Spring Bassin

This past spring was slower then usual for me, but they seemed to stay shallow a little longer then usual also, I mostly targeted Bass in the local Reservoirs and ponds. I had to work a little harder for the better size fish, seemed like there were more people fishing then normal, I think that may have had something to do with it. Plus I also think there are just more good Bass fishermen today. I remember in the early 1980s going to Loch Raven with a friend of mine, I walked to the shoreline and pointed to a log sticking out of the water from a distance, then I told him to watch, there is a big Bass there, first cast I hooked up with a monster, it did get off after jumping out of the water, but still to this day he will remind me about that. I still catch plenty of Bass that way but its not as much of a sure thing anymore, mostly because so many more fishermen know about structure fishing. One method I do today that works good is to look for places to cast where other fishermen may be less likely to. there are lots of areas to cast that aren't very obvious...

2018 year in review

This was another good year of fishing, Bass fishing off the shoreline at Loch Raven was really good with lots of nice size fish, April was the best month where I went on a streak of 6 consecutive trips catching at least one fish over 5lbs on each trip.
I took my boat out a couple times on the Chesapeake for preseason Rockfish but never did very good, once the season opened I went twice and caught a fish over 45" on both trips, not bad considering many people complained of it being slow and I only trolled with 6 to 7 rods and caught the fish in less then an hour on both trips.
The summer season for Stripers was really good, even when it got hot out the fish were stacked up in many different spots. then the rains came, it rained a lot this year. muddy water and huge amounts of debris was common throughout the second half of summer, I rarely even took my boat out, I mainly did shoreline fishing, I did  a few trips at loch Raven for Bass, And some urban fishing in Baltimore for Catfish, I was actually trying to get Carp but all I kept getting was Cats, but I can't complain, it was still fun,

I eventually got some Carp at Loch Raven.  I also did some Bass fishing in down town Baltimore, all the rain must of pushed the Bass down stream in the Patapsco. it was always amusing to hear some of the comments from people in the city, hardly anyone fishes in the city so people were constantly surprised.
Luckily the bay cleared out well for my favorite time of the year, Fall, and it turned out to be my best October for Stripers ever, maybe even my best fall, it was at least my top 3. In October I had another streak where I went 10 straight trips catching fish over 30", I would of went 14 straight trips but one trip my biggest was only 29".

Hopefully this year will be as memorable

Rocktober report

The fall has always been my favorite time to target Rockfish casting spoons, plastics and top water. I like when the big fish come in in the spring and summer and even winter fishing, but no matter the time of year, fall is the time I'm always waiting for. The larger schoolies always usually arrive around September, but every year is different in the upper bay, this year I caught fish over 30" in September but not as many as usual, October is when it got good. I went out on 14 trip in October and caught (and released) fish over 30" on every trip except one, and on that one trip the biggest fish was 29", I had a couple trips where I caught more fish over 30" that I could even caught, just one after another for hours. the biggest in October was 36", but I also had a couple days where the biggest was 35", and about half of my trips I managed fish to 34". Its been one of my best falls in about 5 years, and probably my best October ever.                                                                                                                                                                                  the real trick to getting them was fishing shallow lumps, and lots of stealth, areas where boats are running all over the fish were almost always avoided, the bigger fish don't like the sound of boat motors, they know we are their biggest predators. I would generally try many spots, until I find them, sometimes they were where I found them in the previous trips, and sometimes they were in other locations, but they always stayed in the same 3 mile radi
us. Ironically, as good as this fall has been in the upper bay for the larger fish, I haven't seen the large schools of smaller fish like usual, where you could basically run to many spots and catch all the smaller keepers you want for hours. this past summer was actually like that which was also unusual, I often commented that this past summer reminded me of the average fall, not sure where the smaller fish went, but some say they moved south to the mid bay already. It does seem like the reports are increasing down that way
EDIT...went out on my last trip (October 31) and got totally skunked, first skunk since March, to make matters worse I hooked up with over ten drag peeling fish, and everyone got off. Im not sure what was happening. I also thought I got a snag once, but it turned out to be a big fish, it took off and snapped my line, must be a Halloween curse LOL

Great fishing in the last two years

I haven't posted on this blog in a long time, it surprised me when I realized its been over two years, the years go by so fast. LOL. I post almost all my trips on my facebook page but have almost forgot about this page, plus I think it has a lot to do about being lazy. but I haven't really been lazy when it comes to fishing, the last couple years have been great with lots of nice catches, my most recent Striper weighed over 50lbs, just an estimate since I never weighed it, since I was catch and releasing I don't like to waste to much time weighing. I basically went by the length (48"), girth charts to estimate the weight. I was actually a little disappointed when I looked at the picture, I thought it looked a lot bigger in person. I need to lose a few pounds so my fish can look bigger, ha ha

I caught so many nice fish in the last couple years, I really can't post them all but its been good, last year (2016) was one of the best years for Rockfishing in a while, you could go out and catch legal size fish all day long if you wanted, very plentiful! heres a couple pics from some of my better days. I plan on posting more but who knows, I said that two years ago. LOL

Another good season coming to an end

Finally got a boat back in September just in time for the fall fishing. luckily the fish stayed around the upper bay lumps and shoals later then usual so I never had to travel very far to get them. The fall fishing started out slower then usual, I still caught fish on every trip but I had quite a few trips where I only caught one or two, but November turned out to be a good month with plenty of good size schoolies while casting lures, but once the cold weather came in it stopped the larger fish from migrating father up the bay. Now I'm pretty much fishing the local reservoirs from shore (always fun)and anticipating some spring trophies, now that I have a more seaworthy boat I may be able to get out more!

Not fishing much lately

I've been getting emails from people asking why I haven't updated my blog, I never even realized anyone read it, LOL. The truth is I haven't been fishing much lately, back in may my boat got some serious damage to the hull and I may be getting one soon, And I got another deer tick on me in one of the worst possible areas, My crotch was itching for two days and I just though it was chaffing from wearing a safety harness at work, until I took A closer look and realized it was a deer tick. after that I haven't been in the woods much. I'll wait until the weather cools down some and there are less ticks. I did get into some nice Rockfish this spring before my boat feel apart, and I had a fantastic spring fishing for Large mouth. Summer has always been my least favorite time to fish anyway, to many boaters out there, crowded ramps, biting bugs, ect...hopefully I will get my next boat soon, I can't miss out on my favorite time of the year, Fall!

 

 

Here's a video from a spring Rockfish trip

The fall bite is on

Its been an awesome summer for Stripers in the upper bay. Catching legal size Rockfish has been routine, had many days where I caught until my arms were sore. There were lots of spots that held good fish. one of my favorite spots this year held fish since June (and is still a reliable spot).  For half the summer I was the only person fishing there until a few people found out about it. The great fishing for large White perch has been an added bonus

The fall has started out very good with a larger grade of fish that moved in. Large schools of Menhaden moved in back in September and I knew it wouldn't be long before the fishing busted wide open. One method I have been doing lately is cruising around from spot to spot and if I notice a school of bait near one of the spots, I know my chances of catching will increase. usually the schools of baitfish will look like an area of slightly disturbed water,  Even spots that have smaller breaking fish will still have larger fish near by. normally the larger fish will be near a drop off. listening for larger splashes has paid off.

 

fishing this spring and summer

Haven't posted in a while. I live right down the street where the Train explosion in Rosedale happened and I've been busy replacing windows and carpet, plus it happened right when I started remodeling my bathroom and other rooms. plus I've been working more then usual. oh and I'm also really lazy ; )
But I have been able to get out and fish when the weather allowed, Which didn't seem like very often.
In the spring I got out a couple times and caught some trophy Rock while trolling (The picture below is of me and Anthony from a charter trip on the Katherine http://katherinecharterfishing.zenfolio.com/)

also had some good days in the spring and early summer casting lures alone the shoreline at loch raven and Liberty reservoir catching Largemouth and  Pickerel and the occasional Rockbass

jigging for schoolies in the upper and mid Chesapeake has been off the hook all year

One of my more recent trips I was casting lures along the shoreline in a creek that feeds into the Bush river, catching mostly small Bass, but I kept hearing large splashes down the bank aways, figured it was probably a beaver that was slapping its tail because it didn't like me in its territory, but when I worked my way down in that direction I noticed it was actually carp feeding in shallow water, so I went back to my truck and got a can of corn that I keep just for this type of situation, and started catching them right away. Carp have got to be one of the most under rated Sport fish, they put up a great fight!

first Trophy trip of the year

Finally got a day with calm winds on April 6 so I headed down near the Bay bridge and trolled 5 lines, the water temp was almost 47*, didn't see many marks but every once in a while I would see what looked like a Rockfish or two in 70' or more water, ...started to think I may get skunked but about an hour later I hooked up with a pretty nice fish, continued to troll with the remaining 4 rods and caught one more about the same size. I was satisfied with my first Striper trip of the year so I headed in early. Spring is here!

cold water fishing

Its been a cold winter, but there's always fish to be caught no matter how cold the water is, you just have to target fish that prefer colder water like Crappie, Pickerel, Northern Pike, Walleye ect...
The key to catching fish in cold water is to work your lures slowly with plenty of pauses, Usually the fish will hit when the lure isn't moving or the instant you begin to move it again after a pause. In winter fish don't usually move around much, so if you work your lure to fast it won't look natural. If you see a fish in cold water you will notice it hardly moves, and when it does it moves very slowly.
I know for me it can sometimes be difficult to work a lure slow, I have to constantly force myself to be patient and work the lure slower, but that's the big difference between catching and not in the Winter or early Spring. Even Summer and fall slowing you presentation can pay off big. I don't think theres to many times when a fish will ignore a baitfish because its to slow and easy to catch, but they will if it looks to frisky and speeds by them.
Also when fishing for most freshwater fish in cold water you have to concentrate on the bite, It will usually just be a light tap or you will notice your line slowly moving away, when ever you think you may have a fish on the end of your line, don't second guess, set the hook and ask questions later!  Its surprising how many times I felt such a slight movement on my line that I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination but it turned out to be a fish, sometimes the biggest fish give the smallest taps...
If you set the hook and it turns out to be a snag or nothing at all, just chalk it up as a part of fishing, but watch out for your lure flying back at you if it does turn out to be nothing.
This Winter (when I have had a chance to fish) I have been fishing mostly at Loch Raven for Pickerel and Bass (And wishing to get a Northern), Mostly casting Spoons and Sencos from shore. Its been pretty good but its been slow. Shouldn't be to much longer and the fish will begin spawning and the fishing should get a lot faster.

Liberty Reservoir bassin

Last year (2012) I decided to mainly target my
favorite fish from this area, mostly the larger predator/Sport fish, so I made up a list of the fish
I wanted to catch (Northern Pike, Rockfish, Blue catfish, Largemouth, Carp and Black drum), I also had a list of non priority fish that I could target if I finished that list, One of the fish on the non priority list was to catch a Smallmouth, the last time I caught a smallmouth was over 30 years ago when I was 18.  So I really wanted to catch one again, so once I finished my list, I started to see a few reports of people catching some real trophy Smallmouths at Liberty reservoir. I fished Liberty a few times over the years, but I never put a lot of time there like I have at Loch raven. So I decided to hit it hard last fall. I caught quite a few Smallmouths, a few up to almost 3lbs, but I never could catch a big one like some of the people from that area sometimes do. One thing I realized was, the guys catching the big Smallmouths were mostly locals that have fished the lake all their lives. it can be a tough lake to fish if your not familiar with the area. It seems that a lot of the Smallmouths are farther away from shore then Largemouths are, So getting a lure out far enough was one of my biggest problems. I did get a big largemouth, quite a few yellow perch, also my first Rockbass. Tons of small Largemouths, as hard as it was to catch quality Bass, I usually always caught fish, theres so many tiny Bass that getting skunked is a hard thing to do. So eventhough I had a fun year of catching lots of good size fish, I may have to try to make 2013 my year for a trophy Smallmouth. Some of the Smallies I caught may be considered big for some areas so I can't complain, even the smaller ones put up a great fight!