Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
We had been anchored-up and fishing about an hour without so much as a bite and I was beginning to consider my options, one of which was to pick up and move, when suddenly a boat that was traveling a little to the south of us turned north and headed our way. As soon as they were 100 yards away they dropped anchor and started to fish.
“Friends of yours?” Someone asked. “I’ve no idea who they are.” I replied. “I guess they think we’re on to something here.”
A half hour later, another boat pulled up and anchored. I knew we were in trouble then. Three boats fishing the same place are like a billboard for every fisherman looking for a productive place to drop a line. Even though we hadn’t caught a thing in all that time, I knew that there would soon be a whole fleet of boats and anglers right there with us catching the same big “nothing.” By the time we got our lines in and anchor weighed, there were five boats working the spot and I could see three more coming in!
One of the most fulfilling aspects I enjoy about fishing is when I can slip off away from the crowd, and catch fish. It’s one of those things that doesn’t happen every day, but when it does, it brings about a sense of both pride and accomplishment and I know I’m not alone in those feelings. It’s rare that someone who has enjoyed such success won’t mention that they “caught all these fish and there wasn’t another fisherman in sight” or “we had the whole ocean to ourselves.”
It’s a little way of patting one’s self on the back and saying “I found‘em and caught’em without any help from anyone.” There’s good reason to be proud too, especially these days with communications the way they are. Between VHF radios, cell phones and the internet, a couple of fish get caught somewhere today and you can bet that with a tap or two on a smart phone, the news will have shot around the world a dozen times and everyone with a sharp hook and a can of worms will be there tomorrow! Being the first to discover a productive fishing hole is no small feat and keeping it to oneself (if that’s the intention) can be even more extraordinary.
Despite the personal rewards of finding ones own fish, it’s perfectly understandable why most folks choose to follow the crowds. The majority of anglers feel lucky if they’re able to fish one or two days a week. They don’t want to spend such limited time “searching” when they could be “catching”. To be honest, as much as like to fish by myself, if I really want to catch a sea robin, and I hear that “everybody” is catching sea robins like crazy at Marker #3, but nowhere else, I’m probably going to point my boat toward Marker #3 and just plan on dealing with the crowd.
Then again, there are times when the benefits of bringing home a cooler full of sea robins (or any other fish) is not worth the hassle of putting up with crowded waters and THAT’S the time to go exploring! Venture off and check out places you’ve never fished before, or haven’t tried for years. What have you got to lose? If you don’t catch anything at least you know where not to go next time, or maybe you’ll know to come back when the tide is different or at another time of the season. At the very least, you won’t have to worry about other fishermen drifting into your boat or casting across your line.
When venturing out and exploring new turf, angling pioneers must keep in mind that most of the time they’re probably not going to do as well as the rest of the crowd. But such an outing will surely involve a lot less hassle from outside forces, and at the same time, should such an adventure actually produce a nice catch of fish, the rewards can be beyond equal. In the angling arena, I’ve come to know that there is little to compare with devising a fishing plan that includes a target species, location, tackle, bait and technique, and then have it all work.
One summer day I had a few hours to kill and decided to hop in my little boat and do some bay fishing. It was a beautiful day and the bay was packed with the usual flotilla of boats loaded with anglers drifting the channels for flounder. Not wishing to be just another player in the mob-scene I was watching, I chose to avoid the channels and fish the marsh banks, edges of sandbars, bulkheads and anywhere else I could find structure or drop-offs. I also chose to use strictly artificial.
For the next two hours, I pretty much fished within 100 yards of the “fleet”, but still alone, as I enjoyed wonderful action with rockfish, bluefish and even a couple weakfish. The whole time I couldn’t help but notice how everyone else that I could see was doing the “same-old-same-old” and bottom bouncing shiners or minnows down the channels and catching very little.
Inshore or offshore fishermen should never avoid the opportunity to be bold, break away from the rest of pack and do a little experimenting with new techniques or locations. The worst that can happen is that no fish are caught. On the other hand, it’s almost a sure bet that the adventure will prove to be a great learning experience and certainly a lot more peaceful.
Capt. Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
