Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
A while back, I was anchored-up and fishing a number of miles offshore. We had been at it for about an hour without so much as a bite. I was beginning to consider my options, none the least of which was to pick up and move, when a boat that was traveling a couple miles south suddenly turned north and headed right towards us. As soon as they were 100 yards away they too 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 is like a billboard for every fisherman looking for a productive place to drop a line. Even though we hadn’t had a bite in an hour I knew that there would soon be a whole fleet of boats and anglers right here catching the same big “nothing”. By the time we got our lines in and anchor weighed, there were five other boats working the spot and I could see three more coming in!
One of the most fulfilling aspects I’ve come to enjoy about fishing is when I can slip off somewhere, 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. Of course 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.” 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 fish get caught somewhere today, and you can bet that in the flip of a tail 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, 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. Most 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 I 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. 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 target species, location, tackle, bait, and technique, and then have it all work.
One spring day when I had a few free hours I decided to hop in my 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 sand bars, bulkheads and anywhere else I could find severe drop-offs. I also chose to use strictly artificials.
For the next two hours I pretty much fished within 100 yards of the “fleet” but still alone. I enjoyed wonderful action with rockfish, bluefish and even a couple of sea trout. The whole time I couldn’t help but notice how everyone else 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 and 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 be a great learning experience and certainly a lot more peaceful.
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
