Nice. I knew you would get your rock. Wonder if the cats will start slurping up the spot ?
Line lining - Rock opener
With the smaller ( 19 inch ) Rock season open this morning - decided to try. Had info a few Spot are around. Stopped in at Anglers - no bloodworms , damn. Had Fish Bites and fingers crossed.
Launched about 7:15 am - surprised only about 5 trailers there. There was a small craft up for later with chance of rain , perhaps kept folks home.
Had a nice breeze from south and a strong outgoing - lovely. Great if trolling - sucks for bottom fishing. Searched around a few drop offs in 20-25 feet - this was good last year on May 23rd. Found a few marks that I took for Spot but trouble getting boat over them. I made a long cast and sure enough had a Spot on but as often the case - came off 3/4 way to boat. One reason I prefer fishing vertical for Spot. Water temp. was 65* - low for Spot.
Moved around and found a few Spot - putting them in livewell. Ran north towards Magothy - seeing a lot of trollers farther north. Got a nice 23 inch Rock - then went shallow into crab pots off Podickery. Had to be extra careful - strong current had some floats underwater.
Used cut Spot on 3 rods - 3 ozs of lead to hold. Got one Cat about 15 lbs - really fought hard by swimming upcurrent and under boat. Most times in current they just roll around.
Fished until about 10:30 - had some trailer maintenance to do. The forward rollers have steel hog rings - few were looking bad. Lost a roller week ago but luckily found it on low tide. 16 of them took about an hour - most nearing breaking point.
Cool a few Spot are here already - next few weeks should increase the numbers.
Launched about 7:15 am - surprised only about 5 trailers there. There was a small craft up for later with chance of rain , perhaps kept folks home.
Had a nice breeze from south and a strong outgoing - lovely. Great if trolling - sucks for bottom fishing. Searched around a few drop offs in 20-25 feet - this was good last year on May 23rd. Found a few marks that I took for Spot but trouble getting boat over them. I made a long cast and sure enough had a Spot on but as often the case - came off 3/4 way to boat. One reason I prefer fishing vertical for Spot. Water temp. was 65* - low for Spot.
Moved around and found a few Spot - putting them in livewell. Ran north towards Magothy - seeing a lot of trollers farther north. Got a nice 23 inch Rock - then went shallow into crab pots off Podickery. Had to be extra careful - strong current had some floats underwater.
Used cut Spot on 3 rods - 3 ozs of lead to hold. Got one Cat about 15 lbs - really fought hard by swimming upcurrent and under boat. Most times in current they just roll around.
Fished until about 10:30 - had some trailer maintenance to do. The forward rollers have steel hog rings - few were looking bad. Lost a roller week ago but luckily found it on low tide. 16 of them took about an hour - most nearing breaking point.
Cool a few Spot are here already - next few weeks should increase the numbers.
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
Blue cats most definitely will eat a live-lined spot. I've seen it happen😟😟😟.Nice. I knew you would get your rock. Wonder if the cats will start slurping up the spot ?
I'm sure. Slurp up everything including blue crabs. Hey maybe even oysters ? Who knows.
awesome report skip. I remember a couple years back trying to make a couple spot count. we ran from kent narrows over to sandy point light only to live line and hook up on 5-6 lb. blue cats. we where hoping for rock.
Do you use any weight when you live line spot?
Vtrock - I prefer no weight. A good Spot will swim down. One trick I use - I very gently lob cast the Spot up current and then feed out line by hand very fast. Idea is to give Spot slack so it can go deep. Some call it free lining or fly lining - I call it dumping line.
Once I think Spot is deep - I'll hold line until I feel it move. I very gently lift rod few inches - this makes Spot quiver. Often get hit right then. If not , I'll dump few more feet and repeat.
If Spot are small or current moving - I'll add a big split shot , size of a pea. Guess around 1/8 ounce.
A few situations require 1/2 ounce of lead. Some times I've had to go up to 1 oz but very rare. Often fishing a deep structure on fast current.
I fish a Spot 3-4 lob casts / drifts or 5 minutes. I'll rest them in livewell - just in case needed later.
Once I think Spot is deep - I'll hold line until I feel it move. I very gently lift rod few inches - this makes Spot quiver. Often get hit right then. If not , I'll dump few more feet and repeat.
If Spot are small or current moving - I'll add a big split shot , size of a pea. Guess around 1/8 ounce.
A few situations require 1/2 ounce of lead. Some times I've had to go up to 1 oz but very rare. Often fishing a deep structure on fast current.
I fish a Spot 3-4 lob casts / drifts or 5 minutes. I'll rest them in livewell - just in case needed later.
If I were a fish, I would not want to be a Spot.
Thanks for the detailed tips. I'll try that next time.
Caught a dozen small spot on Saturday, but didn't have any luck finding rock. Ended up cutting them in half and catching a few 5-6 lb. channel cats. Better than a skunk.
Caught a dozen small spot on Saturday, but didn't have any luck finding rock. Ended up cutting them in half and catching a few 5-6 lb. channel cats. Better than a skunk.
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
Tidal Fish Forum
A forum community dedicated to Mid Atlantic fishing and sporting enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about safety, licenses, tips, tricks, piers, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
