive 3 hours and 15 minutes to get this place from Chantilly, VA.

The hot ditch address:

Chesapeake Yacht Club (Inc)
1700 Shipyard Rd
Chesapeake, VA 23323
(757) 487-9100

The ramp fee was $10.00 in January. I don't know the amount of the current fee. Bring $10.00 and several $1.00 bills if you want to pay the exact amount. There is no attendant just a deposit box by the ramp.

Lures:

Jig head: 1/16, 1/8, 3/8, 1/4 oz - use 1/8 first

Gulp Alive Shrimp (3” long and New Penny color).

small gold spoons

Bass assassin 3.5" long Salt & Pepper with green tail

MirrorLures, such as TT21, 52MR11 and 20MR18

Light fishing lines; 10 lb super braided with 10-20 lb leader or 6-10 lb mono line

Need VA salt water fishing license

Joe