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I opted to forgo the Severn and launched today from Spriggs to see if the success we have had there recently was still to be available. After much trolling over empty waters (blank screen), I concluded that the Magothy was done for the season. I decided to move away from our happy hunting grounds and make my way towards the mouth of the river. I started seeing more activity and actually got one strong hit that ripped my drag before shaking the hook. I did get 1 20" and thought I would have to settle for that.
Then winds were dead calm and the river was like glass. When I went though the narrows at the mouth, I saw that the bay was as well. There was one boat jigging near by and I called out to him as I trolled along. He reported he had one 27" in the box and expected the bite to turn on "any minute". I answered that would be sweet and went on my way. I will admit, his comment made me hopeful that he was correct.
I started noticing small groups of big gulls getting active by the mouth of the Little Magothy and I headed in that direction. The small groups started to congeal into one big one so I picked up the pace. When I was within a couple hundred yards of the now actively working birds, my starboard side rod was slammed. It was a fat 24" and I thought it was the fish to save the day. Almost immediately after getting my bucktail back in the water, it went down hard again, drag screaming. Up came a fat 26"er. Then the port side rod doubled over with a beautiful 25". All this in a matter of minutes.
The biggest fish of the day was next. It refused to come to the boat. When I finally got it there, I grabbed the leader and pulled it up and my jaw dropped. It was fat an long! Sadly, while trying to grab it with my fish grips, it gave a mighty shake and threw the hook. I was bummed, but got over it quickly when a 27" joined the party (new PB). The fish I did not measure was definitely bigger and would have been my new PB if I could have seen it's actual size.
The next ten minutes were filled with multiple fish, the smallest being 21", most 24" and above. I had never experienced anything like it. By this time, other boats had congregated and everyone had bent rods.
Then it just stopped... The birds were scattered, the wind picked up and nobody was hooking up. It was then that I realized during all the frenzy, the building winds had pushed me well into the bay. I circled behind Gibson Island searching for the school and to get in the lee as it was now blowing a solid 15 right out of the NW and down the river.
I decided to call it a day (as I had life stuff to attend to) and began the trek back home, The winds continued to build and the return trip became a slog going straight into it and facing 1-2' seas that occasionally built to 3'.
By the time I got back to the launch, my arms were spent but it was the very best kind of tired. I just kept replaying the siren song of squawking seagulls and singing drag and the exhaustion just fell away.
At the end of the day, I boated a dozen fish, all of which were keeper+ and most within a 20 minute span. I couldn't take pics of all them as I was too busy reeling in for a while. I can live with that.....
DSCN3137.jpgDSCN3138.jpgDSCN3139.jpgDSCN3140.jpgDSCN3141.jpgDSCN3142.jpgDSCN3143.jpgDSCN3137.jpgDSCN3148.jpgDSCN3149.jpgDSCN3147.jpg
Then winds were dead calm and the river was like glass. When I went though the narrows at the mouth, I saw that the bay was as well. There was one boat jigging near by and I called out to him as I trolled along. He reported he had one 27" in the box and expected the bite to turn on "any minute". I answered that would be sweet and went on my way. I will admit, his comment made me hopeful that he was correct.
I started noticing small groups of big gulls getting active by the mouth of the Little Magothy and I headed in that direction. The small groups started to congeal into one big one so I picked up the pace. When I was within a couple hundred yards of the now actively working birds, my starboard side rod was slammed. It was a fat 24" and I thought it was the fish to save the day. Almost immediately after getting my bucktail back in the water, it went down hard again, drag screaming. Up came a fat 26"er. Then the port side rod doubled over with a beautiful 25". All this in a matter of minutes.
The biggest fish of the day was next. It refused to come to the boat. When I finally got it there, I grabbed the leader and pulled it up and my jaw dropped. It was fat an long! Sadly, while trying to grab it with my fish grips, it gave a mighty shake and threw the hook. I was bummed, but got over it quickly when a 27" joined the party (new PB). The fish I did not measure was definitely bigger and would have been my new PB if I could have seen it's actual size.
The next ten minutes were filled with multiple fish, the smallest being 21", most 24" and above. I had never experienced anything like it. By this time, other boats had congregated and everyone had bent rods.
Then it just stopped... The birds were scattered, the wind picked up and nobody was hooking up. It was then that I realized during all the frenzy, the building winds had pushed me well into the bay. I circled behind Gibson Island searching for the school and to get in the lee as it was now blowing a solid 15 right out of the NW and down the river.
I decided to call it a day (as I had life stuff to attend to) and began the trek back home, The winds continued to build and the return trip became a slog going straight into it and facing 1-2' seas that occasionally built to 3'.
By the time I got back to the launch, my arms were spent but it was the very best kind of tired. I just kept replaying the siren song of squawking seagulls and singing drag and the exhaustion just fell away.
At the end of the day, I boated a dozen fish, all of which were keeper+ and most within a 20 minute span. I couldn't take pics of all them as I was too busy reeling in for a while. I can live with that.....
DSCN3137.jpgDSCN3138.jpgDSCN3139.jpgDSCN3140.jpgDSCN3141.jpgDSCN3142.jpgDSCN3143.jpgDSCN3137.jpgDSCN3148.jpgDSCN3149.jpgDSCN3147.jpg
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