Goodhands Creek Outing -- Wednesday, 22 July

[Mark]

A few Snaggedliners are launching tomorrow morning between 6:00 and 7:30 a.m. at Goodhands Creek Landing on Kent Island. Stripers and white perch will be our primary target species.

Goodhands offers sheltered areas plus access to Kent Narrows and beyond.

Here is information on the launching site:

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/boating/p...ueenAnnes8.pdf

Note that a Queen Anne’s County Launch permit (obtainable from Angler’s) is required for your vehicle or trailer.

We will be on Channel 68 on our HF radios.

Please join us if you can.

[J.A. Veil]

I launched from Goodhands about 6:45. Mark and Scott Taylor were already on the water. I trolled 4 rods with Fat Sam mullet paddletails for 4 hours, covering more than 11 miles. The good news is that there are stripers in the shallow shoreline areas (2-5 ft) where I prefer to troll. The less good news is that most of them were quite small. I caught 17 stripers -- 16 of them were 12-15"; the other one was 21"). I fished in areas to the north, south, east, and west of the breakwater below the Narrows. There was no one section of shoreline that was hot. It just took a lot of persistence and waiting for the next bite. I saw no rays, but saw many species of birds.

[phoenixkeith]

i had similiar results this past monday at the narrows . caught around 20 stripers with the biggest being 15 inches . i cant get a keeper this year to save my life . i fished little creek yesterday both morning and evening with identical results . i got bored catching one after another of 12 inch fish . even the perch bite has been slow this year for me with the bigger perch hard to find .

[fishinggod]

whats considered a good sized white perch? this weekend was the first time i caught one and both i caught were around 10 inches. is that normal? just wondering .

[Big Mike]

10" perch is a fine catch. Most of mine are smaller than that and I generally don't keep them until they get up to the size you caught (often just come home with a couple). Were you targeting them or were they a "surprise" on a bigger lure?

[Mark]

First of all Fishinggod a 10 inch white perch is a nice fish. I stuck 8 or 9 today and none were more than 8 inches. I believe in Maryland you can get an award from the DNR for a 13 inch fish. So any perch double digits in inches is a good one. Thank goodness they are there to please us when the stripers are finicky.

And that was my case today -- stubborn stripers. While John was trolling with his usual great success I was casting a popper and spinners to shorelines looking for a striper hanging out near the sod banks. Both baits proved fruitless for stripers. I tried the popper from 6:00 a.m. to 7 a.m. with nary a swirl on it. As the sun rose higher I switched to spinner baits. The perch were interested but the stripers were not.

Only when briefly I trolled a 1/2 oz. jig with a 3 inch Fat Sam mullet did I catch two stripers. They were in 4 feet of water. Both were in the 12 to 14 inch range and not worth pixels at this stage in their lives. Next year maybe...

These baits worked for me today:

A.jpg

The top bait is the only one that produced stripers. The others attracted white perch.

These baits did not get a look:

B.jpg

I strayed from convention in another way today also. Instead of heading toward the Narrows as I usually do when launching from Goodhands I went south and found some of the most enticing water I have seen in some time. Lots of sod banks and in some places downed wood on undeveloped shorelines. I'll definitely pay those areas another visit in the future and hope that the stripers find them as attractive as I do.

Lastly, kudos to the weather. I covered just over 10 miles today without breaking a sweat. It was a great morning to be on the water.

[Cowpokey]

Only when briefly I trolled a 1/2 oz. jig with a 3 inch Fat Sam mullet did I catch two stripers. They were in 4 feet of water. Both were in the 12 to 14 inch range and not worth pixels at this stage in their lives. Next year maybe...

Keep wishing to hear reports about limits of keepers...but that right there made me chuckle.

[Yak Fish]

The larger fish are hanging out in the deeper water right now, especially in the main stem. The smaller fish are grouped in with the perch along shorelines. There may be a couple larger fish in the mix. I find Sept a great month for that shallow water bite. Thanks for the reports guys!

[J. Rentch]

Glad you guys had some success. Wish I could have been with you, next time for sure.

[rob-kayak]

I trolled 4 rods..... (2-5 ft) where I prefer to troll.....

Dear Mr Veil,
My apologies for butting in...

When you troll in shallow water are you keeping your speed at a pace to not bump the bottom (or worse snag)... or are you using a lighter jig head... or surface presentation..
I imagine... that when trolling... your lines are at some distance back from the kayak... such that after you make your pass on a spot... the fish have a chance to recover from a large object near them.

Thanks for the report... been itching to get back to Goodhands...

[On the fly]

Mark, Glad you were able to get out. I am thinking of going to good hands on Monday if weather holds out. Will post something by Saturday.

[Mark]

Harry,

Yes, I've been chomping at the bit to get the Revo wet.

There wasn't a lot of pullage for me today but I thoroughly enjoyed the outing, throwing the spinners to sod banks and seeing new areas of Goodhands that may hold promise in the future.

Not sure what Monday holds but I'll be there if I can.

One more thing I should add to the report is that saw no CNRs today but I did see jellyfish which I understand is a sign of rising salinity.

[J. Rentch]

Harry,
Would like to join you guys on Monday, if things work out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[EMSer]

I am looking to launch there on Friday and head south a mile or two to some enticing ledges and humps I see on the chart. Anyone have much luck down that way?

[J.A. Veil]

Dear Mr Veil,
My apologies for butting in...

When you troll in shallow water are you keeping your speed at a pace to not bump the bottom (or worse snag)... or are you using a lighter jig head... or surface presentation..
I imagine... that when trolling... your lines are at some distance back from the kayak... such that after you make your pass on a spot... the fish have a chance to recover from a large object near them.

Thanks for the report... been itching to get back to Goodhands...

First off, there is no need to use "Mr." on this board. I prefer first name basis.

Most of my kayak trolling is in shallow water. This time of year, the larger fish may not be there in numbers (as Yak Fish noted, they are hanging deeper) -- although more 20-25" fish will show up in the next few weeks. I troll 4 lines. The rear ones are tossed out further (a good cast), whereas the front ones are given a quick flip out to the side. I wait until I am moving before tossing the lines out. When I am concentrating on the 2-5 ft depth range, I rarely use a jighead or bucktail heavier than 1/2-oz. In the spring when I am trolling in deeper water, I sometimes go to 1-oz or 1-1/4 oz.

If you are not attentive to speed and depth, it is easy for your lure hit bottom and either get dirty or get snagged. I try to watch my FF/GPS closely to see the instantaneous depth and speed. If I am running at 3.5 ft and I come to a point where the bottom rises to 2.8 ft, I either veer toward deeper water or increase my speed, which lifts the lure in the water column. It is also important to be cognizant of the frequency of floating or suspended plants or debris in the water. As soon as you get a bit of grass on the lure, it no longer looks natural. If you are fishing in an area with lots of debris, be prepared to clean your lures frequently.

If I get a fish on one rod, I try to keep pedaling straight ahead (or if there is some structure nearby that could cause some navigation or tangling issues, I turn gradually away from it). While pedaling, I wind the fish in, unhook it, measure or photograph if desired, and release the fish. If I stop pedaling, I would need to wind in all of the other lines and check them for dirt or debris.

Yak Fish's book on light tackle trolling gives many other tips and strategies for trolling in different settings. He is very successful in catching larger fish, so his techniques do have merit.