One of those days... Thoughts?

[cryptotek]

Hey gents,

I fished the Magothy River today, right near the mouth. Launched from a private community beach.

In any case, a minute after I launched my fish finder was full of potential customers. In some instances, the screen was so full it was like the fish were laying on top of one another. My lures had to have hit them in the face. I've never marked so many fish in my life.

I trolled 4 inch shad, 5 inch shad, crankbaits, bucktails... pretty much everything I had with me.

I GOT SKUNKED!

It was disheartening because it was a beautiful day and loads of fish in the area. I usually catch a few if they're present. Any thoughts on this? The water did look a bit brown today so hopefully I can use visibility as an excuse. Anyone know where I could check turbidity measurements for the Magothy?

Thanks,
Steve

[Cowpokey]

Are there shad in that area? If so, probably too big of a bait for them to go after. For shad, I like small jigs or Rooster Tails.

[cryptotek]

Hmmm, I'm not sure. These were some awfully big marks. I would be surprised.

Thanks though, I will look into that.

R/
Steve

[J.A. Veil]

Are you sure those were large fish, or is it possible that the sensitivity on your FF is set too high? I had the opposite problem until yesterday -- mine was set too low and I missed a lot of fish marks and bait schools.

[cryptotek]

John,

I suppose that's possible, but I haven't changed the sensitivity and I've been marking fish and catching them at other locations, mostly Beverly Triton. I will check my settings next time out, thanks. I was also marking bait schools today...

R/
Steve

[cryptotek]

Just read a bit more about the Magothy and how poor the health is there. Latest grade was D. Poor water clarity, etc.

[Mark]

Steve,

I saw the same pattern last week in the Severn.

Sometimes it looked like an orange mushroom cloud on the screen.

Often shortly after passing the cloud, I would get vibrations on my rods but no hookups.

I can only think they were schools baitfish and my lures were bumping into them.

Fortunately I also caught some nice stripers that day. So I wasn't frustrated by the many promising marks on my screen that indicated I should have caught even more.

[cryptotek]

Mark,

Thanks for the input. It sure was frustrating; four hours worth, lol. It's always good to be outside though.

[FishMafiaTime]

I fished tolly and the tp light house and same thing . Got skunk as I was marking went though the whole tackle box I'm chalking it up to poor visibility just gonna brush it off and hope for a better day tomorrow

[sparky1423]

There is a member that fishes the Magothy...."MagothyMan" hehe. He uses a rattletrap in most of his reports

[mweber02]

I ran into the same problem on the Susky Flats yesterday morning. I marked a ton of fish near the bottom. I know I had my lure depth dialed in because when the bottom came up just 1' I started bumping it. I definitely cant blame the turbitity, it was down to 6 yesterday. I had maybe 3-4 short strikes but nothing to keep the rod bent long enough for a hook set.

There were at least 4 other Snaggedliners out on the flats while I was there. I met John at the ramp but didnt stop trolling to talk to anyone else. Did you guys have any better luck?

[cryptotek]

Mike,

Where do you get your turbidity measurements?

[reel-em-in]

The Susquehanna measurements are found here. There is a smart phone app too if you have one. http://buoybay.noaa.gov/locations/susquehanna

[Yak Fish]

Many times folks mistake other fish for stripers...especially the school sized ones since a lot of fish are of that size. They could be catfish or another baitfish like shad or herring that are running right now.
Although this time of year the schoolies can really stack up and the right bait will make all the difference. For fish in the 20" and under range the Rapala CD-9 is a crazy good bait. I also like the xrd-10. Both will catch fish like there's no tomorrow. They have a certain "sizzle" that really drives the fish mad. They are also just a little smaller than the lures I'd normally use this time of year, which seems to make all the difference.

If they aren't biting, go smaller.

[cryptotek]

Alan, thanks for tips. These were some pretty serious marks. I'll get 'em next time. =)