whats going on??

[fishnnk]

I went out last weekend to the Target ship ... nothing. Trolled through the channel between bouy 64 and Pt Lookout ..... had a few blues bite off my plastics on my umbrellas. Trolled spoons on planers at different depths .... nothing. What is going on??? Is anyone else having a hard time finding fish??? I know that some of them may still be up in the rivers and tributaries but in years past, I have never had to work so hard to just find the fish. The mouth of the Potomac especially has been productive in years past but nothing as of yet .... what gives?? What am I doing wrong???
Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Fishnnk .... newbie to the site

[xFishdogx]

Your not doing anything wrong. The river is just in the middle of its transit since the Big Rockfish have left and now we are waiting for the blues to move in. They are still catching Rockfish out by #9 and #7 but its spotty and they are small. It should pick up here shortly.

[fishnnk]

do you know of anyone having any luck at the NNR??? Chumming working yet??? On some days I like to go out and fish off the jet-ski .... yes, I know, its strange but its catching on and its fun .... and lately I haven't had any luck even with that :( I can go into the shallows, creeks, up close to structure, etc but still no luck. I like sitting on my porch with the binoculars just watching for the diving birds and then jumping on the jetski and running out to the fish ... killing the engine and drifting through the fish and they don't even know I'm there. It's so much fun! But that hasn't even been happening lately. I swear .... year after year ... its something different. This year was supposed to be a great year for the crabs ... got a half of a bushel last weekend that were supposed to be "1's" but were barely 3's if they were lucky. The days of yesteryear seem to be gone .... when I was young I remember large schools of "chopper" blues that would chase bait onto the beach. Oh well .... it can only get better hopefully.

signed ...... frustrated fisherman

[joconnor47]

You are not the only frustrated angler in the Middle Bay area. I have been fishing this area regularly for the past ten years and I do not remember any worse fishing results than I have experienced so far this season. Had one decent day trolling for the trophy rockfish then skunked the next five trips. Am now bottom fishing and trolling planers with Clark spoons. My wife and I fished two full days last weekend during the Northern Neck Anglers Club tournament and hit all the known "great spots" for croaker and rockfish, including the Tangier Island target ships and the Northern Neck Reef. Our total catch over the two days was two croaker (one each) at 9 and 12 ounces, one 17 inch rockfish throwback and two 12 inch blues. Hopefully, things will get better once the bluefish arrive in force and the spanish mackerel follow. Have not yet fished for flounder or speckled trout. Am hoping I can find a few of each within the next few weeks. Hang in there and good luck.

[fishnnk]

thanks and good luck to you as well. I come out of Hull Creek on the Va side of the Potomac and can hit all of those spots in a matter of minutes. Maybe I will see you out on the water ... name of my boat is the Empty Nest.

[PaPaCard]

Maybe they are still up the rivers and tribs and movement to the bigger water is slower this year. We have had better luck than usual on the Corrotoman. At our favorite spots you can catch as many Croaker and Perch as you want. Last weekend we caught some big slab Croakers that put up a nice fight on light tackle. We've been fairly successful with Rockfish as well this Spring, although they are off and on, and not large. The Rockfish have been concentrated in the usual hard bottom areas, particularly oyster reefs. Rubber minnows have worked well. Hopefully, it's just a matter of time until this action moves out to the areas you all are fishing.

[fishnnk]

maybe I will try the oyster reef just outside the mouth of the Little Wicomico this weekend .... till then ..... good luck to all and pray for good weather

[BayViews]

fishnnk,
If your coming out of Hull Creek, you go right by my house on the way to Smith Pt. I'm along the VA Potomac shoreline past Cubitt Creek, just before you reach Condit Pond. Unfortunately my location is not protected enough, so I keep the boat at Buzzard's Pt. marina. You may want to hit the next meeting of the Northern Neck Anglers Club on June 9th. Meetings are open to the public. There will be a couple of presentations by speakers providing tips for catching flounder and speckled trout. http://northernneckanglersclub.wordpress.com/

[fishnnk]

thanks for the info .... I will be down this weekend ... I will look for you out on the water after sunrise on Saturday. Good luck!