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3 new 2012 species and kept my streak alive

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  • 3 new 2012 species and kept my streak alive

    I have been able to fish quite a bit so far this year. Part way through the winter I looked back at my reports and realized that I had caught at least one fish every week so far this year. Once I started thinking about that, it has become somewhat of a quest for me to keep the streak alive.

    I have been unable to use my kayak since May 1 while recuperating from some medical work. I snuck in last week's fish on Monday before undergoing the work. However, this week was a challenge. I was not allowed to use the kayak to get to some of my favorite spots. Yesterday afternoon, I visited several tidal creeks and coves along the Severn where I could get at least minimal shoreline access. I waded up to my knees and cast small lures for perch. The bite was not happening at the places where I fished.

    Today, I had a three-hour window to try again. This time I decided to go back to basics. I pulled out my ADC book map for Anne Arundel County and looked for ponds or stream crossings in Crownsville, Crofton, and nearby areas. Once I found something promising, I went to Google maps to get an aerial photo. I ended up visiting four spots -- three small ponds and one stream crossing. The fishing was slow, but I did catch three species that I had not yet caught this year.

    The first stop was a road crossing over Bacon Ridge Branch. The stream was only about 10 ft wide, and the water was running very muddy (the color of orange clay). There was plenty of submerged branches and vegetation that presented snag hazards. On the first two casts, I felt what I thought were nibbles. I kept throwing my 1/8-oz jighead with a chartreuse twister tail across the stream and swam it back. Eventually, I had a hookup. The fish was an 8" silvery minnow with big scales. I believe it was a fallfish. My camera would not fire up when I tried to photograph the fish, so you have to take my word for it. That little fish took the pressure off.

    I drove a few minutes away to a small pond in a park in Crofton. The shallow pond was chock full of submerged vegetation that made working a lure difficult. I saws load of small bluegills that came over and bit the tail of my twister tail and later a 2" Gulp minnow. I was unable to get them to stay on the hook.

    I drove to another pond in Crofton, which was mostly covered in lily pads. I was unable to fish most of that pond because I had no weedless lures with me. I lost my last 1/8-oz jighead. I dug into the handful of tackle I had put in a small fanny pack and found an unweighted plastic jighead that contained some rattling beads. I put a Gulp on that and was able to keep it near the surface. I was able to connect with some really tiny bluegills (see photo below -- my camera did work later in the trip).

    In my final half hour I visited a little park called Patuxent Ponds park on Conway Rd/Patuxent Rd. On my first cast, I hooked up on a small crappie. That was my final fish of the day, but it did represent my third species. There are several connected ponds at that location -- I only had time to fish the nearest one.

    It is great to know that there are options other than my usual ones that can be visited in a pinch.
    Attached Files
    John Veil
    Annapolis
    Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

    Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

  • #2
    Nice report, john. That's neat that you were able to lookup some new areas by pulling out an old fashioned map . Last year I got a huge map from dnr that highlights all the areas that one can cartop launch at. I should dig that up to find some new launch areas this year.

    I'm glad your surgery went well. Take it easy though!
    Sun Fishin'

    Comment


    • #3
      Nice report, John. That's a good streak to keep going. I've just been shooting for a fish a month.

      I really like pond fishing. I'd like to own a house one day with enough land to have a pond on it.

      You should check out Hutchins Pond off of Rt 2. It's not too far from Annapolis. DNR stocks it with trout, but I've caught some bass in there, too. Nothing big but still fun. Now that trout stocking has concluded there, there is probably less pressure and the bass might be more aggressive. I've wanted to launch my kayak there to see how deep it is, but I would feel kind of silly since I can cast more than halfway across the pond from shore.
      Yellow Hobie Revo Rube Goldberg
      Yellow Tarpon 120

      Comment


      • #4
        John,
        Thanks for the post.
        I love to see posts by anglers who fish for all kinds of fish wherever and whenever.
        Congratulations on your new species, and thanks for the encouragement by your non-stop and equal-opportunity-species fishing. I finally caught my first walleye (juvenile) during my 7th walleye trip last week. Since my goal was a 20” walleye, I am still trying.

        joe
        Fish like there's no tomorrow.
        Youtube UserID: ComeOnFish01 (Over 300 kayak fishing videos in mid-Atlantic (DE, MD & VA)
        https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKb...JtmNcSJBi2Sazg

        Comment


        • #5
          Nice report! Sometimes it nice to slow things down a little bit and catch some panfish. I think your bluegill is actually a green sunfish, I've always thought they are one of the most beautiful fish that you can catch in MD.

          Now you can still catch a bluegill and add another species for 2012!
          Ryan
          Blue 2016 Hobie Outback
          Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers, Inc

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by shadyfisher85 View Post
            Nice report! Sometimes it nice to slow things down a little bit and catch some panfish. I think your bluegill is actually a green sunfish, I've always thought they are one of the most beautiful fish that you can catch in MD.

            Now you can still catch a bluegill and add another species for 2012!
            Thanks for all the good comments. I enjoy getting outdoors and spending time on or near the water. Some times keeping things simple is a good way to go. Yesterday I carried one ultralight rod and a small waist pack with a few lures. I had a camera in my pocket -- I was good to go.

            Ryan - thanks for correcting my fish ID. I have spent very little time fishing freshwater and still don't know much about the variety of species. Those little sunfish were only 5"-6" long, but they were hungry.
            John Veil
            Annapolis
            Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

            Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

            Comment


            • #7
              I enjoyed yesterday's fishing so much that I went back out today and caught 5 species of freshwater fish. All were caught from shorlines or from a bridge, but none were caught in the same locations as yesterday.

              The first fish was a white perch that I caught while standing on the Rt 450 crossing over the South River headwaters. I caught it on a chartreuse safety pin spinner handmade by MKF member Bignose. Thanks Stu!

              The next few fish were taken a short ways from there at a road crossing over a stream. They hit a small chartreuse twister tail. I fished the small pools on both sides of an intersection and picked up different species in each (a juvenile LMB and a green sunfish).

              A few minutes later I fished in a small pond using two unlucky earthworms that I picked up on the sidewalk this morning after the rains. The tiny bluegills were all over the worm pieces suspended on a shad dart under a bobber.

              I drove to the small parking area where the WB&A Rail Bed trail intersects Patuxent Road. I walked about a half mile over to the the Little Patuxent and caught another white perch, another LMB, and a good sized fallfish.

              Including the crappie I got yesterday, that is 6 species of small fish within 30 minutes of home -- and no boat or kayak was required.

              If you think I mis-identified any of today's fish, please let me know.
              Attached Files
              John Veil
              Annapolis
              Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

              Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

              Comment


              • #8
                Nice going!!!
                You've caught all kinds of fish. There's no way I can top that. I caught a bass, a kind of sunfish, a crapie and a 16" walleye this afternoon in a small local lake.

                Keep it going!

                joe
                Fish like there's no tomorrow.
                Youtube UserID: ComeOnFish01 (Over 300 kayak fishing videos in mid-Atlantic (DE, MD & VA)
                https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKb...JtmNcSJBi2Sazg

                Comment


                • #9
                  Good work! I think you got them all correctly ID'd today
                  Ryan
                  Blue 2016 Hobie Outback
                  Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers, Inc

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by ComeOnFish View Post
                    Nice going!!!
                    You've caught all kinds of fish. There's no way I can top that. I caught a bass, a kind of sunfish, a crapie and a 16" walleye this afternoon in a small local lake.

                    Keep it going!

                    joe
                    Joe -

                    You are fishing and catching just fine -- after all this is recreation, not a competition. Keep up the good work.
                    John Veil
                    Annapolis
                    Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

                    Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Dang, that's a good looking spinner bait!
                      Glad it works!
                      I spent about 15 minutes tossing one along the shore line of Martin's cove near Leo James marina. NADA. Perch aren't there yet.

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