joe cermele

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

After a 15-minute struggle, Robinson's striper comes to the boat.

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

Because these stripers are in the area to breed, catch and release is mandatory on the flats, with the exception of a short period later in the spring where fish can be kept. With a belly full of roe, this bass needed to be released quickly. Robinson let me snap just a few quick shots of the 25-pounder before turning her loose.

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

But sometimes you've got to start small. The magic temperature mark for great action on artificial lures is 55 degrees, according to Captain Ed Robinson, who hosted my friend Darren Dorris and I on the flats. Any colder and you're more likely to hook small schooling males or nothing at all.

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

Another rat grabs Dorris's jig just before he pulls it out of the water.

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

With fins flared, the bass gave Robinson a healthy splash before departing.

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

The flats cover a vast expanse of area at the mouths of the Elk and Susquehanna River - both of which the stripers pour into to breed starting in early April. But before they go upriver and get busy, they need to feed. Enter the herring run. Both bass and herring cross paths on the flats, which average 4 to 10 feet deep. The result is a light-tackle anglers fantasy, where striper tails smack the surface and a popper fished on a light rod with a lot of backbone can produce strikes that will scare you so badly, you'll forget to set, forget to breathe, and then need to sit down for a while. These flats are one of a select few places where it's possible to stick a 50-plus-pound striper in four feet of water.

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fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 -0400

When a 30-pound striped bass inhales a jig in four feet of water, it figures out in no time at all that it has a predicament. It wants to dog deep, throwing headshakes and running for cover until it either pops the hook or gets wrenched back to the surface. But on Maryland's Susquehanna Flats, it's got no place to go but out. And considering that deep water isn't easy to find in this niche area of the northern Chesapeake Bay, the bass tend to go way, way out. On the Susquehanna Flats, you learn the importance of a full spool very quickly.