M&G Oct 8, ft. Smallwood

[tech11165]

Trolling 1/2 oz paddle tail, top water in some areas

What areas at ft Smallwood are good for top water. I've gone a couple of times for top water and struck out.

[FISHSOHARD]

I had a blast. I didn't get to meet everyone but the few that I did talk to were great. I hope to go to the next meet & greet.

[ronaultmtd]

What areas at ft Smallwood are good for top water. I've gone a couple of times for top water and struck out.

Conditions dictate whether or not top water lures work- I have had my best success with top water when fish are schooled up and actively feeding- sometimes birds will be diving into the fray but often times not- look for splashes, ripples on the water- most of the times the current is running across bars and flats when top water lures are effective- it never hurts to try a few casts regardless and see if fish are "in the mood"- and if I use a walk the dog lure like a top dog or stick bait, I twitch, twitch, twitch...pause for two seconds the repeat the sequence- poppers are worked hard in rough water and fairly easily in calm waters- pop, pop, pop pause- repeat and when you get a strike don't strike too quickly or you will jerk the lure away from the fish...

[Mark]

What areas at ft Smallwood are good for top water. I've gone a couple of times for top water and struck out.

Ron has given you a good reply.

Breaking fish are almost a given to hit topwater lures. It's hard to not catch one on top when you see surface feeding activity.

But I would add that breaking fish for me typically yield smaller stripers on topwater. Most often the surface activity I encounter is from schoolies.

I catch larger stripers on top when I see no feeding activity.

I look for shorelines and riprap or bulkheads in 3 to 4 feet of water. I'll work a topwater plug or fly rod popper from the edge of the structure outward and/or parallel to the structure, usually within 5 to 6 feet of it. I do hook schoolies in these shallow areas but keeper stripers often swim with the schoolies in the shallows. The bigger fish are more apt to be close to the water's edge near these structures in lowlight. So try them on overcast days or at dawn and dusk.

So...at Ft. Smallwood, check out the riprap along the front shoreline. That can be difficult when shore anglers are lining that wall. But if you head north and tuck into the area near the new boat ramp you'll find similar structure in 3 to 4 feet of water without the presence of shoulder to shoulder anglers lining the shoreline.

You may also raise some stripers occasionally by the White Rocks, even though the water is 12 or more feet deep there. Cast toward and/or parallel to the rocks staying relatively close to them as I mentioned above.

Another good spot is the bulkhead and riprap that lines the far bank of the river north of the White Rocks.

In short, unless you see them breaking in deeper water, work the water's edges at Ft. Smallwood if you want topwater strikes.

Lastly, I believe a slower action rod tip is helpful for hooking up with topwater strikes. As Ron said, be deliberate in setting the hook. A softer rod tip is more forgiving if you're overly enthusiastic in your reaction to the strike.

Good luck,

[tech11165]

Thanks for the great info

Ron has given you a good reply.

Breaking fish are almost a given to hit topwater lures. It's hard to not catch one on top when you see surface feeding activity.

But I would add that breaking fish for me typically yield smaller stripers on topwater. Most often the surface activity I encounter is from schoolies.

I catch larger stripers on top when I see no feeding activity.

I look for shorelines and riprap or bulkheads in 3 to 4 feet of water. I'll work a topwater plug or fly rod popper from the edge of the structure outward and/or parallel to the structure, usually within 5 to 6 feet of it. I do hook schoolies in these shallow areas but keeper stripers often swim with the schoolies in the shallows. The bigger fish are more apt to be close to the water's edge near these structures in lowlight. So try them on overcast days or at dawn and dusk.

So...at Ft. Smallwood, check out the riprap along the front shoreline. That can be difficult when shore anglers are lining that wall. But if you head north and tuck into the area near the new boat ramp you'll find similar structure in 3 to 4 feet of water without the presence of shoulder to shoulder anglers lining the shoreline.

You may also raise some stripers occasionally by the White Rocks, even though the water is 12 or more feet deep there. Cast toward and/or parallel to the rocks staying relatively close to them as I mentioned above.

Another good spot is the bulkhead and riprap that lines the far bank of the river north of the White Rocks.

In short, unless you see them breaking in deeper water, work the water's edges at Ft. Smallwood if you want topwater strikes.

Lastly, I believe a slower action rod tip is helpful for hooking up with topwater strikes. As Ron said, be deliberate in setting the hook. A softer rod tip is more forgiving if you're overly enthusiastic in your reaction to the strike.

Good luck,

[tech11165]

Thanks for the great info

[jsnyd86]

Thanks Harry and Mark for hosting the M&G! I dont think I saw you (I launched late) but I had a great time.

I had probably one of my best days on the water, which isn't saying much since I get on the bay maybe a dozen times a year? But either way it was a blast. I had a milk route planned to rock shoal, white rock and into the rock creek channel. Hitting point and different depths along the way.

Well I caught a few schoolies pretty quick and before I even hit my first checkpoint I caught a keeper. Marked that spot and kept hitting it over and over. Then I saw working birds so I headed over and made the call. I wasn't getting any size near the birds so went back to my waypoint which wasn't too far away. By 10 I think I threw back 2 keepers and started culling for biggest fish. I got into a decent school of mostly all keepers and even doubled up on a 20 and 24". That was interesting and luckily I landed both.

I wanted to explore more of the area, so I guess it's bitter sweet that I only traveled a mile from launch. But I won't complain. The fish gods were good to me this time.

Pics or it didn't happen. Dinner tonight was striped bass poached is spicey soy sauce with a side of rice.

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[On the fly]

Seems everyone had a good time. Was a large group which was good. 18 of us met for lunch afterward at Fifer's.
I think Harland caught the biggest at 26.5 not far from launch in the shallows. And yes we made him show the picture.

[vhendrix]

Sent from my SM-N930V using Tapatalk

[vhendrix]

[jsnyd86]

Great pics!! I saw the sunrise behind the trees as I made my way to launch. It looked like the sky was in fire!!

[Rockchaser]

I had a great time yesterday. Only managed 1 keeper 25" also managed to not take picture of it. I caught many dinks 10 to 17" I was out on Friday and had about the same outcome plus one good size perch. I was able to get a photo yesterday of someone after they caught their first Rockfish. Sorry I didn't get his name. I will definely be back to fish here again.


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[Steve6902]

His name is Steve. He goes by Steve6902....Okay seriously that was my first Rock from my yak. That was my first Rock period. I had a great time and am very grateful to Harry and his words of wisdom. I really enjoyed hanging out with you guys and all of your advice was very appreciated. I have always river fished but this bay fishing from a kayak is awesome!!! Thanks for taking the picture Jim.

Now I just need to get a dry suit.

[Mark]

....Okay seriously that was my first Rock from my yak. That was my first Rock period.

The first of many.

Congratulations.

I'm glad you could join us.

[yakscientist]

Sorry I didn't get to talk to everybody, I ended up launching closer to John's (silasvirus) house, and fishing with him for most of the day. Didn't catch a ton of fish, maybe 10-15, never any consistency really, but that was probably due to me constantly being on the move. Was communicating with john through the radio, and everytime he would be catching fish, I would move to where he was (which was often far), and the fishing would slack off by the time I got there (again, that happens a lot). But, we did manage to find a nice spot at the edge of white rocks that was holding a fair amount of fish, and trolling over it produced 2 keepers, one 20.5" and one 22" back to back within 10 minutes. Caught a few smaller fish there as well. All of my fish were caught on zmans, the keepers were caught on a 1/2 jighead with 5" grass kicker paddletail. It was a good week for fishing for me, went out 3 times between last Saturday and this past Saturday, caught my limit each time. I prefer the area I fish in the Severn to this spot, though I think this spot has the potential to hold larger fish. Was hoping to get into the larger fish by trolling my 1oz spro bucktails with 6" paddletails in white and chartreuse, since they've only produced keeper sized fish in the Severn. But, alas, nothing hit them in this location. Regardless, I think I've made good progress in my trolling/kayak fishing abilities. I'm one of the only sit-inside kayak fishers I've seen, and I caught my first rockfish (from my own kayak) in July, so being able to limit out three times in a row in only a few months, I'm very happy with that. And more importantly, I'm really happy to just be out on the water in general, I truly love kayak fishing.