Whopping rockfish catches abound

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Son and father Shaun and Ed Lukenich of Waldorf, Md., were trolling aboard their boat Compromise west of the Chesapeake Bay's Hooper's Island last weekend when finned thunder struck. They already had hooked a fine 38-inch rockfish when one of their lines tied to a green daisy chain lure (without a sinker) was struck. "It went down hard," Ken Lamb of Lexington Park's Tackle Box told me.

Whatever it was, it nearly removed all the line from the reel.

The two fishermen pulled in the other trolling lines and slipped the boat's transmission into neutral. Shaun Lukenich tightened the reel drag a bit and prayed while a huge striper took off, changing directions now and then during a 25-minute tug of war. The rockfish finally tired and came close to the boat, but then the landing net broke. With considerable effort they somehow managed to drag the rockfish aboard.

It was a whopping striped bass that weighed about 53 pounds and was 47 inches, with a girth of 28 inches.

"This one was the biggest rockfish registered at the Tackle Box this year," said the amazed Lamb.

Then there was Keech Edelen of White Plains, Md., who caught the winning striper during the Potomac River Anglers Club fall tournament last Saturday. He won $2,200 for his 41-inch, 31.2-pound rockfish. Edelen and partner John Platt used small white umbrella rigs and white parachute lures to score. The duo also collected $640 for winning the tournament Calcutta pool. Edelen and Platt trolled in the Piney Point area aboard the Rock-N-Crab.

So that makes it official: The big autumn rockfish are here for sure. Lamb said the striper catches have been consistent for a week, adding, "Trollers caught big fish up and down the ship channel from the HI Buoy to Hooper's Island Light and south to Smith Point."

Lamb also reported that a number of charter and private captains who came out of St. Jerome's Creek troll, just past the Point No Point light head east, and catch all they're allowed to before getting halfway to the 72A Buoy. The vicinity of Hooper's Island Light has been delivering big ocean stripers that like umbrella rigs with white and chartreuse Sassy Shad lures. They're the most popular fish catchers, followed by Daisy Chains.

However, Patuxent River trollers have had a hard time finding rockfish. The river fish seem to bite only on the ebb tide and then only for 20 minutes or so.

Ocean action galore -- Ken Neill of the Peninsula Salt Water Sport Fisherman's Association took his boat from Virginia Beach's Rudee Inlet east to the offshore waters of the Atlantic. He and four other members of the fishing club started on the 10 Fathom Hump looking for bluefin tunas.

"We did not find any," Neill said. "We then ran on out to the 100-fathom curve to look for yellowfin tunas and then found bluefins. Nothing big, 41- to 45-inch fork lengths. We would slide them through the tuna door, take DNA samples [for an ongoing study] and let them go. We then found the yellowfins, caught our 12-fish limit and left them [still] biting. Good thing they have a limit on those things or we would still be cleaning fish."

Money available for fish projects -- The FishAmerica Foundation has up to $800,000 in grant monies available for marine and anadromous sportfish habitat restoration projects across the coastal United States and the Great Lakes basin. These grants will be awarded to community-based, on-the-ground projects to restore marine, estuarine and riparian habitats, including salt marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove forests and freshwater habitats important to anadromous fish species, such as salmon and striped bass that spawn in freshwater and migrate to the sea.

The FishAmerica Foundation will accept grant proposals through Feb. 5. Grants of up to $50,000 each will be awarded in June. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, such as local sporting clubs and conservation associations, as well as state and local agencies. The full grant package is available at www.fishamerica.org.

• Look for Gene Mueller's Outdoors column Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, only in The Washington Times. E-mail: gmueller@washingtontimes.com.