What if...

[john from md]

There was an abundance of blues back then and they were fun. Acres of breaking blues during the summer and monster blues in the shallows in the spring

You think they were good in the eighties, you should have seen them off the surf in the '60's before the Army installed all the jetties along the east coast.

[Oldbayrunner]

The last couple of years I traveled for me more southward for stripers. Last year was a big disappointment both in the fact there was so much rain and they were running so much crap through the dam the fishing all over was tough in our portion of the bay. If it is slow this year and they aren't running a ton of water I may spend more time going back to fishing for LM & SM bass and other species closer to home and elsewhere. After all there are more species in this great bay of ours and surrounding areas then stripers. I would love to see more abundance of bluefish, I like fishing those even better than stripers.

[belairfishing]

For me, it will mean one of several options:

First is getting back to fly fishing the Gunpower for wild trout - that's where I put in my hours learning how to fly fish.

Second is more warm water wade fishing for smallmouth and other species - small water streams and bigger rivers. Or kayaking for smallmouth on the Susquehanna below the dam, Just above and below Deer Creek.

Third is more sightseeing kayak trips with my wife - we enjoy spending the day together at new destinations, seeing nature, getting some exercise, and finishing the day with a cocktail and a meal.

And 2018 was my first year fishing for stripers from a kayak, so I have no preconceived notions of how good it "used to be." I just know that I have a lot to learn, and I am not concerned about putting in the hours. Small fish don't bother me - last year I didn't catch one over 19 and I was pleased with just doing some catching. As I get older, I become a more patient fisher. As long as I see a sign that there are fish there, I am happy to continue trying - a short strike on topwater, a subtle bump on a jig, etc. And the nice part about kayak fishing is we can cover a lot of water, right? And we always keep a perch rod with us anyway, don't we?

Steve

[CarsonNash]

This has been a question I’ve been pondering for the past couple months. I am about to make the leap and buy my first kayak dedicated to kayak fishing (Vibe yellowfin). I don’t have the ability to travel around to different fishing waters, but I do have direct access to the Severn River. I feel like now is a rather is a slow time to get into the sport. I’ve been fishing all my life so I am not put off by getting skunked but with the way last year was from the boat and shore, I am having a hard time spending the money on a yak to catch few to no fish.


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[Mark]

This has been a question I’ve been pondering for the past couple months. I am about to make the leap and buy my first kayak dedicated to kayaking (Vibe yellowfin). I don’t have the ability to travel around to different fishing waters, but I do have direct access to the Severn River. I feel like now is a rather is a slow time to get into the sport. I’ve been fishing all my life so I am not put off by getting skunked but with the way last year was from the boat and shore, I am having a hard time spending the money on a yak to catch few to no fish.
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The situation is not that dire nor did I mean to imply so by starting this thread. Last year's continuous cloudbursts put a damper on a lot of outdoor activities, especially fishing. Let's hope we return to normal rainfall this year and that will improve water quality and fishing.

However there is data to suggest that last year's woes were not entirely weather-driven. Surveys by fisheries scientists indicate the striper biomass has declined but not to the level it was in the 1980s. It rebounded then with judicious management and I have confidence that it will again.

Regarding the wisdom of investing in a kayak now, I would not hesitate for a second. The responses to this thread for the most part have mentioned plenty of enjoyable kayak fishing alternatives to stripers. Indeed with your direct access to the Severn, it would be darned near impossible to "catch a few or no fish" if you targeted white perch in season. To be honest, I find a summer morning on a Severn creek casting lures or flies for perch much more rewarding than chasing stripers in the river itself. Of course, I enjoy the pull of a legal striper as much as anyone, but I can get equal or greater joy catching and releasing 20 to 30 white perch during a Severn outing while looking for that elusive 13 incher.

And as others have mentioned, it's not just the fishing that attracts them to kayak angling, especially on the Severn which offers some of the most scenic water views anywhere on the Chesapeake Bay.

So I hope you'll buy that Vibe and get out on your home waters. The Severn is still an excellent place to fish even if large schools of stripers happen to take a temporary detour from entering the river at Greenbury Point as they have done in the past.

[CarsonNash]

The situation is not that dire nor did I mean to imply so by starting this thread. Last year's continuous cloudbursts put a damper on a lot of outdoor activities, especially fishing. Let's hope we return to normal rainfall this year and that will improve water quality and fishing.

However there is data to suggest that last year's woes were not entirely weather-driven. Surveys by fisheries scientists indicate the striper biomass has declined but not to the level it was in the 1980s. It rebounded then with judicious management and I have confidence that it will again.

Regarding the wisdom of investing in a kayak now, I would not hesitate for a second. The responses to this thread for the most part have mentioned plenty of enjoyable kayak fishing alternatives to stripers. Indeed with your direct access to the Severn, it would be darned near impossible to "catch a few or no fish" if you targeted white perch in season. To be honest, I find a summer morning on a Severn creek casting lures or flies for perch much more rewarding than chasing stripers in the river itself. Of course, I enjoy the pull of a legal striper as much as anyone, but I can get equal or greater joy catching and releasing 20 to 30 white perch during a Severn outing while looking for that elusive 13 incher.

And as others have mentioned, it's not just the fishing that attracts them to kayak angling, especially on the Severn which offers some of the most scenic water views anywhere on the Chesapeake Bay.

So I hope you'll buy that Vibe and get out on your home waters. The Severn is still an excellent place to fish even if large schools of stripers happen to take a temporary detour from entering the river at Greenbury Point as they have done in the past.

Thanks, Mark. I didn’t get my point across in my above message as well as I would have liked too, but you summed it up nicely. Let’s hope that the weather gods are in better moods this year. And you are entirely correct about fishing for perch. Thank you. Hopefully you will see me out there, because the Kayak is going to happen. Now I just need to decide if I buy from the factory or a local dealer.


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[ronaultmtd]

2017 was a pretty good year for me...caught and released a bunch of legal stripers...I really saw the year in spurts...the beginning was rough...too much rain, high turbidity, low salinity...but once the rains slacked up it got better...the biggest disappointment was the lack of redfish and the small speckled trout...fish stocks are always up and down...the lack of comprehensive migratory fishery regulation region-wide is a real cluster...and works against fish sustainability...as others have said...other species fill in the voids...the main thing is being time on the water, getting familiar with the structure and tidal flows...

[nhunter344]

I just read the Virginia is considering canceling its spring trophy season. Maryland says whatever, we're keeping things how they are.

I think the inability of state governments to coordinate their conservation efforts is just as much to blame for declining populations as anything else.

[moc]

For me, I like kayaking for the exercise, the scenic views, and the peace that you get when you are on the water in your kayak, and sometimes the comradery that you can get when fishing with others. I also like to bring home dinner for the wife. We both eat our fair share of seafood. As for restrictions on stripers, I have no problem with that, especially if it will help them. Besides, there are a lot more tastier fish than rockfish. Actually, I fine a perch, blue cat, trout, flounder, tog, or snakehead, tastier than a rockfish.

I probably will not keep that many rockfish this year. I plan to land my first snakehead, fish for jumbo perch and trout. I will be making several trips down to Virginia in the spring and fall. And of course I will continue to go after and catch those tasty crustaceans....the blue crab.