Living lining spots in middle bay - The Hull Truth

blatesecondchance · 07-17-2010, 09:31 AM

I am new to live lining in the middle bay. We have been able to catch plenty off spot off of #1 in Herring Bay, but have had a hard time finding where to go to catch rock/blues. We've tried 30-40ft around 83, The hill and bloody point. We have been drifting. Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

Steve_250 · 07-18-2010, 04:58 AM

Have you tried at the BB?
Drift through by the bridge piers.
Welcome to the forum!

blatesecondchance · 07-18-2010, 07:34 PM

Haven't tried that yet. Thanks for the tip. We had some hits at the fish trap east of 83, small blues stealing our bait!

bfox76 · 07-19-2010, 10:38 AM

My LL success has been just south of the bridge, anchored in about 20'-30' of water on Hemingways side.

2 weekends in a row and 3 keepers.

SlimShady · 07-22-2010, 02:02 PM

Be careful anchoring near the bridge; lots of debris to snag an anchor on. I have lost one and that is all it took for me. Know of others as well. Great structure, just not worth it.

Steve_250 · 07-23-2010, 04:41 AM

I wouldn't anchor there either!
Around the BB you'll want to drift or power drift (remain on station).

Striper In · 07-23-2010, 06:19 AM

Can't you anchor outside the bridge and let out rode until your in the area you want to be?? Or is the debris line way outside of the structure of the bridge?

bfox76 · 07-23-2010, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Striper In

Can't you anchor outside the bridge and let out rode until your in the area you want to be?? Or is the debris line way outside of the structure of the bridge?

JUST TO CLARIFY - I did not anchor near the bridge. I anchored south of it and parallel to the airport on the E. Shore side.

Yeah I would never ancor NEAR the bridge. There is all sorts of nasty stuff around.

blatesecondchance · 08-19-2010, 04:29 PM

When you hook the spot, do you put any weight on the line to help them get down or do you just let them swim down?

LeapFrog · 08-20-2010, 07:36 AM

I no longer use weights... found that a lively spot will take off to the bottom without any trouble and be more effective. If you are anchored this works very well... if you are on a slow drift, you can usually get away without weights too... drifting with too much wind/current or a 3" spot will likely require some weight...
Since the bluefish have moved in heavily into the bay, live lining has become tougher the past few weeks... the blues like half of a spot... almost always the half without the hook! I have used some weight to get the spot down quicker if the bluefish are around...
Look for the sliders that you can put on and off your line by twisting the inside... the tackle box carries them for less then a buck... they are white with the insert being yellow...
Using a baitrunner reel makes a big difference, when you get a strick, just remember to let it run for about 10 seconds... it will be the longest 10 seconds ever!!! Some folks have used a trolling reel with a good clicker to accomplish the same free running effect...

bfox76 · 08-20-2010, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blatesecondchance

When you hook the spot, do you put any weight on the line to help them get down or do you just let them swim down?

When I fished the pilings about a week ago, I used NO weight. Letting the spot swim free seems to help them look more lively as opposed to a weight dragging them down. I hook the spot just below the dorsel fin or through their nose. Keep the spot away from the boat and toss them upcurrent and let the current take them by the structure.

I saw others near me that were using weights and had NO success.

I am no pro, but I did stay @ a Holiday Inn Express last night. My methods resulted in a happy crew!

B-Faithful · 08-31-2010, 12:59 PM

No weight here either. I generally hook through the mouth and out the top of the mouth. However, I will hook just in front of the dorsal fin if i need the fish to get down more. I will anchor or drift livelining depending upon current, bite, and location.. 3 of the last 5 trips have yielded fish over 32" for us! Here is one that just went over 34"s last weekend. We got one over 35" a few weeks ago.

LeapFrog · 08-31-2010, 01:55 PM

Nice job on the stripers... the blues around the solomon's and the gas dock have been so thick my spot don't stand a chance to make it to the bottom... switched over to fast trolling and most of the marks on the finder turned into blues on the end of a line... it's a shame too because I've still got some spot ready to be sacrificed!

B1000 · 09-02-2010, 12:56 PM

Ill be fishing out of solomans and headed over to Chrisfield over the weekend, should i just plan on targeting blues instead of srtipers?

B1000 · 09-02-2010, 01:01 PM

I was able to catch some striper on top water at the fuel docks last time out

dave_maggio · 09-05-2010, 06:52 PM

This thread inspired me. Got my act together, caught some Spot yesterday and spent the morning under the bay bridge. Caught a nice striper 24" and lost another one about the same size due to being alone and having the net at the wrong end of the boat. I was Live lining, drifting, with no weight and lost a couple of spot to blues but generally had a great time. Thanks to all for contributing to my great day!

Steve_250 · 09-07-2010, 12:22 PM

Dave, forget the net, just grab the leader and pull them on board.

B-Faithful · 09-13-2010, 12:57 PM

Water temps are dropping and the spot have only a few weeks left. Go get em the bite is still hot!

Friday trip in the annapolis area yeilded about 14 fish or so with 3 of them around 30". Here is THT'er Megabyte with two of our catch..

kingair · 09-13-2010, 01:48 PM

We trolled on the south side of the bridge with #00 and #2 clark spoons on deep planers. We caught about 10, smaller size.

B1000 · 05-06-2011, 06:05 AM

when does the live lining bite turn on..........is it warm enough yet?

all this trolling is killing me at the pumps.