First fish of 2012......a night to remember!!!

[Hanover_Yakker]

Got the wife's blessing to head out this past Saturday evening for some fishing. So I loaded up the new Hobie Revolution 13 and headed out determined to catch some fish. It was an epic night for me and my best to date - in total 40 fish were caught, including 37 stripers, 2 Hickory Shad and 1 Bunker.

I only caught fish on one of 2 lures for the night - an MR17 MirroLure or the 3" Marsh Works Bayou Thumper in Pearl or White Lightning color.

I was on the water for a total of 4 hours, fished the falling tide in a mild northerly wind of 8-10 knots. Water temps were in the mid-40's, but air temps at launch were in the low 60's. by the end of the night, the air temps had dropped into the high 40's, but it was still pleasant and calm. Little to no wind chill at all. I was still dressed for cold water, but I was not uncomfortable.

Here's a couple of photos from the evening.......





but the full writeup is here......

A Holiday to Remember and Then Some Thumpin.....

[HookUp]

schweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

Hope you ate those stripers.

[Hanover_Yakker]

Can't - season is closed on harvesting them this time of year. You can only harvest one striper per day over 38" but it has to be caught on the ocean side - basically launching out of Sandbridge or Rudee. Nothing inside the 3 mile limit or inside the CBBT.

[UTVOLyaker]

Success at lightline, Richmond Fishing Expo and HOW party....that's a pretty good way to start the year.

[oubassman]

Nicely done. 37 fish anytime is an accomplishment!

[Hanover_Yakker]

Thanks everyone - the sad part is I headed in with the bite still on. I was on the water for 4 hours, but the bite didn't turn on until after the first hour passed, so all fish were caught in a 3 hour window.

When I finally got back to shore, I noticed I was the only one out there. I think the people in this area that fish the tunnel don't understand the current. They are only using the tides and are missing the prime windows for the most part.

Oh well - their loss

[vakayakangler]

Good write up as usual, and congratulations on getting out and catching some fish. You certainly read that one right!

With appointments for various commitments stacked up, we won't see much fishing over this next couple weeks but do have one day scheduled if weather and health allows, and am surely looking forward to it.

[Turtle135]

Wow, those are some good looking stripers! The belly on number 1 looks like it is full of bait!

I always wondered where those hickory shad go when they are not running the rivers in the spring. Do you run into those frequently when out striper fishing?

[Hanover_Yakker]

Not normally - but with the striper season closed and many anglers opting for the Elizabeth River chasing potential "C" class speckled trout, there is not a lot of pressure on the shad population. From what I understand, the shad located around the tunnel areas are potentially adults and only come back up river when it is spawning time. Some others might have better insight on them than me.

[mrdeuce]

awesome outing. I am gunna have to make a trip down there this summer