Strange end to a strange year

[dsiekman]

So for once I can say that I'm actually glad the season is over. This was a miserable year fishing the upper Severn. Granted, I did not make it out much, but I think I only managed one keeper all year and probably a dozen or so white perch. The last two trips may have been the most bizarre of all.

I was out mid-late October on what should have been perfect tide/sunrise timing. I had intel that keeper fish were being caught just south of Round Bay in good numbers and also just north of the narrows - around Arden for those who are not familiar. I fished for probably five hours that day between those two points and only managed two shorts, the longest of which was about 16". I lost a few plastics to blues, but that was it. I marked a lot of fish but couldn't get any takers. I threw everything I had at them from trolling to top water. Nothing.

I was out for what will be my last trip of the season about two weeks ago. Again, based on the tide tables it should have been perfect. The water was dead flat and water temp was upper 50's. What was weird was that we had about 6' of visibility. Anyone who fishes the Severn knows how strange that is! As I was gliding along I could see the pretty featureless bottom and absolutely no life to speak of. Even the massive amount of bait from earlier in the year was gone. After three hours of fishing without so much as a nibble I gave up. I had my eyes glued to the fish finder and marked two fish the entire trip.

What is so strange about all of this is that there was SO much bait in the water throughout most of the year. That combined with the fact that two years ago I almost could not go out without bringing home a nice sized keeper fish. Morning, evening, lousy tide; it did not seem to matter. I have no idea what the ______ was going on, I'm just happy it is over and hoping for better luck next year. Hope you guys had better luck than i did!

[Fishinfool]

It is odd that one year the stripers are fairly plentiful up river, and the next year they're not. Perhaps there was so much baitfish and more crabs down river, the fish just had no need to chase bait that far up. Maybe they prefer a slightly higher salinity level?

You mentioned a featureless bottom in 6 feet of water; maybe the fish were more congregated around structure in deeper water on your last trip? Water temps dropped pretty quickly, and once they get into the fifties, most but not all fish head for warmer deeper water. Also, it seemed that for most of the season, any fish I caught in the Severn were either inside the creeks around structure, or trolling in the creek mouths where there's depth and current.

I wonder if the pickeral fishing is worth trying. If you have cold weather gear (I don't), it may be worth a shot.


In any event, I enjoyed our early July day in my old stomping grounds, and hope we can do it again. Steve

[Mark]

I think normal patterns were adversely impacted by our extremely cold winter and our prolonged cool spring.

The perch were definitely weeks late in arriving this year and I believe stripers were not as plentiful between the bridges in the Severn in 2014 as they were in 2013. However, striper action seemed to pick up at the mouth of the river as the year progressed. And there were plenty in other areas of the Bay.

Let's hope this current frigid spell is not a harbinger of the same fishing pattern for the Severn in 2015.

[Fishinfool]

Some stripers came in to Round Bay in May but left, this according to my friend Lou who I ran into near Linstead beach the day we fished.

My striper season didn't start until mid September and later, but not in the Severn, except one 17" trolling in the mouth of Chase Creek. I found a few in the Wye River, and Rhode. Incidentally, the crabbing really didn't pick up in the Severn either, so there's possible connection there with striper movements.

On a side note, I've given up on the yellow perch in the Severn. Their spawning habitat in the headwaters and in Severn Run is just too silted in from all the development over the last fifty years. You can thank all the good ol boy developers and builders in AA Co, particularly in the Severn, and Gambrills area, and the county's disregard for stormwater management enforcement for that.

We'll see what next season brings. All signs point to another cold winter coming. Here's hoping fish adaptation does not include seeking permanent habitat farther south.

[dsiekman]

I think what I found most unusual of all was the water clarity and the absolutely amazing amount of bait in the water earlier in the year. Even the birds were acting differently. Where I was used to seeing them over actively feeding fish, diving and circling, this year they just hung out on the surface and would grab a passing minnow from time to time. Seeing the water clarity and bait led me to believe that bigger fish would follow, but they never seemed to. Sure, there were a few here and there, and I marked a lot of fish, but nothing seemed interested in biting. Even the WP that are typically large and plentiful were smaller and further between. The really strange thing was that both north and south of my usual haunts seemed to still have at least some action. Not a lot by any means, but more than I was seeing.

[dsiekman]

You mentioned a featureless bottom in 6 feet of water; maybe the fish were more congregated around structure in deeper water on your last trip? Water temps dropped pretty quickly, and once they get into the fifties, most but not all fish head for warmer deeper water. Also, it seemed that for most of the season, any fish I caught in the Severn were either inside the creeks around structure, or trolling in the creek mouths where there's depth and current.

In any event, I enjoyed our early July day in my old stomping grounds, and hope we can do it again. Steve

Steve, it was great fishing with you, too! In regards to the location, I tried everything. Shallow, structure, channels, flats, etc. Nothing. Both fish I marked were at the mouth of Plum and Valentine.