Midweek HRBT Report

Fishermen always have theories.  And the more you fish, the theories evolve.  As night time schoolie striper fishing around the bridges of the Tidewater area gets hot, anglers scramble to formulate or confirm their hypothesis... especially when the season is open. 

Here's where my theory stands so far.  The stripers are always around.  You just have to be there when they want to eat.  I've caught plenty along the light line in the middle of the summer, but they obviously like to congregate thicker when the temps are cooler.  They seem to like a little chop on the water and current is a must.  As far as direction of the current goes, everyone seems to like one over the other.  I've had it switch on me so many times, I don't favor either.  This time of year, if one direction doesn't produce, you just have to wait for it to turn and start flowing the other way.  It may stay good for that direction for several day, but then at some point it'll switch again.  But then again, sometimes, they're stacked up on both incoming and outgoing.

I met Richie Bekolay and Matt Anderson under the HRBT for a midweek patrol of the light line.  We got there just before the current was maxin' out hoping to find them active and hungry.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  We cruised up and down the entire length of the bridge up to the south island and only picked up one or two skinny stripers that were mixed in with a gazillion little gray trout and baby bluefish.

Slack tide (2300) came and shortly after we switched sides.  Richie picked up two nicer ones in the mid to upper 20s but had to leave soon after.

Richie Bekolay 28.25" Striper

I started seeing some here and there and knew it was only going to get better as the current got stronger.  By 0100 they were everywhere and very aggressive.  I had a blast hooking up on nearly every cast.  With the exception of one strange growth, they were nice healthy, not too skinny, in the 21"-24" range.  Unfortunately, the thought of the hour and a half long drive back to Richmond weighed heavy so I was off the water by 0200.

The one with the weird growth fought well and was otherwise perfectly healthy.  The mass was very hard, but when I pushed on it, it would move in and out of the folds under it's jaw.  Ever see anything like this? 

In a strange way it kind of reminds me of the "frankenstriper" I caught a couple years back (link).


Side note: striper prints will be available soon.