TROLLING FOR STRIPED BASS. PHOTO: JEFF LITTLE
BEAT THE BOATERS BY SLOW
Skill
SLOW RIDE FOR STRIPERS
“How many fish did you catch today?” a tired-looking powerboater called as I paddled back to the launch ramp, “I don’t think there are any striped bass here.” “Two-, maybe three-dozen,” I replied. “What? You got lucky!” he called back. Maybe I did get lucky to find the first fish, but the next 20 were
the product of trolling swimming plugs through shallow water. I paddled up to the boater and showed him photos of my fish— the biggest over 40 inches. He was incredulous. I explained to him that striped bass move into the shallows of the Potomac, Patapsco, Susquehanna and Severn rivers where I find them in three to 12 feet of water along weed lines, ditches, rip rap shorelines and channel edges, especially when the current is ripping and birds are work- ing over schools of bait. “These structures serve as travel routes for baitfish,” I told the guy. “My kayak allows me to troll over the fish without spooking them.” I even showed him my GPS screen marked with hotspots where
I caught fish in the past or noted a promising piece of structure on the fishfinder. Using a GPS with my fishfinder is key to locating the fish and high-definition Down Image sonar on my Humminbird 788 HD DI allows me to decipher grass and other structure from fish marks. The GPS also helps me maintain speed at two to four miles per hour, perfect for pulling these lures. To rig my kayak for trolling, I mounted a pair of Scotty Power-
40 PADDLING MAGAZINE
TROLLING SWIMMING PLUGS OVER SHALLOW WATER IS THE TICKET FOR BIG ROCKFISH
lock rodholders in front of the cockpit so I can keep an eye on my rod tips for the slightest indication of a bite or a snag. “Finding the fish is the hard part,” I told the guy, “fooling them
is easy.” I handed him one of my medium action rods spooled with 30-pound test braided line and rigged with a two-foot leader of 30-pound fluorocarbon and a Yozuri Crystal Minnow. “I like that one when the conditions are calm,” I explained. For rough water, I showed him a Bomber 15A with a larger profile and deeper vi- bration. I even shared my favorite lure: a Lucky Craft Pointer 100, which seems to work in any conditions. After sharing every detail about trolling for striper with the boat-
er, I pulled my kayak onto the launch ramp and went to get my truck. As I walked away, I could hear the re-energized boater calling his friend. “Hey, a kayak angler just showed me his secret spots,” he said into the phone, “we gotta go, now!” I chuckled. Even with the right places and the right lures, he won’t catch those fish without a kayak.
Alan Battista is the author of Light Tackle Kayak Trolling the Chesapeake Bay. He takes frequent breaks from rockfishing to work as a radar systems engineer.
for big striped bass at
Rapidmedia.com/0260 or check out the Apple or Android edition of Kayak Angler.
This article first appeared in the Summer/Fall 2014 issue of Kayak Angler.
DIGITAL EXTRA: Watch video action of Alan Battista slow trolling
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