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A fishing buddy of mine invited me to fish along side him on his decked out creek boat.
He’s installed a transom mount Minn Kota Endura 55 lb thrust trolling motor on the starboard bow, rubber mats along the floor, a casting deck on the bow, a panel to contain the wiring and fitted with cup holders and a fish finder mount, along with a Garmin Striker 4 GPS FF. To top it all off, the outboard motor is a Suzuki 20 HP. It was a pleasure to fish out of, as well as a nice change of pace for this kayak angler.
Now for the fishing report.
We were between exploring new waters (new to us) in the Paxtuxent or to probe a Patapsco tributary for pickerel. We ultimately decided to stay local and fish the Patapsco trib.
We launched at 12 pm to fishing the incoming tide with the peak high being around 4:30 pm. Winds were ESE 7-10 mph, with the air temp rising between 46 and 50 degrees. The water temp was frigid, 36-37 degrees in most places. Due to the large difference between the air and water temp, we did our best to return the fish back to the water as quickly as possible after a quick measurement. We did not take any pictures.
My buddy was throwing a Daredevile red and white spoon and I was chucking live minnows tipped on a white road runner jighead. We targeted in between docks and focused on where the depth dropped from 3-4 feet down to 5-7 feet. Half of the creek was still covered with skim ice, so we narrowed down the areas to fish by looking for ice free and flat water spots to avoid the wind pushing us around.
I hooked and landed the first fish around 12:20. It was a solid 21” pickerel who gave a good fight on my light power rod. 12 docks later, I brought another 20”+ pickerel to the boat. 5 minutes later, we fished a small stretch of shoreline that featured 3, well spaced out docks and a drop off from 3 feet down to 8 feet. As he was reeling in his spoon for another cast, a large pickerel followed his offering before descending back down. A few casts later, I felt weight on my line and made a mediocre hook set. A few seconds later and the fish was no longer on. We made multiple casts until finally I got that solid tap and made an ever more solid hook set. The fight was on and a few minutes later it was in the net, a fat and feisty 23” pickerel, the largest of the day.
We worked the area for a little longer in hopes that there was another one around. After 10 minutes, we moved on to a cove where we struggled against the wind, but managed to hook into 5 pickerel, 3 for me and 2 for my friend. He landed a pair of hammer handles to avoid the skunk, whereas I had 2 hammer handles and one 22” pick.
Around 3 pm, we moved on the find better protection from the wind, and fished 2 coves where the bite was pretty much non-exsistent. I managed to hook one last fish and had a hammer handle follow my offering, but that was it. We fished until sundown and not another bite.
We returned to the launch in awe of the gorgeous sunset, with the colors of lavender, pink, and gold reflecting off of the water.
Given those conditions, the bite occurred in a small window time frame, and the fish were relatively spread out.
But all in all, it was a fun time with good company.
He’s installed a transom mount Minn Kota Endura 55 lb thrust trolling motor on the starboard bow, rubber mats along the floor, a casting deck on the bow, a panel to contain the wiring and fitted with cup holders and a fish finder mount, along with a Garmin Striker 4 GPS FF. To top it all off, the outboard motor is a Suzuki 20 HP. It was a pleasure to fish out of, as well as a nice change of pace for this kayak angler.
Now for the fishing report.
We were between exploring new waters (new to us) in the Paxtuxent or to probe a Patapsco tributary for pickerel. We ultimately decided to stay local and fish the Patapsco trib.
We launched at 12 pm to fishing the incoming tide with the peak high being around 4:30 pm. Winds were ESE 7-10 mph, with the air temp rising between 46 and 50 degrees. The water temp was frigid, 36-37 degrees in most places. Due to the large difference between the air and water temp, we did our best to return the fish back to the water as quickly as possible after a quick measurement. We did not take any pictures.
My buddy was throwing a Daredevile red and white spoon and I was chucking live minnows tipped on a white road runner jighead. We targeted in between docks and focused on where the depth dropped from 3-4 feet down to 5-7 feet. Half of the creek was still covered with skim ice, so we narrowed down the areas to fish by looking for ice free and flat water spots to avoid the wind pushing us around.
I hooked and landed the first fish around 12:20. It was a solid 21” pickerel who gave a good fight on my light power rod. 12 docks later, I brought another 20”+ pickerel to the boat. 5 minutes later, we fished a small stretch of shoreline that featured 3, well spaced out docks and a drop off from 3 feet down to 8 feet. As he was reeling in his spoon for another cast, a large pickerel followed his offering before descending back down. A few casts later, I felt weight on my line and made a mediocre hook set. A few seconds later and the fish was no longer on. We made multiple casts until finally I got that solid tap and made an ever more solid hook set. The fight was on and a few minutes later it was in the net, a fat and feisty 23” pickerel, the largest of the day.
We worked the area for a little longer in hopes that there was another one around. After 10 minutes, we moved on to a cove where we struggled against the wind, but managed to hook into 5 pickerel, 3 for me and 2 for my friend. He landed a pair of hammer handles to avoid the skunk, whereas I had 2 hammer handles and one 22” pick.
Around 3 pm, we moved on the find better protection from the wind, and fished 2 coves where the bite was pretty much non-exsistent. I managed to hook one last fish and had a hammer handle follow my offering, but that was it. We fished until sundown and not another bite.
We returned to the launch in awe of the gorgeous sunset, with the colors of lavender, pink, and gold reflecting off of the water.
Given those conditions, the bite occurred in a small window time frame, and the fish were relatively spread out.
But all in all, it was a fun time with good company.
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