DC Metro Chapter – Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association

We had a great meeting held on November 4th at our usual meeting location in Bethesda. As per routine, we kicked off our meeting with various fishing reports from members who’d been out and about throughout the month of October.

Our guest speaker for this meeting was the well-versed Captain Chuck Fisher, owner of BFG tackle. Captain Chuck will be leading our first chapter charter fishing trip on December 5th as we go after huge rockfish in the lower bay in the CBBT vicinity. With a high percentage of trip attendees present at the meeting, Captain Chuck briefed us on what to expect as we use live eels on light tackle on next month’s excursion. He also shared many general tips that are helpful in fishing for rockfish during the fall. A few are as follows:

• Always keep a log of the conditions in which you fish. This is pertinent, as over time you will be able to identify trends that help indicate the best time for you to fish.
• Use quality tackle. Captain Chuck emphasizes that you don’t want to lose that 40lb fish due to a hardware failure.
• Berkeley Trilene Big Game monofilament fishing line is recommended by Captain Chuck. It’s also suggested to change your line after every season. He also demonstrated the “mouth test”, by which you run sections of the line from side to side across your lips. If you feel any abrasion in the line, it should be changed. (14lb test line will be used on the December trip)
• For live-lining, eels should be hooked through the skin behind their head. This allows the eel to breathe, opposed to hooking the mouth shut…which prevent the eels (and other live-lined fish) from breathing.
• With regards to tides, the general rule of thumb is the “4hr window”. Fish the 2 hours before high tide, and the 2 hours after high tide (same principle applies for low tide).
• Use the appropriate size bait
• When boating, use the “track log” feature of your GPS. This allows you to keep track of your previous fishing locations without guesswork.
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• DC Metro MSSA meeting Wed Nov 4 7:30 pm. 4805 Edgemoor Ln room A Bethesda. Speaker: Capt Chuck Fisher on winter Rockfish at the CBBT in VA. #
• Hoping to fish off of Chesapeake beach Saturday. I hear they are slaying fish down there. If you are out I'll be on 68. #
• Rough on the bay today. Should be nice Sunday. Looking for the fish. See you out there. #
• So many boats trolling north of the magothy it's like opening day. Where are the fish? #

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