# I broke down and cheated .............. (big stripers)



## Hannibal (Aug 10, 2007)

I know this is a "pier and surf" fishing forum but my recent run of bad luck on the surf drove me into the arms of another. I finally broke down and agreed to join a co-worker of mine on his boat to hit the Chesapeake Bay for some big-boy striper action this past Saturday.

Weather was brutal. Left the docks around 6AM and it was a balmy 28-degrees before the 20 mph winds were factored into the equation. Water was rough and you had to hold onto something to keep your balance. Apparently the weatherman got it wrong concerning the waves. 

Anyhow, didn't see a lick of action most of the morning. Action was slow around the area as only confirmation of 2 keepers came across the radio. Fish finder showed plenty of bait fish with bigger fish underneath but nothing would bite.

About 9:30 or so, one of the back reels started clicking and after testing the line - it became clear that a fish was on. As my brother-in-law (just turned 14) had never caught anything bigger then a 6" perch, I gave him the rod and let him have a go. It was pretty clear that this fish was pretty big. It tired my brother-in-law out in about 10 minutes so he had to pass it along to his father. It took him another 5 minutes to bring it in and she was a beauty. It was a fat 36" striper. Biggest fish I'd seen up close.

Just as we were pulling the hook, another reel went off. This time I handed it off to my father-in-law to get started so we could keep working on the first one. After about 5 minutes, his arms were burning and he had to pass off. I grabbed the rod and immediately knew that this fish was even bigger. She was dead weight when she wasn't pulling and when she decided to move, your best bet was just to let her fight the drag and tire herself out. There was no reeling her in if she didn't allow it.

I sat back on a cooler top about 4' off the back of the boat. This way I could really lean back into it and keep my balance vs standing up. It took another 10 minutes to get her up to the back of the boat. And since I couldn't see over the back rail, I could only see her backside/tail as she came to the surface. When her tail cut through the water, I thought I hooked a shark. Honest to God. I'd never seen something that big. The first mate netter her and it took him and my father-in-law to heave her on to the deck. She instantly dwarfed the first fish in the cooler. So much so that we had to pull her out and measure her just so our captain could rub it in with his other captain buddies. Fork length was 43". It was 46" to the tip of the tail. What was more impressive was it's girth. Unfortunately, we didn't have a tape to measure and never scaled it for weight. I wish I had a basis for comparison but I do not - this was uncharted territory for me. 

Unfortunately though, both fish came in the span of about 20 minutes and that was the ONLY action we saw all morning. We went back to the docks around noon and cleaned up the fish. We were able to pull about 12 nice size fillets out of the two fish. Thick ones too. I cooked two of them up last night with a little lemon pepper and sea salt and it was a mighty fine dish.

The most important thing I learned though from this whole thing is that the next time I go surf fishing for stripers - set the drag correctly and make sure the spikes are buried deep. I can't imagine having one of these monsters hit your rod on the beach. I can't stress enough how hefty these SOB's are.

For reference, I am 6'5" and about 275lbs. My brother-in-law is about 6' even.



























For reference, the first mate was about 5'8".


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## fishinmama (Oct 14, 2006)

congratulations hannibal -- sounds like a nice trip !
it's not really "cheating" it's taking advantage of an advantage!:fishing:


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## lil red jeep (Aug 17, 2007)

Great catch Hannibal! So, you're the little guy to the left side of pic 1?


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## Hannibal (Aug 10, 2007)

big red jeep said:


> Great catch Hannibal! So, you're the little guy to the left side of pic 1?


That would be I. I was in camo trying to sneak up on da fishes.


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## Hannibal (Aug 10, 2007)

fishinmama said:


> congratulations hannibal -- sounds like a nice trip !
> it's not really "cheating" it's taking advantage of an advantage!:fishing:


I feel like I took the "easy" way out - lol. But I couldn't close out the season without catching at least one "big one." Besides, couldn't pass up the deal. My buddy just asked to cover some of his gas and tip his mate. The whole deal cost me $50. Couldn't pass it up.


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## Lipyourown (May 11, 2005)

Nice report, that is a 30+# fish. Where and on what lures?


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

Nice report Hannibal, very healthy and purty feesh!! A meal fit for a king of Carthage!!


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

*Great report*

Seems to me that the nastier the weather, the bigger the fish. At least that has been my experience. Congrats on the catch.


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## cygnus-x1 (Oct 12, 2005)

Way to go Hannibal ... handing the first fish over to the rookie to boot !!! Those are some pretty fish. 

I will echo Lippys question, what were the lures used ? Were you using down riggers or heavy trolling sinkers?


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## Hannibal (Aug 10, 2007)

Lipyourown said:


> Nice report, that is a 30+# fish. Where and on what lures?


Just off shore from the Rod & Reel in Chesepeake Beach. Caught in about 40' of water. 

Not very familiar with trolling lures but they were basically light/neon green shad/mullet looking plastics. Set up on a 4-way spreader bar with one trailing behind by about 2'. Both hits were on the trailing fish.


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## Hannibal (Aug 10, 2007)

cygnus-x1 said:


> Way to go Hannibal ... handing the first fish over to the rookie to boot !!! Those are some pretty fish.
> 
> I will echo Lippys question, what were the lures used ? Were you using down riggers or heavy trolling sinkers?


Heavy trolling sinkers. Lines were distributed at various depths.


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