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Live-lining Spot for Stripers is the Ticket to Summer Fun!
By Lenny Rudow Published: June 29, 2009  Print  Email
View Comments (0) Bouncing Bottom - A Fall Classic for Striped Bass Fishing By Lenny Rudow Published: November 23, 2008 Print Email Bottom bouncing may not be new, it may not be trendy, and it may not be “hot,” but it is effective, period. It’s also a fairly straightforward tactic and once mastered, can be applied to any drop-off, ledge, or channel edge holding stripers in the Chesapeake bay—or for that matter, up and down the coast.Bottom-bouncing is the only form of trolling that requires an angler to constantly work the rod, and it’s usually used to target specific fish in a very specific spot—on a small hump, wreck, or drop-off, for example. It requires some pretty stout gear, with conventional reels spooled up with monel line. (Steel and superbraid lines will both work, but not as effectively; monel cuts the water well and makes it easier to keep your line on bottom, it doesn’t rust, and it won’t cut into the spool if you hook bottom, as some superbraids will.) Rods should be... Read More...View Comments (0) Dial In Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass By Richie Gaines Published: June 29, 2008 Print Email
To find keeper grade and above stripers consistently once water temps rise into the 70’s, look for three attributes Read More...View Comments (5) Spring Striped Bass Trophy Fishing in the Chesapeake Bay: Trolling Set-Ups Explained By Captain Mark Galasso Published: May 4, 2008 Print Email Perhaps no other fishery in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay meets with more anticipation than the Spring Trophy Rockfish Season. Generally starting in mid April it affords Bay Anglers their best opportunity to land a true Trophy. In March waves of Rockfish leave their wintering grounds from the coastal waters off of Virginia and North Carolina and start the annual migration to the spawning areas of the Chesapeake Bay. A full seventy percent or more of the East Coast striped bass population heads for the fresh water lines up the Bay and in it’s tributaries. Rivers like the Potomac, Chester, Choptank and the head of the Bay wait for the spawning runs of the Rockfish as well as Herring and other forage species. For the Bay it’s like an awakening. Not only for the inhabitants under the water but for the fisherman who can’t wait to get on the water....Arguably the best way to target striped bass during the Spring is trolling. Everyone has a little different technique. And some work better than others. So this is how I fish the Trophy striped bass season. For lures I tend to fish double parachutes with stingers and Shads and Silver #18 Tonys. I rig the Parachutes so that each pair match. White with white and Chartruese with Chartruese. I like dark heads. One is twice the size of the other. The smaller one is rigged on 12 feet of 80lb mono. The heavier one is on 6ft of 80lb mono. I crimp or use a loop knot for all connections. The lures are rigged to a 3 way swivel. Tonys are rigged with 20ft of 50lb mono to a 4 to 12 ounce trolling weight.... Read More... View Comments (0) Fuelish Intentions - Lower your fuel burn, today! By Lenny Rudow Published: March 25, 2008 Print Email Oil may make the world go round, but these days it can make a boater’s head spin. A simple example: The last time I ran my 28 McKee Craft project boat, rigged with twin 250-hp Yamaha four-stroke outboards, I burned about 35 gallons per hour—not bad for an offshore-capable boat running over 40-mph. Still, we burned out about 140 gallons of fuel. And as you already know, prices are higher dockside than they are on land. Total cost: a hair over $500. I don’t care if you’re a wildcatter or a windshield washer, that’s pretty darn steep for a day of fishing. Even if you run a single engine boat with low horsepower, the current prices at the pump are a concern. Fortunately, there are ways you can get miserly with your fuel consumption. Whether you’re a canyon commando or a bay buccaneer, check out these tricks. They’ll all help you reduce your boat’s fuel burn, every time you leave the dock. Read More...View Comments (0) Hot Boat Electronics : Get a Jolt from the Best in New Marine Electronics! By Lenny Rudow Published: January 25, 2008 Print Email Is that old fishfinder frustrating you? Does your chartplotter cause confusion? Has your VHF become vexing? Toss that old stuff overboard--it’s time to upgrade. Not only will upgrading your electronics make your life easier, it can also give your boat a serious fishability boost. So, what’s the hottest in new marine electronics? These are my top ten picks for easy to operate, intuitive, effective electronics that have hit the market in the past year. I’ve used all of these units extensively, and they get a big thumbs-up. Read More...View Comments (0) Fisheye View - See the fish that lurk below you - Fishing Charts and Electronics By Lenny Rudow Published: December 3, 2007 Print Email Wouldn’t it be great if you could zoom around under water, and look at the structure you fish around? Wouldn’t it be incredible to have a detailed look at channel edges, lumps and humps, shell beds, and drop-offs to see where the fish are located? To have a 3-D picture of bottom contours of every inch of the Chesapeake Bay the Atlantic seabed, or wherever you fish? Well, you can. Modern fishing and navigation electronics allow you see the unseen view below the water’s surface, just about anywhere in the continental US. And all you’ll need is a few bucks, some computer savvy, and maybe an extra wire or two to improve your fishing... Read More...View Comments (0) Dark Ops - How to: Nightfishing By Lenny Rudow Published: July 29, 2007 Print Email In the heat of summer, the night bite is the right bite.View Comments (0) Got Balls? It’s Time for Dolphin! By Lenny Rudow Published: May 30, 2007 Print Email You’ve been trolling all day, with no bites. You flinch at the thought of how much cash you spent on fuel, bait, and ice, and how much time you spent running to get here, dozens of miles off the coast. You only have a few hours left before you’ll have to pull the lines and head for the barn. It’s time to pull an ace out of your sleeve and get those rods bent, or you’ll go home a zero, instead of a hero. You need a sure thing. Now is the time to ask yourself: have you got balls? Its times like these that you should reel in the trolling lines, break out some heavy spinning gear, and run for the edge of the continental shelf. Strung all along the shelf, usually between… View Comments (0) Groundswell: A popular, new Approach to Offshore Action By Lenny Rudow Published: May 1, 2007 Print Email
Deep drop rigs are essentially glorified bottom rigs with at least four or five hooks; you want multiple hooks simply to get numerous baits down, so that missed strikes don’t require you to reel in and re-bait, which can take up to 20 minutes. 4/0 to 8/0 circle hooks are good, and often they can be enhanced with a small plastic glow in the dark tube or bead at or near the hook. The hooks can be baited with whole squid, fish chunks, or sea clams. Squid are considered the “norm,” but some anglers swear by clams... Read More...View Comments (0)
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From the Bay Bridge to the Choptank to Cove Point to Point Lookout, summer fun begins with a livewell full of spot and ends with a cooler of kickin’ stripers. You want to get the fish snapping this season? Live-lining is the ticket to bent rods—here’s how it works...One question regularly heard when discussing live-baiting: how do you hook the baitfish? Through the jaws, or the back? Actually, the answer is both and one or the other, depending on where in the water column the fish are feeding... 
Having trouble finding stripers on the Bay the past few years? Well, you’re not alone. The days of fishing the same old spots the same old ways are gone my friend. While the spring trophy season is still very productive and predictable, once the Ocean run fish depart it’s a whole new ball game. The Chesapeake Bay is changing and the rate of change has accelerated in the past few years. The Upper Bay has been most notably affected but we’re also seeing sings in the lower portions as well. Water quality really comes into play once water temps reach the low seventies and above and this is dictating where the fish hold big time. Anglers who understand that water quality is much like structure are taking advantage of the knowledge, changing their tactics, and enjoying success. As an experienced guide I’ve been able to adjust and locate fish fairly consistently. Now, you know what the definition of experience is right? It’s the name we give to our mistakes so I’m confident in my experience… 
You want to try something new and exciting? Enjoy a different kind of species in your own home waters? Taste a kind of fish many anglers have never even heard of? Then you’d better work out your cranking arm—it’s time to try an 
