Trolling

October 19, 2023
What’s worse than waking up to discover a 20-knot breeze when you’re bound and determined to try some Chesapeake Bay fishing? Not having a backup plan. Push your luck and head for open waters on a…
May 4, 2023
Hopefully, you’ve already taken care of the usual wintertime fishing gear maintenance chores. Your line is fresh, your reels are cleaned and lubricated, and your leaders are prepped. But savvy…
July 27, 2022
We’ve all been there before: there are little bluefish or stripers busting on bait, and suddenly out of the corner of your eye you see a pelagic-looking creature shoot out of the water, arc…
February 13, 2022
It’s quite exciting to be paddling along, kayak fishing with several rods out while you troll, and suddenly have one of those rods begin shaking wildly just a few feet from your face. Grabbing the…
October 21, 2021
By Thanksgiving Day most Chesapeake Bay anglers will winterize their boats, leaving them covered by shrink wrap. Outboards will be fogged, inboards will be drained, and rods and reels will be stowed…
October 17, 2021
As fall approaches and the wahoo bite picks up at Mid-Atlantic hotspots like the Oceanic Deli many offshore anglers are looking forward to shots at these toothy but tasty critters. Do you know how to…
August 22, 2021
Albacore tunas used to run off our coastline, and although they seemed to more or less disappear decades ago, every once in a while someone trolling for yellowfin tuna picks one up. Last fall,…
August 7, 2021
Summer trollers know that pulling their lures behind planers is highly effective on a number of species, ranging from Spanish Mackerel to cobia. Planers, however, can be a real pain in the you-know-…
July 2, 2021
Whether you’re hoping to compete in a big money billfish tournament like the WMO or you just want to feel the rush of battling with a billfish, if you own or fish from an outboard-powered boat you’re…
October 15, 2020
As the water chills out this fall, LTT (light tackle trolling) in and around the tributaries, and trolling open Bay water with heavy gear, are tactics many anglers who want to go striper fishing …
September 1, 2020
When the U.S. Navy Blue Angels come to the area we hear about “Mach Speed.” Mach 1 is equal to the speed of sound in air. In general sound travels faster in warmer air, and for normal and dry…
June 27, 2020
Most of you will fondly remember last summer’s Spanish mackerel run, which was the best I can ever remember on the Chesapeake Bay. Almost every time I say that, whoever I’m talking with responds by…
April 24, 2020
You want to tip the scales of encountering marlin, tuna, mahi-mahi, and other pelagics in your favor, the next time you go offshore trolling? Now’s the time to begin prepping your gear, your boat,…
March 25, 2020
Last month in our Critical Fishing Tips series we covered Freshwater Fishing Tips and prior to that we hit on Critical Tips for Gearing Up for Spring, but this month we're taking a look at trolling. …
February 22, 2020
Late winter and early spring is a great time to catch torpedo-shaped pre-spawn chain pickerel, which are on a mission to fatten up as the waters begin to warm. You can fish for ‘em many ways, but one…
December 28, 2019
Anglers are notorious when it comes to trying to build better fish-catching rigs, including those they drop back behind the boat when setting a mixed spread for offshore fishing. It seems we’re never…
August 30, 2019
If you've already read the other articles in our summer striper how-to series, Summer Chumming and How to Jig for Summer Stripers, you may be wondering about one other highly productive method:…
August 17, 2019
Spanish mackerel and king mackerel are both present in the Mid-Atlantic region, but Spanish mackerel are far more prevalent and fishing for Spanish mackerel is popular among many anglers when…