We headed across the Bay to the Eastern Shore where the crew quickly put out a half-dozen trolling lines carrying umbrella rigs, tubes, and spoons. It was pretty obvious that this pattern was used quite often, as everyone onboard knew exactly what to do and where each line had to go.
We spent the day picking away at small rockfish and blues. We ended the day with the exact same rigs in the exact same position as we began the day. Would we have caught more or larger fish if we had tried jigging, live lining, or chumming? I don’t know. I did learn a very long time ago not to comment on another captain’s technique while onboard his boat, so I kept my mouth shut and enjoyed the day.
I will grant you it can be difficult to change a technique that has been working for you, but sometimes even the best plans fail. You know what Einstein said about people who keep doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.
Generally speaking, I am never completely happy with the results of any fishing trip. I keep wondering if we should have done something different, gone somewhere else, worked deeper water, or tried the shallows. Also, the fish change their position and feeding habits as the day goes on as well as when the tide and current change. Even if your original technique is red hot in the morning, it can completely change by afternoon.
This does not mean you should just go out without a plan. I always have a pretty good idea what I will try first on any given day. I arrive at this conclusion after checking out the latest fishing reports, weather, tide, and current. Sometimes I get it right, and sometimes I don’t. When I don’t, I will be checking everything I am doing to be sure I am doing it right and if so, it’s off to plan B.
When I ran charters out of Virginia Beach I always carried bait and tackle for several styles of fishing. As an example, cobia trips were a common charter in the summer. Most days I caught one or two, but some days we sat there for hours without a touch. After four hours of chumming, I would ask the party if they wanted to give up on cobia and put a few fish in the box. Some, especially those with kids, would say yes. I would break out my bloodworm supply and head for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel where I was pretty sure I would find trout and croakers. Once I had the family pulling in those fish one after another, thoughts of cobia were soon forgotten.
Then there were those who really wanted to catch a cobia, so we would spend another three or four hours on the hook. As with all fishing situations, sometimes we got lucky, and sometimes we struck out.
Even today when I no longer charter, I never leave the dock with just one kind of bait or tackle. I may start the day with the idea of trolling up a few rockfish, but you had better believe I have a few spinning rods rigged and ready to cast to breaking fish and a few conventional outfits set up for jigging. While it is true I have to hire a Sherpa to carry my tackle bag, I have found out over the years that tackle shops are few and far between once you leave the dock.
To cut down a bit on my tackle load I do have small plastic boxes that fit inside my bag and hold different types of tackle: one box for jigs, one for plugs, one for soft plastic, one with bucktails, and one with an assortment of snaps, swivels, and hooks. I only take those I think I will need on any given day.
As for bait, if I am chumming, I will have fresh bunker for bait and frozen bunker for chum. I seldom leave the dock without bloodworms. Live lining requires live bait, and bloodworms do the job of filling the livewell.
As I said, just doing one type of fishing over and over is not productive and can leave you out in the cold.
by Eric Burnley
Thursday, August 24, 2017 - 09:14
A few years ago I was invited to fish in a boat dealer’s multi-species tournament on the Chesapeake Bay. As is usual in these events, I was assigned to a customer’s boat for the day. When I came onboard, the owner proudly announced he would only troll. No chumming, no jigging, no live lining, just trolling.
We headed across the Bay to the Eastern Shore where the crew quickly put out a half-dozen trolling lines carrying umbrella rigs, tubes, and spoons. It was pretty obvious that this pattern was used quite often, as everyone onboard knew exactly what to do and where each line had to go.
We spent the day picking away at small rockfish and blues. We ended the day with the exact same rigs in the exact same position as we began the day. Would we have caught more or larger fish if we had tried jigging, live lining, or chumming? I don’t know. I did learn a very long time ago not to comment on another captain’s technique while onboard his boat, so I kept my mouth shut and enjoyed the day.
I will grant you it can be difficult to change a technique that has been working for you, but sometimes even the best plans fail. You know what Einstein said about people who keep doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.
Generally speaking, I am never completely happy with the results of any fishing trip. I keep wondering if we should have done something different, gone somewhere else, worked deeper water, or tried the shallows. Also, the fish change their position and feeding habits as the day goes on as well as when the tide and current change. Even if your original technique is red hot in the morning, it can completely change by afternoon.
This does not mean you should just go out without a plan. I always have a pretty good idea what I will try first on any given day. I arrive at this conclusion after checking out the latest fishing reports, weather, tide, and current. Sometimes I get it right, and sometimes I don’t. When I don’t, I will be checking everything I am doing to be sure I am doing it right and if so, it’s off to plan B.
When I ran charters out of Virginia Beach I always carried bait and tackle for several styles of fishing. As an example, cobia trips were a common charter in the summer. Most days I caught one or two, but some days we sat there for hours without a touch. After four hours of chumming, I would ask the party if they wanted to give up on cobia and put a few fish in the box. Some, especially those with kids, would say yes. I would break out my bloodworm supply and head for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel where I was pretty sure I would find trout and croakers. Once I had the family pulling in those fish one after another, thoughts of cobia were soon forgotten.
Then there were those who really wanted to catch a cobia, so we would spend another three or four hours on the hook. As with all fishing situations, sometimes we got lucky, and sometimes we struck out.
Even today when I no longer charter, I never leave the dock with just one kind of bait or tackle. I may start the day with the idea of trolling up a few rockfish, but you had better believe I have a few spinning rods rigged and ready to cast to breaking fish and a few conventional outfits set up for jigging. While it is true I have to hire a Sherpa to carry my tackle bag, I have found out over the years that tackle shops are few and far between once you leave the dock.
To cut down a bit on my tackle load I do have small plastic boxes that fit inside my bag and hold different types of tackle: one box for jigs, one for plugs, one for soft plastic, one with bucktails, and one with an assortment of snaps, swivels, and hooks. I only take those I think I will need on any given day.
As for bait, if I am chumming, I will have fresh bunker for bait and frozen bunker for chum. I seldom leave the dock without bloodworms. Live lining requires live bait, and bloodworms do the job of filling the livewell.
As I said, just doing one type of fishing over and over is not productive and can leave you out in the cold.
by Eric Burnley
We headed across the Bay to the Eastern Shore where the crew quickly put out a half-dozen trolling lines carrying umbrella rigs, tubes, and spoons. It was pretty obvious that this pattern was used quite often, as everyone onboard knew exactly what to do and where each line had to go.
We spent the day picking away at small rockfish and blues. We ended the day with the exact same rigs in the exact same position as we began the day. Would we have caught more or larger fish if we had tried jigging, live lining, or chumming? I don’t know. I did learn a very long time ago not to comment on another captain’s technique while onboard his boat, so I kept my mouth shut and enjoyed the day.
I will grant you it can be difficult to change a technique that has been working for you, but sometimes even the best plans fail. You know what Einstein said about people who keep doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.
Generally speaking, I am never completely happy with the results of any fishing trip. I keep wondering if we should have done something different, gone somewhere else, worked deeper water, or tried the shallows. Also, the fish change their position and feeding habits as the day goes on as well as when the tide and current change. Even if your original technique is red hot in the morning, it can completely change by afternoon.
This does not mean you should just go out without a plan. I always have a pretty good idea what I will try first on any given day. I arrive at this conclusion after checking out the latest fishing reports, weather, tide, and current. Sometimes I get it right, and sometimes I don’t. When I don’t, I will be checking everything I am doing to be sure I am doing it right and if so, it’s off to plan B.
When I ran charters out of Virginia Beach I always carried bait and tackle for several styles of fishing. As an example, cobia trips were a common charter in the summer. Most days I caught one or two, but some days we sat there for hours without a touch. After four hours of chumming, I would ask the party if they wanted to give up on cobia and put a few fish in the box. Some, especially those with kids, would say yes. I would break out my bloodworm supply and head for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel where I was pretty sure I would find trout and croakers. Once I had the family pulling in those fish one after another, thoughts of cobia were soon forgotten.
Then there were those who really wanted to catch a cobia, so we would spend another three or four hours on the hook. As with all fishing situations, sometimes we got lucky, and sometimes we struck out.
Even today when I no longer charter, I never leave the dock with just one kind of bait or tackle. I may start the day with the idea of trolling up a few rockfish, but you had better believe I have a few spinning rods rigged and ready to cast to breaking fish and a few conventional outfits set up for jigging. While it is true I have to hire a Sherpa to carry my tackle bag, I have found out over the years that tackle shops are few and far between once you leave the dock.
To cut down a bit on my tackle load I do have small plastic boxes that fit inside my bag and hold different types of tackle: one box for jigs, one for plugs, one for soft plastic, one with bucktails, and one with an assortment of snaps, swivels, and hooks. I only take those I think I will need on any given day.
As for bait, if I am chumming, I will have fresh bunker for bait and frozen bunker for chum. I seldom leave the dock without bloodworms. Live lining requires live bait, and bloodworms do the job of filling the livewell.
As I said, just doing one type of fishing over and over is not productive and can leave you out in the cold.
by Eric Burnley