Winter Solstice and the fish are still biting!

Since I'd finished my workday and the sun was still up on the shortest day of the year, Crockett and I decided to go fishing. There was no wind and temps were in the low 50s when we fired up the Sea Ray and motored toward the mouth of the Magothy. There was strong current at Mountain Point, but no fish, so we headed out into the Bay to the shelf at Podickory Point. Once again, no marks on the fishfinder. I decided to cruise on down to the Bay Bridge.

The water was beautiful, very flat, clear, and smooth with not another boat in site. I pulled up beside the big rockpile that anchors the suspension cables on the East side of the channel. The incoming tide was ripping around the rocks. I idled into the current and let the boat drift back while watching the fishfinder . It marked fish everywhere, from top to bottom in the 53ft channel. I dropped over a redheaded Gotcha lure and started jigging. I hooked up in a matter of seconds.

Crockett noticed my excitement and jumped up in the backseat for a better view. He barked as I landed a fat 15" rockfish . The current had swept us off the spot, so I fired the engine and repositioned the boat. Once again, as soon as I dropped the lure over, wham, another nice rockfish . The pattern of idling up and drifting back kept up until dark with two or three fish on every pass. The biggest was 22" with most in the 12" to 15" range. Rockfish are no longer in season here, so it was all catch and release. Crockett really enjoyed the trip. He'd jump up on the edge of the boat, then start barking in anticipation as soon as I hooked up - just the reaction I was hoping for. It won't be long before it's too cold to keep the boat on the water, so I felt lucky to get in this trip before the holidays. -S