had a blast this winter from december to last week fishing for the rockfish.first,i would like to apologize to jerms and some others who emailed me wanting to go catch some.honestly,i wasnt in the mood for company.this was my first season in years when “big ben” wasnt around to fish with me as he died last year.i said i wouldnt go anymore without him to fish with,but they were calling me.the other thing was that a old high school buddy owns a house on the “creek” and allowed me to permanently park my jonboat over there which allowed for alot of fishing.now,to the fishing.this year was strange.i dont know if it was the different weather or what,but the stripers seemed to be there much earlier this year in force and seemed to leave last week.many many fish were caught.though there were no really bigguns caught(a couple around 10 lbs)i can say the population in the cooper isnt hurting one bit.i have pics of some,but will not post em.will be glad to share any pics or info in person though.and to the other guy i saw catchin them numerous times this winter.i told you so!
good to see you post here again. I enjoyed your posts over the last year. I have tried the Combahee a time or two (south of the 17 bridge) with no luck although I am not in a situation that allows me to fish much. So I fish vicariously right now.
21 Sea Pro Bay
DF140 Suzuki
My other ride costs 30 million.
i havent been to the combahee the whole year.went to the santee twice.caught 2 fish.fished the cooper all winter,sometimes for a hour before work, sometimes at night for hours.days off i fished both in morning and went back at night some weeks.it was a great season.i know some bait places that got sick of me asking if they had herring all the time.also experimented with some rapalas and mirrolures.they work.sorry you didnt get to fish for em much.
Good deal there Willy. About the mirrolures, I had a couple of nights that the mirrolures were all they would hit. Once again, good post! Sounds like fun!!
the funny thing is,it wasnt the 52 they would hit most times,it was the shallow suspending models.but,unlike you,i was fishing in 8 to 10 ft or less of water most times.i would think for your fishing the 52 would tear em up.i followed your posts most all winter and wanted to reply,but didnt.good luck when you get your boat back.i want to come up and try around the dam one night soon.
From the friends I have spoke to lately that have been around the dam, they say the fish are still stacked up but will not bite. I hope I can try to get them to bite before they take off. I feel pretty confident that if they are there, I’ll get some fish. But, you never know. I’m not being cocky, I just like to stay positive .
nuthin wrong with confidence when you can catch em like you did this winter.i can say i was very happy with my results,and i learned alot of things i didnt know before.when you can fish as much as i did this winter,even a dummy like me can learn a new trick.
do you use herring very much?if so,where can you get it all the time?
I did live bait a couple of nights. I caught the bait with the sabiki rigs. Of course, if you have a good heavy cast net, you can get all you want quick. I believe my friends said that the bait was still there pretty thick. Maybe we can get together and catch a few.
my problem is i only have off sunday and mondays,and 1 saturday a month.but,yes i would love to come and catch one.you remind me of the guys in the 60s and early 70s who fished moultrie.those guys were diehards like you.my father worked on tiny lunds boat motors,and i remember seeing some big stripers caught as a young child.those race car guys and their friends were always there in the winter fishing.anyway,i havent hit up moultrie much in recent years,but would love to try it again.ill return the favor next year as well when the stripers return to the salt.
i guess i shouldve mentioned i was looking for a place where i could get herring because i was fishing in the salt.some places on the way up your way had em sometimes,and sometimes not.
I thought you were talking about using the bait around the dam. Atkins bait shed had some a couple of weeks ago I was told. About getting together, sounds good. I will try to post when I get my boat back and get a trip going. Sometimes I do not know if I am going until the last minute. I’ll try to give some notice…
thanks man.yeah,i have used cut herring (v-cut) for rockfish in saltwater for years.i will fish on bottom or near bottom i should say with herring,and spend my time waiting fishing lures.anyway,nice chattin…gotta go.
