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I have had out of town travel during the past three weeks that curtailed my usual frequency of local fishing. I launched from the Ellen O. Moyer water park ramp into Back Creek about 9:20 this morning. I trolled 4 lines from my kayak this morning near the mouth of the Severn. Shortly after exiting the creek, I caught a 19" striper and later caught several smaller ones on that side of the river. I had a series of difficulties with sailboaters heading out the river failing to alter course. My understanding of the USCG rules is that the vessel approaching from the right has the right of way. These guys paid no attention to that rule and held their course. I had to alter my course (while dragging 4 lines) to avoid collisions. Even after I had altered course, one bozo turned back toward me and nearly ran right across my stern. I yelled at him that I had lines out behind me. Fortunately none of the lines got snagged. There seemed to be no end to the sailboats on the Annapolis side, so I pedaled across to the northern shoreline and continued trolling. I caught my largest of the day (21.5") in 20 ft depth and had several more smaller fish. I continued out past Greenbury Pt and up into Whitehall Bay to get in the wind shadow. There were birds sitting on the water but no stripers were biting.
The wind built steadily throughout the morning. It was not much fun coming back across the river in late morning with steady 2 footers slamming me on the starboard quarter. In addition, I faced numerous large wakes from huge boats motoring by. With 4" of freeboard, I took several waves into the cockpit, including one that drenched my pants and underwear with 5 gallons. The water was 67-69 deg today, so the drenching was not as bad as it could have been. The Slayer Propel 13 has large diameter scuppers that drained the water quickly.
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My Native Slayer Propel 13 handled the waves well -- I actually trolled 4 lines the whole way back across in those waves and caught two of my fish during that time. The hot lure was a 3/4" jighead with a smoke colored 4" twister tail. It accounted for 6 of the 7 fish I caught.
My luckiest moment came as I took the kayak out of the water. The Ellen O. Moyer park has a plastic coated ramp attached to the dock. I pulled up next to the dock and got out. I tied a rope to the bow and pulled the kayak around a piling to orient it for removal. I slid the kayak up the ramp and onto the deck surface. I had 5 rods with me today. As I unloaded, I counted only 4 rods. I had a sinking feeling that I had lost one while returning. After a quick look to the bottom of the ramp, I breathed a sigh of relief -- the rod had caught on a nail on the piling and was hanging vertically with the Stradic reel just out of the water.
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If the seas had been calmer, I could have spent more time working spots where I had hoped to concentrate. Mother Nature did not cooperate today.
The wind built steadily throughout the morning. It was not much fun coming back across the river in late morning with steady 2 footers slamming me on the starboard quarter. In addition, I faced numerous large wakes from huge boats motoring by. With 4" of freeboard, I took several waves into the cockpit, including one that drenched my pants and underwear with 5 gallons. The water was 67-69 deg today, so the drenching was not as bad as it could have been. The Slayer Propel 13 has large diameter scuppers that drained the water quickly.
001.jpg
My Native Slayer Propel 13 handled the waves well -- I actually trolled 4 lines the whole way back across in those waves and caught two of my fish during that time. The hot lure was a 3/4" jighead with a smoke colored 4" twister tail. It accounted for 6 of the 7 fish I caught.
My luckiest moment came as I took the kayak out of the water. The Ellen O. Moyer park has a plastic coated ramp attached to the dock. I pulled up next to the dock and got out. I tied a rope to the bow and pulled the kayak around a piling to orient it for removal. I slid the kayak up the ramp and onto the deck surface. I had 5 rods with me today. As I unloaded, I counted only 4 rods. I had a sinking feeling that I had lost one while returning. After a quick look to the bottom of the ramp, I breathed a sigh of relief -- the rod had caught on a nail on the piling and was hanging vertically with the Stradic reel just out of the water.
002.jpg
If the seas had been calmer, I could have spent more time working spots where I had hoped to concentrate. Mother Nature did not cooperate today.
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