StriperChaser Fishing News and Views: Warm weather likely to keep large rockfish at bay

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Warm weather likely to keep large rockfish at bay

Posted by }<)))*> StriperChaser on November 20, 2005, 6:16 pm
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ednesday, November 16, 2005

Warm weather likely to keep large rockfish at bay

The Roanoke Times
Thanksgiving traditionally has coincided with the peak season for roping giant striped bass in
the Chesapeake Bay.
Unless something drastic happens, that's one Thanksgiving tradition that won't be happening
this year.
Warm weather along the coast has delayed the annual southern migration of the big fish from
their summering grounds off New England.
So while the bay is brimming with smallish rockfish, as many coastal anglers call them, the big
fish just aren't around yet.
"The water temperature is at least in the upper 50s," said Claude Bain, who as the director of
the state-run Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament keeps tabs on trophy fish catches. "That
is too high, at least for this time of year."
In a normal year, Bain said, big stripers typically start showing up around Halloween. The fall
season's first citation didn't come until last week, for a fish caught out of Reedville.
This season's regulations allow anglers to keep two stripers, with a protected slot limit of 28 to
34 inches. Both fish may be between 18 and 28 inches, but only one fish may be longer than 34
inches.
Anglers are picking up plenty of fish below the slot limit, as well as good numbers of slot fish
that must be released.
Bain said he expects the trophy fishing to pick up in the coming days. A cold front is expected
to hit the region later this week, and that could drive some fish into Virginia waters.
"This weekend we might see a bunch of those fish around," Bain said. "Once you get a good
north wind and some cold water it doesn't take long."
The first bunch of big stripers probably isn't too far away. Bain said he has heard reports of
lots of gannets off the beaches around Assateague. Those sea birds often follow schools of big
bait fish -- just like large stripers.
The same weather patterns that have pushed striper fishing behind schedule have helped
other fisheries remain strong later than normal.
Speckled trout action has been excellent in Lynnhaven and Rudee inlets in Virginia Beach.
Rudee has also been producing good action for small red drum, or puppy drum as they're often
called.
Fishermen venturing off the coast have been pulling in some big flounder from around wrecks
10 to 20 miles offshore, and the structures also have been producing some nice catches of
black sea bass.
Hordes of big bluefish also are hanging around the wrecks, which is great if you're into
battling those tough critters on light tackle, but not so great if you're trying to reel in
flounder or sea bass.
"When the party boats go out and start catching a bunch of sea bass heads, you know the
bluefish are around," Bain said of the vicious predators. "They can get to be a nuisance.