Eeling and Reeling: Getting Pulled By Big Striped Bass


At Kiptopeke State Park, we didn’t let some rain or wind keep us from going out for a ride.

Yesterday morning, my friend Rob and I towed our rigged up jet skis from Poquoson, Virginia to Kiptopeke State Park and dropped in at the Concrete Ships of the Eastern Shore.

It hurts paying the $16 toll each way, plus the $8 ramp fee and about $20 round trip for gas. That’s $60 before I even touch the water! But on the positive side, I did not have to run across the bay in fog, rain, or 2-to-3 foot chop and I only burned two gallons on my jet ski.

We fished a couple miles off of the ships in light-to-medium rain and 40 degree temps. The 10-15 mile per hour southwest winds gave us a steady drift for eeling.

Although we did encounter some other fishermen, we were the only ones to brave the weather aboard a pair of PWC.

After battling this big striped bass, I was able to net him and drag him aboard.

It was very slow fishing, but as luck would have it, a big striped bass took off with one of the eels that I had in right next to my ski. He gave me a nice run for my money, turning my ski around twice before getting close enough for me to grab him with the net. Thankfully, he was solidly hooked in the upper lip.

With the bass on board, we stayed out another hour and a half, hoping for another fish for Rob but it was simply not meant to be.

We weren’t the only ones out as we saw one lone kayaker on the lee side of the ships looking for a big one. There were also several boats around the area, but as per usual, we were the only ones fishing from a pair of jet skis.

A trip to the scales would reveal this big striped bass to weigh in at 42.5 pounds, my largest catch of the season.

Later that night, my catch made for quite the delicious meal of striper steaks, fresh greens and biscuits.

Back on land, I weighed the striped bass I caught at Bull Island Outdoors in Poquoson; amazingly, it went 42.5 pounds, my largest catch this season!

Looking back, my new record catch was well worth a couple hours on the water on my jet ski in the rain. Back at home, I had everything cleaned up and put away by dark. For dinner, I pan seared some thick striper steaks in herb garlic marinade for dinner. Not a bad way to end the day.

“Big Striped Bass Pullage On My Little Jet Ski!” was originally published by “Jet Ski Brian” Lockwood on December 10th, 2013. You can read the original report here.

This lone kayaker was fishing the ships in hopes of reeling in a sizable catch like my striper. Best of luck!

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Brian Lockwood

Starting with a used '01 Yamaha SUV 1200, Brian logged 450 hours of riding and fishing within 18 months. Since then, he has become an ambassador for PWC fishing, providing presentations for Bass Pro Shops, national fishing competitions, and boat shows. His blog www.JetSkiBrian.com and subsequent posts on Atlantic Anglers and Tidalfish bring in over 15,000 readers with each post.

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