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I feel fortunate to live just a few minutes from the Severn River. I fish there several days each week for most of the year. Not every trip is highly productive, but once you get an understanding of the seasonal patterns, there are many opportunities to find fish.
The Severn Giveth
A few weeks ago I discovered a bunch of 18-21" stripers that had taken up residence in one of the Severn tributaries. Over a two-week period, I fished that area ten times, catching over 120 stripers of at least 17.5", and several fish in the mid-20s. I fished all three days of the nor'easter and did well each day.
The Severn Taketh Away
Based on recent diminishing catches from this location, I believe the peanut bunker and the stripers are leaving to move into the main river and eventually the bay.
The Severn Giveth Again
This morning I decided to target pickerel seriously for the first time this fall. I had modest expectations. I began fishing in one of my Severn pickerel spots about 7:15 at high tide (although it was a relatively low high tide due to the wind direction). On my first few casts, I threw a Bignose spinner. These are marvelous for perch and often do well on pickerel. But this morning, the fish nipped at the lure but did not bite down. After a few minutes I picked up another rod with a 12 Fathom 3" Fat Sam mullet paddletail on a 1/4-oz jighead. The fish were much more interested in this lure and attacked it frequently. The Fat Sam has a great swimming motion causing the pickerel to chomp down hard. I wore out several Fat Sams throughout the trip.
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I also tried a 12 Fathom 4.5" Buzztail on a heavier jighead. I threw this to deeper areas and caught one fish plus had several follows. Those three lures are shown below.
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I had to be off the water before 10:00. I had planned on fishing in at least two locations, but quickly realized that the bite was on at the first location, so I stayed there. I ended with 25 pickerel over 2.5 hours. I had only one over 20" but also no real small ones (I did see several small guys chase my lure and nip at it, but none hooked up). All the other pickerel were strong, healthy fish from 14" to 18". My previous best total pickerel catch for a day was 24 fish. Those were caught using live minnows (pickerel candy). Today's fish were all caught on artificials.
The Severn Giveth
A few weeks ago I discovered a bunch of 18-21" stripers that had taken up residence in one of the Severn tributaries. Over a two-week period, I fished that area ten times, catching over 120 stripers of at least 17.5", and several fish in the mid-20s. I fished all three days of the nor'easter and did well each day.
The Severn Taketh Away
Based on recent diminishing catches from this location, I believe the peanut bunker and the stripers are leaving to move into the main river and eventually the bay.
The Severn Giveth Again
This morning I decided to target pickerel seriously for the first time this fall. I had modest expectations. I began fishing in one of my Severn pickerel spots about 7:15 at high tide (although it was a relatively low high tide due to the wind direction). On my first few casts, I threw a Bignose spinner. These are marvelous for perch and often do well on pickerel. But this morning, the fish nipped at the lure but did not bite down. After a few minutes I picked up another rod with a 12 Fathom 3" Fat Sam mullet paddletail on a 1/4-oz jighead. The fish were much more interested in this lure and attacked it frequently. The Fat Sam has a great swimming motion causing the pickerel to chomp down hard. I wore out several Fat Sams throughout the trip.
003.jpg
I also tried a 12 Fathom 4.5" Buzztail on a heavier jighead. I threw this to deeper areas and caught one fish plus had several follows. Those three lures are shown below.
001.jpg
I had to be off the water before 10:00. I had planned on fishing in at least two locations, but quickly realized that the bite was on at the first location, so I stayed there. I ended with 25 pickerel over 2.5 hours. I had only one over 20" but also no real small ones (I did see several small guys chase my lure and nip at it, but none hooked up). All the other pickerel were strong, healthy fish from 14" to 18". My previous best total pickerel catch for a day was 24 fish. Those were caught using live minnows (pickerel candy). Today's fish were all caught on artificials.
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