The CBBT (Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel) is HOT
John Keeler and I left Baltimore, MD on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2004 at 12:30 PM. We arrived at Cape Charles, on Virginia's eastern shore at 6:30 PM and headed to Stingrays for dinner. They are known for serving delicious food with large portions. Before retiring we tied on new 20 and 30 pound test Seaguar fluorocarbon leaders to 7 spinning and 3 baitcasting light tackle reels that were wound with no stretch fiber line.
I had the pleasure of guiding John where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. During this time of year striped bass of enormous size can be caught on light tackle or fly equipment depending on ones preference. We had a great day on Monday, Nov. 22 as John landed stripers from 20” to 34”.
Tuesday, Nov. 23 turned to be out one of those days ‘for the books’. From the first stop, early in the morning, to the last stop, just before sunset, John was catching quality striped bass from 24” to 38”. The majority of these fish where caught on a top water lure.
The kicker on Tuesday was a hard fighting 32”, 12 pound blue fish that hit a top water lure.
This is how the screen looked during the complete day on Tuesday.
I landed this nice striped bass on a 11-1/2" Spine Eel, 2-1/4 ounce
The large striped bass are just starting to show up at the CBBT.
Fishing Tip: (Compliments of John Keeler)
When your reel becomes stuck, before cleaning it, soak it in hot water for around 5 minutes and this will remove most of the salt. Then add a few drops of oil and the reel should work just fine.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Tom Hughes