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Home waters save the day

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  • Home waters save the day

    I made an impromptu trip in the Severn this afternoon. I launched in Weems Creek about 2:15 and followed my recent pattern of trolling to the river then trolling upstream to other tributaries. The creek was nice and calm, but the river had whitecaps. The wind was blowing in an upriver direction making the water pretty bouncy. I had no luck in the river, so I headed into a tributary that had produced lots of fish last week. Today it was not productive -- only 2 or 3 modest perch.

    I trolled back downriver and caught my first fish (small rockfish) on the edge of the bar at the mouth of Weems. My arms were tired from paddling for 6 hours the previous day, so I moved into Weems to stay out of the wind. Near the mouth, in an area that rarely produces fish for me, a light rod with a Gulp bait began a fast dance. I reeled it in and found an 18.5" rock -- as far as I can remember, that is my first ever keeper inside of Weems.

    001.jpg

    I released the fish and kept trolling. I picked up a perch here and there, but nothing of note. After crossing under the Rowe Blvd bridge, I was moving along a shoreline in about 5-7 ft depth and had two rods go down with stripers of 12" to 15". I circled back and got another striper in the same spot. I planned to make several more passes along a 75-yd stretch. As I neared the end of the stretch, the rod with a 3" 12 Fathoms Fat Sam mullet went wild. I strained to get the rod out of the holder then held on as the fish pulled some more. I had it most of the way to the boat when I gave it too much slack for the barbless hook, and the fish got free. It behaved like a striper but definitely pulled harder than the 18.5" striper. My guess is that it was a 20" to 24" striper. I made several more passes along the stretch and picked up two more stripers, then the fish stopped biting there. I tried a few of my go-to spots in upper Weems and found some perch and one more striper. I noticed in several spots that as I retrieved the lure, lots of baitfish jumped out of the way. There was an abundance of bait there, but not so many predators.

    I had not visited upper Weems in a while. My home waters certainly welcomed me back today with some unexpected striper catching. I ended the day with about 10 perch and about 12 stripers.
    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
    That's a nice catch for an unplanned trip nice work
    D Hawk
    Green Malibu X-Factor stolen dream
    Sand Malibu X-Factor The replacement

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    • #3
      Wow!
      Mark
      Pasadena, MD


      Slate Hobie Revolution 13
      Hidden Oak Native Ultimate 12
      Lizard Lick Native Ultimate FX Pro

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      • #4
        Nice seeing you when I was about to launch this afternoon John . You had better luck with the number of stripers than I had today but I did manage one and about 20 perch but non bigger than 10". I too noticed a lot of small bait jumping as I retrieved my lure but not many big perch. As I rounded the mouth of Weems I heard a whistle and two guys on a small whaler were waving a paddle at me towards the channel marker, so I guess they were broke down. I made the call to peddle out and see if I could help them. I figured I'd troll out there since thy were still a good distance away and as soon as I let it out my roadrunner got smacked. After a nice little fight I reeled in a 17" striper. The fish gave me just enough time to have a jet ski cruise past and stop to assist and tow them in.
        Shane
        Hobie Outback

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        • #5
          Nice work John! That sure is a nice welcome
          -Mustafa
          ابو مسقوف AbuMasgouf (Aboo-Mas-goof ): Fish Roast Papa
          2016 Hobie Outback
          2012 Hobie Revolution 13
          "Be humble to whomever you learn from and whomever you teach."-- Imam al-Sadiq (as)

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          • #6
            Now that was truly an awesome day! I can't wait to get back out there. I have my new fly rod, plus I have tied a few flies, so I am good to go. Hope to see you out there!
            Laura (aka zeebyrd)
            Perception Pescador Pro 100

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            • #7
              Laura,

              One sure fire way to quickly initiate your fly rod in the Severn is to toss a Clouser Minnow near the riprap. White perch will be waiting. Blue over white and yellow over white patterns on size 4 hooks have worked well for me.

              Good luck.
              Mark
              Pasadena, MD


              Slate Hobie Revolution 13
              Hidden Oak Native Ultimate 12
              Lizard Lick Native Ultimate FX Pro

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Mark View Post
                Laura,

                One sure fire way to quickly initiate your fly rod in the Severn is to toss a Clouser Minnow near the riprap. White perch will be waiting. Blue over white and yellow over white patterns on size 4 hooks have worked well for me.

                Good luck.
                Mark,

                Thank you for the info on fly colors. I will be sure to add some more yellow flies to my "artillery". I'll need to either get some blue bucktail or dye some myself.
                Laura (aka zeebyrd)
                Perception Pescador Pro 100

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                • #9
                  Nice job John. You are a fishing machine! I look forward to joining you out there sometime before Halloween.

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                  • #10
                    Nice! The Severn/Weems rarely disappoints
                    Ryan
                    Blue 2016 Hobie Outback
                    Chesapeake Bay Kayak Anglers, Inc

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                    • #11
                      Nice catch there to welcome you back.

                      Outback 2015
                      Maui

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by DanMarino View Post
                        Nice job John. You are a fishing machine! I look forward to joining you out there sometime before Halloween.

                        I second this! For a guy with tired arms from paddling six hours the previous day this is another great report. I can only add that there is no substitute for local knowledge. John, you must know every nook and cranny there is on Weems Creek.

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                        • #13
                          Weems continues to produce for me. This morning I took a guy from my church out for his first ever kayak fishing trip. I told him to meet me at the Weems Creek launch at 7:30. I woke up early and launched at 6:40 for some exploring. I found a compact pocket of rockfish near the mouth of Weems. I trolled past them and caught a 16" rockfish. I reversed and trolled back through again and got a 15" rock. I paddled in a different direction for a few minutes then came back through the hot zone. This time, I caught a 19" rock -- all in a 15-minute period. Having a GPS with a marked trail feature paid off, allowing me to cross the same small target area several times in a row.

                          I had to leave biting fish to return to the ramp to meet him. By the time we got back out there, it was 45 mins later. The fish were still in that vicinity -- he quickly caught an 18" rock using the same pole and lure that I had caught the other three fish on. All four fish were caught on the same lure -- none of my other lures got hit by stripers today.

                          At one point while unhooking a striper, he left a small jig on an ultralight rod dangling in the water. He caught a croaker on it. The shoreline perch bite was slow today. I wonder if the full moon put them off their normal daytime feeding cycle.
                          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"

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