Short notice pickerel outing - Weems Creek - Nov 26

[J.A. Veil]

Several Snaggedline members will be launching from the Tucker St ramp on Tues morning to target pickerel in Weems Creek or other nearby waters. We plan to fish for several hours, then meet for lunch buffet at the nearby Canton restaurant at 11:30. Others are welcome to join us. We will be communicating on VHF channel 68.

After some trial and error, I have a pretty good idea of the most productive shorelines for finding pickerel (and there are quite a few unproductive shorelines there too).

[moc]

Good luck guys, I wish I could join but work gets int the way.....send pictures

[DanMarino]

Paying the bills today and working for Uncle Sam. Please post photos of the Weems snakeheads from today's outing!
Wish I was with you guys.

[mchottie]

Same, just renewed my Clearance and working the 9-5, be sure to post pictures, even if they're from Canton Restaurant...

[J.A. Veil]

I have no pictures to post. Five of us launched between 8:00 to 8:30 and fished until 11:00. The guys who fished mostly with fly rods had a few fish but not too much action. Lures produced a few other fish. The two of us who fished with minnows caught most of the fish. Individual catch numbers ranged from 0 to 25 fish. Nearly all the fish were small pickerel (mostly 12"-14") but I measured one at 19.5" and had a larger one thrash around and break the loop knot to escape. Some fish were caught in less than 1' depth, others up to 4' depth. Two small rockfish and one 10" white perch rounded out the catch.

Two fishing things were readily apparent today:
1) live bait outfished lures and flies
2) The fish are not uniformly distributed around the shoreline of Weems Creek. Prior knowledge of where to look made a big difference in catch success. Conventional wisdom suggests that pickerel will bite better on the sunny side of a creek during cold weather. But given the actual distribution of the fish in Weems at the moment, this turned out to be wrong.

The weather was spectacular for late November, and the projected 8-10 mph winds did not materialize -- it was flat calm where I fished.


We all did a stellar job at the Canton restaurant Chinese food buffet ($7 for unlimited buffet, a bowl of soup, hot tea, and fortune cookie) after fishing. I joked that we were training for Thanksgiving dinner and had an obligation to stretch our bellies in preparation.

[J. Rentch]

I joined the group and decided to head across the Severn to creeks I haven’t fished in a while. Weather was great, flat water and a warming sun. I fished both fly and spinning lures with no luck. One of those days. I then headed back to the launch and hit one last spot. Had a nice Pickerel follow, but couldn’t entice it to bite. Then we headed to our favorite local spot, “The Canton”. Lunch buffet and great company for a bit more than $7.00. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

[Yak67]

Nice report guys, I was texting the usual suspects today chiding them for not being on the water Glad to hear the fishing was there and the "Canton" was even better.

Yak67

2017 Hobie PA-12 Camo (In Dry-Dock)
2019 Hobie Outback (In the Basement)

[moc]

Good job on the fishing. When John first showed me how to catch pickerels in the colder months many years ago, the same was true. The minnows/live bait out fished the lures. I wish I could of at least joined you at the Canton buffet. I never been there before.

[J. Rentch]

Moc,
We like it because it is only a couple blocks from the launch, the people are very nice to us, food is good and cheap. We always enjoy ourselves after a local,outing.

[Mark]

Sorry I missed this...especially the buffet!

Can't wait to get back in action.

Nice report John.

[Yakmac]

Sorry I missed you guys as well. It’s been a while since the whole OGWLTF crew has fished together. Lung at the Canton is always good, I’ve gone there a couple of times by myself after fishing Weems. The pickerel are on the smaller side in Weems but it’s good to see them back.

[J. Rentch]

Yea, but am soo glad they are back- winter fishing!!

[CarsonNash]

I've never caught a pickerel. Maybe I'll give it a go this weekend from shore in Brewers creek.

[J.A. Veil]

I've never caught a pickerel. Maybe I'll give it a go this weekend from shore in Brewers creek.

Carson - good luck. Keep moving around until you find the sections of shoreline where they are.