Species Calendar v1

[boque]

I've been kayak fishing for nearly two years but I've never posted before, mostly because a lot of my trips have been lackluster. Still, I've read other members' posts - and books, with a lot of interest and I've had a lot of fun being out on the water. I feel like a lot of my time has been spent trying to understand how the bay works. Things like high/low oxygen layers and salinity gradients were new to me. My latest "project" has been to try to put-together this fish availability calendar. I'm working on it because I often find that I don't anticipate when different species of fish become common and instead of preparing ahead of time, I end-up surprised and try to prepare too much too quickly.

Maybe this has already been done. If so, I'd appreciate being pointed to it. If not though, I'll offer this draft and I'd like to get input from others so I can improve it. I drew on a lot of sources but I'm sure it needs work. I'd be happy to post a final version once I've made needed corrections so it could help others.

I had to make a few assumptions as I put it together. The main one is that it would be for a kayak angler fishing either the middle bay, or occasionally the area around the CBBT so the availability of a species may be for the sum of both places. Also, I tried to plot times when a species was most likely to be available (XX) or somewhat available (x).



C.J.

Tarpon 14


calendar.jpg

[Mark]

C.J.

Thank you for posting. Your approach is interesting and has merit.

I don't often fish in the southern portions of the Chesapeake so my common species list is much shorter. However, when I've made presentations for kayak fishing in creeks and ponds here in the Mid-Bay area to various groups, I've discussed a seasonal approach. I simply divide the year into winter, spring, summer and fall:

Screenshot 2021-02-05 083003.jpg

Some fish, like LM bass and pickerel are actually available all year. But I target them with different approaches based on the time of year. Also, a seasonal approach takes away the vagaries of the weather. A cold spring may delay the arrival of some fish, while a warm one may hasten it. But, white perch will always show up in our tidal creeks each spring, be it late late or early in that season.

As to your mention of trying to understand how the Chesapeake works, that indeed is critical. Knowing the actual parameters of water quality and habitat prior to an outing will help you find fish. The MD DNR has an excellent tool online to help you do this. It's called "Click Before You Cast".

You can find it here: http://eyesonthebay.dnr.maryland.gov...BeforeCast.cfm

Just two nights ago, the author of that site gave an excellent Zoom presentation to the Free State Fly Fishers. He showed us how to use it. The site contains a wealth of information about the current conditions of the Chesapeake Bay through its entire watershed.

If you haven't already seen it, you may want to visit it.

You're off to a great start, C.J. Learning why, when, and where fish appear in the Chesapeake throughout the year will go far to improving your successes on the water.

Welcome to the forum.

[J.A. Veil]

Your concept of tracking where and when species are available is very ambitious. I think many of us who have fished in the Chesapeake region for more than a few years have an informal table like that in our heads. I have not seen a written table before. I think your primary challenge is to look at a particular sector (you said mid Bay and occasionally near CBBT). Those are still really large areas. Some anglers will follow the migration of species from full salinity at CBBT, to partial salinity in mid-Bay, to lower salinity in the tidal rivers, to minimal salinity near the Susquehanna Flats.

I fish mostly in the Severn River and the waters around Kent Island throughout the year. Some of the species on your list rarely, if ever, get into these waters. The species that I target most often are:

- stripers - April to Dec
- white perch - I fish for them in the shallows from May to Oct
- pickerel - in most years, Sept to March; in 2020, they were around all summer


I do make a few seasonal trips each spring for species like yellow perch and shad. When my local fishing seems poor in the late winter, I travel to eastern shore ponds to catch largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegills. But those are short-term pursuits.

I do not target snakehead, catfish, or bluefish. I often get a few each year, but they are caught more by accident rather than by specific targeting.

If I do want to catch species that favor more saline waters (redfish, specks, flounder), I drive either to southern MD or to the lower Eastern shore for day trips. Since those are not frequent, I usually rely on intel from other kayak anglers as to when those species are around.

[DanMarino]

Mark, your "Green Pond Scum" made me laugh.

[DanMarino]

Boque, I like your chart. It seems helpful.

[Mark]

Mark, your "Green Pond Scum" made me laugh.

Sad, but true.

Usually the ponds are flushed out nicely after late summer rains.

[Jman]

C.J.

there's a biologist in VB who created a similar document (available here: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/re...-balls-website). It includes some additional descriptive information (e.g., where to catch them, state records, and etc.).

A decent number of those species on your document can be caught year round if you know where to look in the area and the conditions are right.

[thedutchtouch]

Threads like this make me think perhaps my plans for Saturday are pointless but... I'm itching to get out on the water anyway.

[mjkeith13]

Threads like this make me think perhaps my plans for Saturday are pointless but... I'm itching to get out on the water anyway.

Blue catfish will be there this time of year at Mattawoman creek. Maybe not as prolific as April but I've caught them there in Feb before. I wanted to join you tomorrow but need to stay home with a sick pup. Best of luck tomorrow!!

C.J. - thank you for the great chart and your initiative!!

[boque]

Thank you everyone for your input.

Mark, I think you've got a nice succinct way to present a lot of the seasonal variation I was trying to capture. I think my version of the chart may still be too complicated to be useful. Also, you you hit on one of the other things about the bay I have trouble coming to terms with. Why are there bigger striped bass in the tidal creeks in the fall? I grew-up thinking of striped bass as a saltwater species that were caught in inlets or the surf. I have trouble making the switch to thinking of them almost as a freshwater fish - but I suspect it would help me if I did.

Thanks for posting this seasonal list John. I think you're right that I may be trying to cover too much area - and likely too many species. I've still not settled on a "home" body of water. The main ones I've tried so far are the Patuxent near Jug Bay for freshwater species and on the saltier side I've tried: the Bay Bridge, Wye River, Kent Island, Chesapeake Beach (big mistake there - aggressive charter captain detoured to run over my lines and nearly tipped me over), and Solomon's. This summer I was thinking of trying the CBBT or out by Chincoteague Island. I think I'll feel a lot more comfortable in saltier water. Along with a more stable set/schedule of fish to target, I'd like to settle on a set of places I routinely fish from.

Danmarino - Thanks!

Jman - I used that document as one of my sources! I also found similar postings on some charter boat home pages. For the rest I used books, magazines, and journal articles. I was a bit aware that some of those species are around more, but I am biased against some (catfish) and unsure about many others. So far my luck with finding fish that are supposed to be in season has been moderate at best. I didn't want to guess too much about others that are harder to find.

Mjkeith13 and thedutchtouch, thanks and you might also try the Jug Bay area, especially if you launch from Jackson's landing. Just paddle to the left and you're in a nice channel with a lot of small feeder creeks. If you go a bit further to where the Mt. Calvert Historical Park is, there's a point where a small creek enters the area that is teeming with catfish, at least in the summer when I'm trying to catch something (anything) else. The only thing to watch-out for is that the current is very strong in this area because the river narrows there substantially. I've also had luck in the Potomac in February when I launch from either the Washington Sailing Marina or Columbia Island Marina. There are channels just outside both that are productive.

C.J.

[Mark]

C.J.

The stripers are merely following food. That's why they come into the creeks. Also, as Chesapeake waters cool in the fall, stripers move accordingly to where they are comfortable physically. They can tolerate, even thrive in freshwater. But they do not like excessively warm water. Also, as the days get shorter, along with cooling waters, they know it's time to fatten up up for the winter.

At the same time the above is happening, menhaden, a favorite striper food, are schooling up to leave their nursery waters in the Chesapeake's rivers and creeks. They are heading to the ocean.

It's a perfect combination designed by nature. Stripers heading inshore while their food is heading out. They meet in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake's rivers and creeks where a lot of carnage takes place. It's not unusual to catch a striper in the fall that is so engorged with menhaden, it spits up a whole menhaden or bits of pieces of them as you remove the hook from its mouth. The stripers get so fat that some look like footballs. The same fish caught in the summer would have a much trimmer profile.

[thedutchtouch]

Thank you everyone for your input.

Mark, I think you've got a nice succinct way to present a lot of the seasonal variation I was trying to capture. I think my version of the chart may still be too complicated to be useful. Also, you you hit on one of the other things about the bay I have trouble coming to terms with. Why are there bigger striped bass in the tidal creeks in the fall? I grew-up thinking of striped bass as a saltwater species that were caught in inlets or the surf. I have trouble making the switch to thinking of them almost as a freshwater fish - but I suspect it would help me if I did.

Thanks for posting this seasonal list John. I think you're right that I may be trying to cover too much area - and likely too many species. I've still not settled on a "home" body of water. The main ones I've tried so far are the Patuxent near Jug Bay for freshwater species and on the saltier side I've tried: the Bay Bridge, Wye River, Kent Island, Chesapeake Beach (big mistake there - aggressive charter captain detoured to run over my lines and nearly tipped me over), and Solomon's. This summer I was thinking of trying the CBBT or out by Chincoteague Island. I think I'll feel a lot more comfortable in saltier water. Along with a more stable set/schedule of fish to target, I'd like to settle on a set of places I routinely fish from.

Danmarino - Thanks!

Jman - I used that document as one of my sources! I also found similar postings on some charter boat home pages. For the rest I used books, magazines, and journal articles. I was a bit aware that some of those species are around more, but I am biased against some (catfish) and unsure about many others. So far my luck with finding fish that are supposed to be in season has been moderate at best. I didn't want to guess too much about others that are harder to find.

Mjkeith13 and thedutchtouch, thanks and you might also try the Jug Bay area, especially if you launch from Jackson's landing. Just paddle to the left and you're in a nice channel with a lot of small feeder creeks. If you go a bit further to where the Mt. Calvert Historical Park is, there's a point where a small creek enters the area that is teeming with catfish, at least in the summer when I'm trying to catch something (anything) else. The only thing to watch-out for is that the current is very strong in this area because the river narrows there substantially. I've also had luck in the Potomac in February when I launch from either the Washington Sailing Marina or Columbia Island Marina. There are channels just outside both that are productive.

C.J.

thanks for the feedback, exploring that area is definitely on my list for this season, perhaps stating tomorrow... i'll probably decide when i wake up unless someone else if going out and wants someone to shout across the water at.

[boque]

Thanks Mark. That's a great summary narrative and it makes a lot of sense.