Tweet
fishing report + it's hunting season so be careful on the water guys...
My plans for the day fell through and it was a beautiful day out so I decided to take the kayak out for the late afternoon/ evening. I launched north of port deposit where I met a couple of guys coming in. They had a couple catfish on their stringers that where caught with live bait but other than that they didn't have much luck. They were both in some field and stream sit in kayaks. I asked them if they had heard of this forum and they had not, so I encouraged them to check this site out. I've probably referred about 5 fellow kayakers while out fishing.
The water was much lower than it was when I was out Thursday morning. I must have hit right on low tide and when I went across the conowingo dam it didn't look like much water was running. I got out there and the water was very skinny with depths from knee to waist deep. I didn't bother using my fish finder, the battery was dead anyway (it lasted almost 10 trips on one charge!). I know of a place that is a little deeper so I decided to focus on that. After catching an estimated 22in rockfish on Thursday, I was on the hunt today for some more. I started off with a paddletail and had no luck, then a white spinnerbait that has been reliable for me and still nothing. Then I switched to a chartreuse x rap and still no bites. Note: I heard the dam start running some water and by the time I was heading in, the water level was normal.
and then there was some drama....
There were some duck hunters on a nearby island. I could never see them, but they were calling for a couple hours. I could see their boat on shore, and they did not have any decoys out or anything. I was having no luck so I decided to fish around a smaller island that was about 200yds from the island that the hunters were on. It had been a couple hours and I had yet to hear any gunshots when suddenly there was a burst of a couple semi automatic shots. I could tell they were close but I could not see them or determine which direction they were shooting. There were no birds around me and I did not see any drop or splash. I made another cast or two and heard another burst of a few rounds go off. Suddenly, I was getting hit with shotgun pellets and pellets were raining down all around me. After making sure I wasn't hurt, I quickly put down my rod and started paddling away. Then a hunter yelled out and asked me to move. I was not trying to be in their way and I had no idea if I was in their way or not. I was very visible in my orange vest and using my visicarbon pro. I was very mad. They shot at me before they told me to move. It would've been ok if they asked me to move first, but the fact they were shooting at me BEFORE telling me to move really made me angry. I knew that time they were not targeting birds, they were trying to shoot close to me to warn me. I could have been hurt or been startled and fallen overboard. My dad had a similar experience while fishing with my grandfather several years ago in that same area. I didn't say anything, I just grabbed my paddle and sprinted up river.
Anyway, back to fishing...
The sun was starting to go down and I had yet to have a bite. It was prime time for top water. Before I left to go out, my dad encouraged me to toss a chug bug. I had one and decided to tie it on. I had high hopes since I started seeing a couple fish break the surface. After a couple casts, a smallmouth blew up the chug bug. Then I caught my first top water rockfish! It was schoolie size, but still very fun to catch on top water. Then I caught a couple more smallmouths before it was getting dark. I was out on the water for about 4 hours, and all the fish were caught within the last hour. The top water bite was hot and it made me want to stay out there all night, but it was time to head in.
20151010_174033.jpgvlcsnap-2015-10-10-22h10m04s441.jpgvlcsnap-2015-10-10-22h16m51s308.jpgvlcsnap-2015-10-10-22h36m39s419.jpg
The water was much lower than it was when I was out Thursday morning. I must have hit right on low tide and when I went across the conowingo dam it didn't look like much water was running. I got out there and the water was very skinny with depths from knee to waist deep. I didn't bother using my fish finder, the battery was dead anyway (it lasted almost 10 trips on one charge!). I know of a place that is a little deeper so I decided to focus on that. After catching an estimated 22in rockfish on Thursday, I was on the hunt today for some more. I started off with a paddletail and had no luck, then a white spinnerbait that has been reliable for me and still nothing. Then I switched to a chartreuse x rap and still no bites. Note: I heard the dam start running some water and by the time I was heading in, the water level was normal.
and then there was some drama....
There were some duck hunters on a nearby island. I could never see them, but they were calling for a couple hours. I could see their boat on shore, and they did not have any decoys out or anything. I was having no luck so I decided to fish around a smaller island that was about 200yds from the island that the hunters were on. It had been a couple hours and I had yet to hear any gunshots when suddenly there was a burst of a couple semi automatic shots. I could tell they were close but I could not see them or determine which direction they were shooting. There were no birds around me and I did not see any drop or splash. I made another cast or two and heard another burst of a few rounds go off. Suddenly, I was getting hit with shotgun pellets and pellets were raining down all around me. After making sure I wasn't hurt, I quickly put down my rod and started paddling away. Then a hunter yelled out and asked me to move. I was not trying to be in their way and I had no idea if I was in their way or not. I was very visible in my orange vest and using my visicarbon pro. I was very mad. They shot at me before they told me to move. It would've been ok if they asked me to move first, but the fact they were shooting at me BEFORE telling me to move really made me angry. I knew that time they were not targeting birds, they were trying to shoot close to me to warn me. I could have been hurt or been startled and fallen overboard. My dad had a similar experience while fishing with my grandfather several years ago in that same area. I didn't say anything, I just grabbed my paddle and sprinted up river.
Anyway, back to fishing...
The sun was starting to go down and I had yet to have a bite. It was prime time for top water. Before I left to go out, my dad encouraged me to toss a chug bug. I had one and decided to tie it on. I had high hopes since I started seeing a couple fish break the surface. After a couple casts, a smallmouth blew up the chug bug. Then I caught my first top water rockfish! It was schoolie size, but still very fun to catch on top water. Then I caught a couple more smallmouths before it was getting dark. I was out on the water for about 4 hours, and all the fish were caught within the last hour. The top water bite was hot and it made me want to stay out there all night, but it was time to head in.
20151010_174033.jpgvlcsnap-2015-10-10-22h10m04s441.jpgvlcsnap-2015-10-10-22h16m51s308.jpgvlcsnap-2015-10-10-22h36m39s419.jpg
Comment