Fishing Reports

Hey anglers! If you’ve ever had one of those days where the fish are laughing at you from the depths, this one’s for you. Today (December 26th, Boxing Day, yes, we’re still chasing stripers right after Christmas!), the conditions were just too good to pass up. The wind had finally chilled out, the bay was like glass, and the temps were warm enough that I didn’t need three layers of thermals. I hit up my buddy Vince, and he was game. Destination? Good ol’ R62. Let’s see what’s biting!

I launched with high hopes, rods rigged, coffee hot. Got to R62 and jackpot on the sonar! Tons of bait balls everywhere, and big marks lurking below them. Fish galore! I was thinking, “This is gonna be epic.”

Reality check: Those fish were playing hard to get. Deep, sulky, and absolutely refusing to come up for my lures. We trolled near, we trolled far, we covered every inch around R62. Crickets. Nada. Zilch. The stripers were down there throwing a party, but we weren’t invited.

Vince and I split up at one point (he stayed persistent at the hotspot), but as usual, I couldn’t call it quits without my classic “troll back home” move. You know the one, that stubborn last-ditch effort where you drag your lures all the way to the ramp, just in case.

I’m cruising along in calm waters, daydreaming about hot cocoa, when I’m nearing the old spot where 1GW used to be (before it was relocated). Out of nowhere, BAM! Rod doubles over, reel screaming like it’s on fire. This wasn’t a schoolie. This was a beast!

Solo on the boat, it was a full-on epic battle. Head shakes, runs, dives, the works. My heart was pounding, but after a fantastic fight, I netted this beauty: a thick, healthy 36-inch striped bass! What a tank. She fought like a champ and looked even better.

Quick hero shots (because of course), and back she went with a strong swim-off. No regrets. That’s the beauty of catch-and-release on these big breeders.

With renewed optimism (and a huge grin), I trolled the area for another 30 minutes. Nothing else wanted to play, but who cares? That one fish turned a potential skunk into a memorable day.

Moral of the story: Never quit early. That “troll home” tactic has saved me more times than I can count. The bay gave us a post-holiday gift today, proof that persistence pays off, even when the fish are being total jerks most of the day.

Tight lines, everyone! If you’re out there chasing winter stripers, keep grinding. You never know when that one big bite will make it all worthwhile.

Dec 27th

Sometimes the best fishing stories aren’t about limits and monster hauls. They’re about beating the odds, making memories, and watching the next generation light up with excitement. That’s precisely what happened on my recent trip with my buddy Scott, his son Bubba, and his grandson Cody. Three generations on the boat! I joined granddad and the gang for breakfast before we shoved off. It was one of those outings that remind you why we love this sport.

We kicked things off bright and early. The plan? Beat the wind and get out into the bay before it turns into a washing machine. Mother Nature had other ideas. We left the dock on time, but the breeze was already cranking. We poked our noses into the bay, and nope. Waves hitting the hull, whitecaps everywhere. It just wasn’t safe or fun.

Scott and I just knew: “This might be a bust.” But with young Cody on board, wide-eyed and ready to fish, there was no way we were heading straight home. We went into sheltered mode near the 200 bridge. Honestly, neither of us thought we’d see a thing. The sonar was blank. Still, we dropped the rigs anyway. Hey, you don’t catch fish with lines in the box, right?

We trolled around for about 20 minutes, chatting and enjoying the company. Then, bam! We drifted over a lone school hiding out. First hit! Cody grabs the rod like a pro, cranks it in, and up comes a beautiful 20-inch striper. Grins all around!

No sooner had we boxed that one and reset (literally 15 seconds later), another rod doubles over. Cody’s at it again. This time a chunky 24-incher! The kid was on fire. We gave it another solid try, but the fish had spoken: two and done.

We thought about pushing over to the Cockerells Creek area, but even the river was kicking up too much chop. So we pointed the bow home with two keepers in the box and a boatload of smiles.

What made the day special wasn’t the fish count. It was having the young crew aboard. Cody’s enthusiasm is contagious, and I love how he chats with us “old timers” like he’s one of the guys. That’s the mark of great parenting from Bubba. Days like this hook kids on fishing for life, passing down the tradition from granddad to dad to son to grandson.

Today was supposed to be all about scouting, but luck was definitely on my side. Scott and I have a group coming out on Saturday, the 20th, and with the forecast calling for too much wind on the 19th, I decided to get ahead of the game and find the fish today, the 18th. Scott was working, and the weather was perfect with calm conditions and almost no wind, so I headed out solo to locate a few spots for Saturday.

I started in shallow water just south of the Smith Point Lighthouse, around 30 feet deep. That was a complete bust. If there were any fish there, they were hiding well. Still south of the lighthouse, near the channel in about 50 feet of water, I finally found what I was looking for: a bunch of marks on the bottom. Judging by the size of the marks, these were big fish. I circled back and hooked a beautiful 39-inch striper on my trusty chartreuse rig. After that, I picked up a few more in the 22- to 23-inch range, but I still wanted another solid spot.

I planned to head north of the lighthouse, figuring if they were south, they might also be north. I made my way toward NNK, but about a mile north of the reef, there was nothing. The reef itself was dead, too. I called my neighbor Dave to let him know it was calm and suggested he head to the lighthouse. While checking in on him later, I realized that the area had slowed down. Just as I was about to head back, I noticed a few boats south of R62, so I decided to give it a shot.

That move paid off. There were plenty of marks, and I landed a solid 24-inch fish, the one you see in the box. With a container ship in the distance and my scouting mission complete, I decided to call it a day long before Dave could make it over.

Mission accomplished, and a little bonus action to make it even sweeter.

Dec 13th

What a day on the water! We had a surprise guest join the crew. Brenda hopped aboard with her husband, Roger, along with Scott and me. I knew the conditions were going to be a little rougher than I had hoped, so we started out at R62 and the NNK reef to see if anything was happening. Well, nothing was happening at all. So, we decided to head up to the same spot in the Potomac where Roger and I had great success before.

We ended up on the Virginia side of the river, in the same general area as my last report. It was fantastic having Brenda on board. She is the most avid angler I know, and her enthusiasm is contagious. When the bite is on, she lights up like it is Christmas morning. She and Scott make a great team. Scott gets excited just catching spot for bait, so you can imagine his energy when we are in full-on sportfishing mode.

The day turned out even better than the last trip with Roger. Boats were everywhere, but we knew we were on the fish. Brenda kept calling for “all rods down at once,” and while that did not quite happen, we did have three rods go down several times. Then she set the goal: “Let’s hit 30!” We came close with 29 fish before we finally called it a day. Honestly, we probably could have hit 30 if we stayed longer, but after a full day of action, we were all worn out and ready to head home.

The ride back was smooth as the waves settled down, and we could not have asked for a better ending. For those curious about the tackle: umbrella rigs were the ticket, with chartreuse heads and swimbaits leading the way, followed closely by purple heads with clear speckled tails.

What a day to be on the water. Great company, great fishing, and memories that will stick with us for a long time.

Chasing Striped Bass on the Potomac: A Day to Remember

There’s nothing quite like getting that call from a buddy who’s already on the water and says, “They’re in good fish.” That was Vince yesterday, out on the Potomac, and his report was enough to get me moving fast. I grabbed my gear, called up my friend Roger, and we headed out to join the action.

Finding Vince wasn’t easy,he was somewhere among a sea of birds working the water. And let me tell you, there were birds everywhere. It was one of those magical days where nature gives you all the signs: diving gulls, rippling water, and the promise of fish beneath. But here’s the twist, unlike the usual pattern, the fish weren’t sitting directly under the birds. You had to cast just outside their circle to find the sweet spot. Once we figured that out, it was game on.

For the next hour and a half, it felt like the Potomac was alive. We caught about 25 fish in that short window, and most of them were right around 23.5 inches,perfect for the legal slot limit. Roger even landed a beauty at 27 inches, which we had to release, and I pulled in a smaller one around 19. But the rest? Solid, healthy fish in that 23-inch range. After a while, you don’t even need a tape measure, you just know.

We ended up keeping two fish, the ones that had swallowed the lure too deep and wouldn’t have survived if released. That’s always my rule: if a fish can’t make it, it comes home with me. By then, the chill on the water was starting to bite, and with our limit met, we decided to call it a day.

Cold fingers aside, it was an incredible trip, great company, nonstop action, and a reminder of why we love these waters. If you’re thinking about heading out, now’s the time. The Potomac is hot, the birds are working, and the stripers are everywhere.

Until next time, tight lines!

I finally went fishing—a big deal for me after overcoming more challenges than I’d like to admit. I’m mostly in the clear now, especially when it comes to hitting the water.

I missed my usual group’s early May flounder trip to Chincoteague due to work (why does it always interfere?). Determined, I convinced my friend Scott for a weekend getaway. The boat was a story in itself: Scott bought an old metal flat-bottom specifically for this (and maybe some creek fishing). We spent weekends prepping it—meeting Coast Guard safety standards, adding a trolling motor and chart plotter. After some effort, we were ready.

We kicked off by grabbing weekend parking tags at the Police Department, chuckling at voluntarily visiting the PD. We launched from the Veterans Memorial Ramp, a great spot, especially for fishing the Assateague canal area.

The fishing? We caught nine flounder, with five keepers, the biggest measuring 22 inches—not bad for novices. I forgot photos, so you’ll have to take my word for it. We used various flounder rigs with minnows, finger mullet slices, and squid. No rig clearly outperformed the others.

Day two’s wind was brutal, borderline unfishable, but we gave it a shot. Day three was cut short by a home emergency, but we’re already planning next year’s trip.

It has been a trying year and a half with my health, but I am mostly back. At least I’m back to the level I can fish.

My hope as soon as Spring Striper season starts, I am back out there and making new blog entries.

To everyone concerned about my health, I wanted to share an update. It’s been a tough week. Today, I have tests scheduled, and it looks like I have at least one ruptured disc between my shoulder blades.

It all started Monday night when I sneezed while sitting in my chair. I felt a pop in my back, but there wasn’t any pain at first. By early Tuesday morning, the pain began and only got worse, becoming excruciating from Tuesday through Friday. I finally decided to seek help and planned to go to the ER in Kilmarnock, but the pain was too intense. I ended up calling the Rescue Squad to take me.

I spent several hours in the ER, receiving increasing doses of pain medication, but nothing seemed to work. Eventually, at the highest dose they could give me, I was able to ride in the car to Richmond. I had an appointment at OrthoVirginia, but they couldn’t schedule an MRI until today, Monday. The MRI is set for this afternoon, and later this week, I have another appointment with OrthoVirginia to discuss the next steps.

Although my pain has significantly decreased from last week, it’s still debilitating, and I can hardly do anything. I’m incredibly grateful for the support from Angelique, Alyssa, and Dolan while in Richmond.A

Thank you all for your prayers, well wishes, and hopes for my recovery. I truly appreciate it. I now understand 2 Corinthians 12:9 in a new light: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Thanks again, and I hope to provide another update soon.

That’s just the way we do it. I had so much fun today with Scott, Bubba, and his son Cody. The waters were mean today. All the sites we looked at said one to two feet. I think they meant meters. It was much like a riding bronking bull. Cody was a champ all day and got to reel in some nice fish. He knew before us that we had one on and jumped into action as soon as he could get to the rod.

We headed out at first light and headed to 63A. As we went on, we kept seeing boat after boat heading south, but every bird in the air was heading north. I think the fleet thought they would be at either R62 or the cut channel. We decided we weren’t fishing for fishermen, but fish and the birds are much better fishers than anyone I know, so we followed the birds. 

Yes, we saw the birds in great numbers right where we were heading, and they were feeding. The only boat near us was a charter captain who looked to have left the dock late, so he ran into them as soon as we did. Mayhem is the best way to describe the action. Every rod we had was down and screaming. I told Scott we had about 30 minutes tops before the fleet showed up, which was an understatement. Soon, were 50 boats all around, so Scott could do nothing but drive. With the sea conditions, keeping the boat in line and the bait on the bottom was no easy feat. 

We landed a bunch of 23-inch fish and one 27. We left a slot open so we could keep fishing and catching about the same size fish repeatedly. All of the fish were as fat as pigs and cleanly caught. We kept putting them back. 

It took a while, but that set of birds settled down. We had Bubba on board; if you know him, he has the best eyesight on this side of the Mississippi. He saw many birds on the other side of the channel just north of the NNK reef. We headed over there and also caught a bunch. 

We put our last fish in the boat because it was just too rough to have a lot of fun, and there was a container ship in the distance. Had we stayed longer, we would have had to wait another hour before crossing. 

I get it, the big ones always get away but we had two that broke a 50# leader. Would have been nice to get those guys in the boat.

It’s a great way to end an excellent fishing season for me. I am always excited to be with such a good father and son as Bubba and Cody. You can tell Cody has good parents when you talk to someone who is very well-mannered and can talk to you like he wants to be a part of the conversation.

December 30, 2023

	High	Low	Average
Temperature	50.1 °F	34.7 °F	41.9 °F
Dew Point	39.5 °F	31.5 °F	34.9 °F
Humidity	95 %	50 %	77 %
Precipitation	0.01 in	—	—

	High	Low	Average
Wind Speed	10.1 mph	0.0 mph	1.2 mph
Wind Gust	13.2 mph	—	1.9 mph
Wind Direction	—	—	West
Pressure	30.64 in	30.36 in	—

Today, I caught and landed a once-in-a-lifetime fish story. Christmas Day 2023 will go down in my memory banks forever. I went out today because we had our family Christmas celebration on Saturday so that Alyssa could go with Dolan to his family.

I knew Vince and Dave were going in his boat, and I saw them leave. I knew the water would be calm, so I just said heck it, I’m going. I knew I could call them if I needed anything. We discussed that they were heading to Smith Point Lighthouse, and I was going to R62.

On my way out, I saw a set of birds on the radar about 3 miles south, near the Asphalt pile area but relatively near the channel in about 50 feet of water. I turned and headed directly at them. I landed a few 20 – 23 inch fish but threw them back. I was hunting for bigger fish as I have caught plenty this year. I fished that area for about 15 min before the birds broke up. 

All the birds must have seen the same thing because they gathered up maybe ¾ north of where I was. I rolled everything up and moved out. I usually stop several hundred feet short of bird activity. I got my port side up and running. Thankfully, I never got the starboard side out. The back rod went off first with about a 23-inch fish. As I landed that one, the other one in the front went off like I had hit a crab pot. It was just ripping line out (thankfully, I had just set the reels up yesterday to release a bit if I got a big one). There was no stopping that guy down, so I cut the throttle on the boat.

The amount of line those guys took off was ridiculous. I finally started making some progress. Of course, I did not have the net fully out and ready, so I had one hand on the rod and one gyrating the net to lock it in position. Finally, I was getting the fish to the boat. You know it will be nice when you can see the currents the fishtail is making but can’t see the fish. I got it close to the boat and realized it was two massive fish. I quickly grabbed the line to get to the weight and dipped up the first and second. As I moved to lift the net, the first one got out of the net. I grabbed him again and finally got them both in the boat. 

I was so out of breath that I could hardly talk to Vince and the team to come here. They came in about 15 minutes, and I know they caught their limit. I finally kept a 24-inch fish and came home. 

Wow, what an adventure.

December 25, 2023

	High	Low	Average
Temperature	55.7 °F	36.9 °F	46.6 °F
Dew Point	48.6 °F	36.4 °F	43.4 °F
Humidity	99 %	71 %	89 %
Precipitation	0.00 in	—	—

	High	Low	Average
Wind Speed	8.9 mph	0.0 mph	1.4 mph
Wind Gust	10.3 mph	—	1.9 mph
Wind Direction	—	—	ESE
Pressure	31.04 in	30.96 in	—