Today was supposed to be all about scouting, but luck was definitely on my side. Scott and I have a group coming out on Saturday, the 20th, and with the forecast calling for too much wind on the 19th, I decided to get ahead of the game and find the fish today, the 18th. Scott was working, and the weather was perfect with calm conditions and almost no wind, so I headed out solo to locate a few spots for Saturday.
I started in shallow water just south of the Smith Point Lighthouse, around 30 feet deep. That was a complete bust. If there were any fish there, they were hiding well. Still south of the lighthouse, near the channel in about 50 feet of water, I finally found what I was looking for: a bunch of marks on the bottom. Judging by the size of the marks, these were big fish. I circled back and hooked a beautiful 39-inch striper on my trusty chartreuse rig. After that, I picked up a few more in the 22- to 23-inch range, but I still wanted another solid spot.
I planned to head north of the lighthouse, figuring if they were south, they might also be north. I made my way toward NNK, but about a mile north of the reef, there was nothing. The reef itself was dead, too. I called my neighbor Dave to let him know it was calm and suggested he head to the lighthouse. While checking in on him later, I realized that the area had slowed down. Just as I was about to head back, I noticed a few boats south of R62, so I decided to give it a shot.
That move paid off. There were plenty of marks, and I landed a solid 24-inch fish, the one you see in the box. With a container ship in the distance and my scouting mission complete, I decided to call it a day long before Dave could make it over.
Mission accomplished, and a little bonus action to make it even sweeter.
