Potomac River Stripers - Rockfish

Left the boat ramp at 0630 Saturday and was greeted by a nice morning with 58 degree water in the middle Potomac River. Launched on the Virginia side of the river near Colonial Beach. There was a Rockfish Tournament running out of Cobb Island, directly across the river on the Maryland side.

We went to the general area where all the tournament players were fishing and set up our planer boards and got 8 lines in the water. We heard a few folks on the marine radio talking about a catch here and there, but nothing spectacular. We decided to head up-river a mile or so to try a different spot.

After about 7 hours of fishing and not a single bite.. Fish On!! It was a 29-inch Rockfish that we tossed into the cooler. About 20 minutes later, the clip dropped on another line and the Penn reel started screaming. We knew it was a nice one this time. I reeled and horsed and reeled and finally got the big fish of the day to the boat. It was a 27lb 40 inch rockfish, and the first one I had ever caught! I was very happy with myself, and it turned out to be a good day on the water!