2024 Has Been A Bust

[DanMarino]

My 2024 fishing has been a bust this year. When I've gone fishing, I've mostly done poorly. Absolutely zero big fish for me and usually a struggle to catch things. I'm guessing part of that is my choice to use a Tenkara fly rod, but on the whole it just seems like there are fewer fish around and the rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes I've been fishing have shown a decline in aquatic life forms. Is it just me? Are the rest of you guys catching plenty of fish locally?

[dsaavedra]

Not freshwater but I've noticed a significant decline in the number of stripers I've caught this year compared to previous years. In past years I've been able to locate schools of fish that stuck around long enough for me to get several trips of consistently good catching. This year I have had a good catching day here or there, but not been able to locate a consistent bite at all. My striper totals for this year are less than 1/3 of what they have been for the past 2 years.

[ski357]

I have to agree about the striper. Definitely a decline in catch, compared to previous years. I noticed a drop, though no where near as significant, in white perch too. The uptick in slot redfish, with a smathering of speckled trout, helped fill the gap for us folks down on the lower Potomac.

[DanMarino]

Thanks for the updates guys. Good to hear it isn't just me and my declining fishing skills. haha. I think I need to abandon my Tenkara rod and learn to catch carp.

[dsaavedra]

I have to agree about the striper. Definitely a decline in catch, compared to previous years. I noticed a drop, though no where near as significant, in white perch too. The uptick in slot redfish, with a smathering of speckled trout, helped fill the gap for us folks down on the lower Potomac.

Yes, the abundance of red drum has been a welcome substitute. While slightly smaller reds were more common up my way, I caught multiple slot redfish as far north as Annapolis (and heard of them being caught even further north). In 2024 my redfish catch totals were 8x that of my 3-year average.

[DanMarino]

Increased salinity?

[nhunter344]

I havent done the research to back it up, but I would assume increased temps are also playing a role. Maybe not so much the summer temp increases (I mean, they thrive in the bathwater temps of the gulf coast); but more so the lack of colder water during the winter months.

[HeaveToo]

An okay year for me. First skinny water reds in the eastern shore, good snakehead fishing at the beginning of summer, best 5 bass in one day.

[Mark]

Tom and all,

Thanks for posting fishing-related summaries. There have been far too few fishing reportxs on this forum this year.

As much as I enjoy fly fishing, I believe Tenkara has its limitations. A Tenkara rod simply does not have the ability to reach as many fish as a long line fly rod. That said, I strongly believe everyone should catch fish the way they want to catch fish. Also, I believe that fishing success should not be measured solely by the number of fish we catch.

That said, I characterize the spring and summer of 2024 as a troubling one for me in local tidal waters. Something is amiss with our traditional target species. But my 2024 is not done. I enjoy pickerel fishing. This is the time of year when I target them on the fly. I will continue to do so throughout the winter until next spring. Results so far both in tidal waters and Eastern Shore ponds have been promising. I think it’s going to be a good pickerel season.

During the warmer months of the year, several Eastern Shore ponds in MD and DE proved to be my favorite fishing destinations. They offered respectable catches of bass, countless bluegills (literally countless, I don’t record my catch numbers) and even a few 11 to 12-inch redear sunfish, which I really enjoy hooking. A fat readear will tow your kayak.

I extended my pond visits into July this year until the surface scum and string algae got so thick, I could not fish these waters with a fly rod. I fly fish exclusively in the ponds. It’s my preferred way to catch fish so I leave my conventional gear home when I head across the bridge.

In my local tidal waters here in Anne Arundel County, I chased white perch from my kayak throughout the summer and early fall. I use a spinning rod as a search tool on these outings. I cast a small spinner or Mr. Twister on a jig until I find white perch. Then I switch to casting streamers on a fly rod.

But like 2023 when I noticed a decline in white perch, I caught even fewer of them this year. They were not present in the same numbers in the creeks of the Patapsco, Magothy and Severn where I had reliably caught them in past years.

Although MD records YOY numbers for white perch, they do not receive the same public interest as the striper YOY stats. But if you’ll check, you’ll see white perch YOY numbers also have been declining annually.

Another telling sign is that I used to routinely catch juvenile stripers when I fished for white perch. This year, I caught only three young stripers while perch fishing. (It’s easy to keep count when my catches are so few.) My only solace in that sorry outcome is that each little striper a hit a fly. Even a 12 inch striper puts up a respectable fight on a 4-wt. fly rod.

Speaking of stripers, I intentionally did not target them this year. That’s one reason I visited the ponds so often in 2024. Bluegills and bass are plentiful and willing. I think it’s clear our striper population is in trouble. So, I decided to avoid them. Now, I’m thinking I might also limit my fishing for white perch in 2025 until their populations rebound. Clearly, times are changing for our traditional fishing here in the mid- Bay region.

Fortunately, travel gives us alternatives. In 2024 I made three fishing trips. None were kayak trips.

In March I went to Sarasota, FL with a good friend who booked two days for us with a tidal fly fishing guide. High winds and unseasonably cool temperatures hindered our fishing. But we each caught some small specks and I hooked a gag grouper on the fly. My frustration on that trip was that we saw redfish, but we could not reach them with our casts in the gusting winds.

In May I returned to FL to the Everglades for two days with another friend and a fly fishing guide. We had done the same trip in 2023. This year the bite was a quantum leap better. It was nonstop action for two days – very hot days as it turned out. My buddy and I estimated that we combined to boat somewhere between 130 to 140 fish in two 6-hour sessions. It’s rare that I get tired of catching fish. But I did on that trip. I spent a lot of time just resting and enjoying the scenery and wildlife in the amazing Everglades environment. We used topwater flies and streamers to catch peacock bass, largemouth bass, gars, sunfish and a variety of invasive cichlids.

In June I spent a week in northeast Ontario at a terrific lodge with yet another friend. The accommodations, food, and boats supplied by the lodge were terrific. My friend and I fly fished in several pristine lakes. We didn’t need a guide. The fish were numerous and agreeable. We caught many chunky smallmouth bass 15 to 19 inches long, small to medium sized northern pike, yellow perch and sunfish, all on topwater flies and streamers. I was facinated by the remoteness of the Canadian wilderness. Other than our lodge, we saw no signs of human habitation – no piers, no waterfront houses. Just miles of natural shoreline. Rocky points, aquatic vegetation and trees felled by beavers in the shallows provided plenty of structure to target with our casts. It was a wonderful trip.

Last weekend I was supposed to round out the year by sight fishing for redfish on the TX coast with a guide. However, Hurricane Rafael churning the Gulf had other ideas. My trip was canceled on the day I was supposed to fly out. Now I have a Southwest Airlines credit. I will put it to good use next year.

So, it’s back to chasing chain pickerels in my kayak locally for the rest of the year. There are worse ways to end the year.

[Pamlico]

My fishing season this year was unusual. Spring came early and I ended going surf fishing at Chincoteague/AI in early April and Va. Beach on my kayak in late April. Both trips were busts. I returned to Chincoteague in mid-May to have one of the most successful surf trips I'd had in a decade. Aside from the two nice black drum that I was actually targeting, I caught 8 big stripers in under 24 hours, the largest of which were 42" and 45". Couldn't keep them, but still. Getting into early summer, Point Lookout was a bust. And throughout the summer, multiple trips to Va. Beach to target sheepshead and spanish and other species came up blank. And I really put my time in. But the lower Potomac was fantastic all summer. I scored on drum and specs on almost every trip, and usually picked up a slot striper as well.

With a warm fall I kept the kayak out longer than normal. A late October trip to Chincoteague only resulted in a single tog, and several surf trips to Va. Beach only resulted in dink specs. My last kayak trip was to Virginia beach in early November. Other than a fin-rotted drum I caught and released under the Lesner, it looked to be a total bust until I was trolling a Mirrolure and soft plastic up inside Lynnhaven Inlet between grass islands. I took a pee break in about a foot of water while my kayak slowly drifted in the wind. My little microlite trout rod with a Mirrolure and 10# braid went nuts and I brought up, of all things, a nice-sized sheepshead. So I guess they will eat lures if hungry enough? And on the same rod/lure I decided to do one last pass before coming home when the fattest bluefish I have ever seen struck. I fought that thing for 10 minutes before I finally got him in. It was a fun fight to cap off the year.

The one thing I didn't bother with this year was going to the Banks. I have had it with North Carolina. That fishery has been in decline for years, and the state has decided to treat recs like trash. From directing fishing license fees to the general fund to banning mullet netting in the fall to banning flounder fishing while the comms pound the fish into oblivion, that was it for me.

Who is to say what future years will look like, but the Potomac has a gem of a fishery going. It's a little tougher to figure out than other places I normally go, and the species are more limited, but I appreciate that it's close to home and is fairly consistent.

[Mark]

Pamlico,

Thanks for your report.

Sorry to read your assessment of NC fishing. I have an option to visit the border area of NC and SC next May for redfish. I've never fished tidal water there. I hope it's better than you reported.

[Pamlico]

Pamlico,

Thanks for your report.

Sorry to read your assessment of NC fishing. I have an option to visit the border area of NC and SC next May for redfish. I've never fished tidal water there. I hope it's better than you reported.

Don't let it put you off. NC has lost its mind around fisheries management, but that doesn't mean there aren't fish to be caught. Given the area you'll be fishing you should catch up on EliasV's Youtube channel. It's a master class in fishing the area around Wilmington, if that's where you're headed.