DC Metro Chapter – Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association

On July 7^th the DCMSSA held its first summer meeting. This year’s summer has greeted us with a good dosage of heat. The higher temperatures triggers the arrival of Spot in the Chesapeake Bay. This means its time for live lining for rockfish! Just in time for this fishing season to heat up, DCMSSA’s guest speaker for July was Captain Wayne Morgan of Frayed Knot Fishing Charters. Fishing the Chesapeake Bay in excess of a decade, Captain Morgan has a wealth of knowledge based on personal experience with regards to live lining spot in search of that trophy rockfish. Operating out of Deale, MD, Captain Morgan specializes in teaching charters, where he not only puts anglers on the fish, but he teaches them how to do so themselves.

Captain Morgan gave us a very detailed and informative briefing on live lining for stripers in the Chesapeake Bay. Here are a few tips that were shared at this meeting, in case you missed it:

• ALWAYS use spot for live lining. Some people mention the use of perch in a pinch. Stripers tend to avoid perch unless they’re really hungry and desperate. The spiny dorsal and pectoral fins of perch can cause the fish to get lodged in the throat of the rockfish, causing it to drown.
• 3-5” is the optimal size for spot used in live lining.
• Traditional two-hook bottom rigs with 1-2oz sinkers work fine for catching spot
• Small hooks (size 8 & 10) work best
• Best live well setup is where the discharge empties out into the bay. This creates a chum-like trail, commonly referred to as “spot juice” by Captain Morgan
• Bloodworm is the best bait. Tip the hook with a small piece of “Gulp” to ensure the worm stays on the hook
• Allot 3-5 spot per rockfish when estimating the amount spot necessary for your trip
• Keep your spot fresh and lively, if you don’t get a bite within 5 minutes, swap out your bait with a fresh fish from the live well.
• Good locations for catching spot: Choptank River 7-9-10 Buoys; Old Rock near Chesapeake Beach; #1 West River bouy
• Hook the spot slightly above it’s “spot” with a 5/0 short shank, offset hook. Mustad is the brand preferred by Captain Morgan
• Use a 3′ leader of 40lb test mono or 17lb test “vanish”
• You will normally end fishing in the vicinity of other boats. Know the tide direction to avoid drifting too close to other boats. Also, knowing the tide can allow you to position yourself in line with other boat’s “spot juice” line. This can lead to more fish for you.
• Good locations for rockfish: Buoy 86 Gum Thicketts; The Hill; Eastern Bay in 35′ depths (North of Poplar Island); The Hook (near Tilghman Island); False Channel (near the mouth of the Choptank River)

This was a VERY informative and entertaining presentation given by Captain Wayne Morgan. This was a hot topic, evidenced by the crowd turnout! As usual, we had our monthly door prizes drawn afterwards. We have upped the ante with our door prizes, offering more than the standard T shirts and bucktails. One lucky winner walked a way with a brand new bait runner spinning reel! We will be giving away a few more of these in the upcoming months. It can be an nice addition to your tackle for an easy five bucks.

Next month the DCMSSA will hold its second chapter charter trip. Once again, DCMSSA will team up with Captain Greg Buckner aboard the “Miss Susie” out of Solomons Island for a great day of fishing. The eight hour trip will begin at 2pm as we live line for rockfish. Once the boat has caught its rockfish limit, we’ll spend the rest of the evening & night bottom fishing for croaker. Bring your cooler…you’ll definitely need it! We’re encouraging folks to bring their kids along for this trip. We have a special price set for children: $50. Adults pay $125. There are only a few spaces available, so contact Jeremy Bendler as soon as possible to reserve your space. It’s gonna be a great time!!

Our next chapter meeting will be Wednesday August 4^th (7:30pm) at the usual location, 4805 Edgemoor lane, Room A, Bethesda, MD 20814. Speaking next month will be Captain Chris Dollar, owner of Kent Island Kayaks. He will be providing us with detailed information on the increasingly popular world of kayak fishing. Be sure to come out for what ought to be a great presentation. If you know of any kayak anglers, please be sure to spread the word. Come on out and enjoy an evening of fishing reports, helpful tips and information, great door prizes, and chips & beverages!

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This past Wednesday, June 2^nd, the DCMSSA Chapter celebrated its one-year anniversary. The chapter is alive and thriving, always looking for ways to increase its membership and publicity. In it’s inaugural year, the chapter has hosted great guest speakers, and held a successful fishing trip. The chapter continually looks to further expand, please help spread the word! Pretty soon, the chapter will begin raffle prizes based on attendance, so be sure to come on out to the meetings!

Our guest speaker this past week was Captain Ken Lahr, owner of Reel Draggin’ Tackle, established in 1995. Captain Ken shared his wealth of knowledge, providing us a thorough presentation on tips and tricks for catching tuna offshore. This presentation was just in time, as many anglers are gearing up for the 21^st Annual MSSA Tuna-Ment. Captain Ken, a career DoD acoustics expert, shared many tips on how to rig properly spreader bars in a manner that will draw the big tuna into the center of your spread. He also explained the evolution of tuna tactics in the recent past. The necessary size of spreads when hunting tuna has actually decreased over the past few years. Captain Ken demonstrated how to properly equip your spread with birds and teasers, making multi-line spreads irresistible to tuna targets. A lot of equipment was presented at the meeting to get a first hand look at the quality tackle. For further information, including the ordering of all sorts of tackle ranging from spreader bars to custom rods, give Reel Draggin’ Tackle’s online shop a serious look! www.reeldraggintackle.com.

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DC MSSA’s third monthly meeting was held on Wednesday, March 3rd at our usual Bethesda location. We are pleased to announce our first chapter trip of 2010. This trip is highly anticipated in the wake of the December ‘09 trip being cancelled due to mother nature. The DCMSSA will venture out with Captain Greg Buckner on the “Miss Susie” out of Solomons Island, trolling for springtime rockfish. The date of the trip is Thursday April 22, 2010, departing the marina at 1pm. The cost for this trip is $100 (not including tip). Space is limited and is filling up fast! If you are interested in reserving a spot on this trip, get your funds in to Jeremy as soon as possible!

The MSSA’s 27th Annual “Champions of the Chesapeake” spring rockfish tournament is right around the corner. The tournament (April 30th – May 2nd) has an estimate payout of $200,000! For further information on entry fees, categories, and other details, please visit the MSSA website.

This month’s guest speaker was Shawn Kimbro. Mr. Kimbro gave us an in-depth presentation of careful catch and release practices. Shawn’s presentation was full of information to reinforce sound fish handling techniques just in time for spring time catch & release of rockfish on the bay. The presentation stressed the importance of safe C &R practices during the preseason, as they help maintain a low morality rate among spawning stripers. According to Shawn, the mortality rate of caught & released stripers is around .05-10%. There are direct factors influencing this rate, including (but not limited to):

• Hook location: Fish that are gut hooked have a slim chance of survival. This can be avoided by using non-offset circle hooks, using barbless hooks, and removing the “stinger” from artificial baits. Studies show that 9.1% of fish caught with conventional hooks died, but only .08% of those caught with circle hooks died.
• Exhaustion: After hooking the fish, you want to land it as soon as you safely can without losing it. Long drawn out fights cause stripers to build high levels of lactic acid, this can lead to the fish dying after release.
• Loss of Slime: When handling the fish, it is important to use wet gloves or wet hands. This preserves the protective slime covering the fish. It is best to minimize contact by using devices such as a boga grip.
• Suffocation: It is best to minimize the time the fish spends out of water. Be prepared to handle the fish prior to removing it from the water. Use proper hook removal tools. Have the camera operator ready.
• Air & Water Temperature: When air temperatures are extremely warm (above 90 degrees), it is best to not remove the fish from the water. The difference in temperatures can shock the fish.

In addition to those tips, Shawn gave use a ton of other useful advice and tips. It was a great presentation and we thank him for sharing his wealth of knowledge with us. For further information on careful catch and release, be sure to visit www.carefulcatchmaryland.com.

Our next meeting is scheduled for April 7th at 7:30pm. Our guest speaker will be Captain Greg Buckner, owner and captain of the Miss Susie out of Solomon’s Island. Greg will be sharing tips and tricks for spring trophy rockfish trolling. Our next chapter charter trip aboard the Miss Susie is April 22. We are all looking forward to the presentation and the trip.

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This month’s meeting was held on February 3^rd, in our usual meeting room in Bethesda, MD. Meeting attendance continues to grow as word gets spread about our eight-month-old chapter. As the warm season approaches, there are plenty of Fishing Fairs and Expos on the horizon. These events are provide great opportunities to score great deals on new equipment, as well as the opportunity to attend great seminars to learn new techniques or to just sharpen your angling skills. Noted upcoming events include The Saltwater Fishing Expo, on February 27, 2010; The National Capital Angling Show on March 13^th, and the 16^th Annual Solomons Fishing Fair, on March 27^th & 28^th.  Our chapter will have tables at a few upcoming events in efforts to gain publicity and promote membership. The chapter needs YOUR HELP in spreading the word. If you’re interested in volunteering to man the DCMSSA booth at some scheduled events, please contact the Chapter President, Jeremy Bendler via email at President@dcmssa.org.

In other news, please be sure to get your copy of 2010 edition of “The Maryland Fisherman’s Annual”. This comprehensive fishing guide for Maryland anglers includes over 50 pages of maps & charts, 3-D maps, a complete boat ramp and fishing access directory, GPS locations, contests, tide tables, fish ID and of course lots of great informative articles to help you catch more fish! For a mere $9.95, you’ll be armed with tons of information to add to your angling arsenal. Two percent of the proceeds fo toward the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative (MARI). To purchase this publication, please visit mdfishermansannual.com for further information.

This month’s guest speaker was Captain Tom Hughes. Originally scheduled was Capt “Walleye” Pete Dahlberg, but for personal reasons, Walleye Pete was unable to attend. We were fortunate to have Tom Hughes in lieu. Tom gave us an informative and entertaining presentation, “Light Tackle & Fly Fishing on the Susquehanna Flats”. Tom shared his wealth of knowledge with us, providing useful information on how to catch big stripers during the spring on the Susky Flats. Topics discussed ranged from tackle and bait selection, to navigation on the flats. Here are a few tip Tom shared with us regarding bait & tackle:

• For spinning gear, a non-stretch braided line is recommended (30lb test PowerPro was mentioned), connected to a 20lb-30lb test fluorocarbon leader via a double uni knot. High quality flourocarbon leader material is highly recommended, and usually comes in 25 yard spools. About 6’ of leader material is sufficient.
• A wide range of lures will work to catch fish on the flats. Poppers, top-water crankbaits, suspended crankbaits all work. Tom recommends using big lures (7”+) to catch the big fish.
• Soft plastic baits such as Bass Assassins and BKDs in the 7” range are good when coupled with 1oz & 3/4oz jigheads. Stepping up to a 1.5oz jighead is recommended when using bigger (10”) soft plastics.
• For fly fishermen, a 9 or 10 weight rod is recommended
• Flies with size #2 or #4 hooks are effective
• Floating or sinking line is discretionary to the angler, either one can be used. 20lb test fluorocarbon line is recommended

Captain Tom Hughes operates as a Fly Fishing and Light Tackle guide on the Chesapeake Bay. Tom is an experienced Bay angler who not only puts you on the fish, but is also more than willing to share useful information with his clients in efforts to make them better anglers as well. For further information about booking a fishing excursion with Tom, please visit his website, www.capttomhughes.com. Tom’s fishing trips are ALL INCLUSIVE, including not only bait and tackle, but also lunch and beverages! Aside from his guide services, Captain Tom also willingly shares his fishing reports with everyone. You can sign up for Tom’s fishing reports via his website. Tom currently has over 800 anglers who subscribe to his reports. Oh…by the way, Captain Tom provided all meeting attendees with a complimentary package of 5” Bass Assassins!! Thanks Captain Tom.

Next month’s meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 3^rd at the usual location (4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814). Light tackle guru and catch & release advocate Sean Kimbro will be giving us a presentation focusing on preseason catch & release techniques. Make sure you’re there! Feel free to bring a friend as well.

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