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I have fished in the Severn for the past three days. I fished in six different tidal creeks and coves. I observed pickerel chasing my lures and had bites and brief hook ups in all six, but only caught them in four of those tributaries. This is not surprising -- Severn pickerel appear to be abundant in most of the tributaries that I have visited so far.
What has surprised me is that I have also caught stripers on all three trips by trolling lines as I moved between tributaries or for more than a few hundred feet within a tributary. These are not large fish -- most are in the low to mid teens, but I did hook a 19" striper on Monday. By having lures in the water while paddling to a destination, I have been actively fishing for a higher percentage of my water time. In some cases, I troll using the same rods and lures that I am throwing to the pickerel. Yesterday I carried just two ultralight rods with 1/8-oz jigheads and paddletails. I decided to troll for 1/3 mile as I moved to my next target shoreline. Within a minute of tossing the lure overboard, I hooked a fat 15" striper that pulled hard on the ultralight rod.
On two of the trips, the stripers were caught at or near the creek mouths. On the third trip, the striper was caught in an upstream location where they have resided since Sept. I also caught one fish in deep water in the main river as I moved to the next tributary. Until I stop catching stripers, I plan to continue keeping lures in the water to maximize my pullage.
What has surprised me is that I have also caught stripers on all three trips by trolling lines as I moved between tributaries or for more than a few hundred feet within a tributary. These are not large fish -- most are in the low to mid teens, but I did hook a 19" striper on Monday. By having lures in the water while paddling to a destination, I have been actively fishing for a higher percentage of my water time. In some cases, I troll using the same rods and lures that I am throwing to the pickerel. Yesterday I carried just two ultralight rods with 1/8-oz jigheads and paddletails. I decided to troll for 1/3 mile as I moved to my next target shoreline. Within a minute of tossing the lure overboard, I hooked a fat 15" striper that pulled hard on the ultralight rod.
On two of the trips, the stripers were caught at or near the creek mouths. On the third trip, the striper was caught in an upstream location where they have resided since Sept. I also caught one fish in deep water in the main river as I moved to the next tributary. Until I stop catching stripers, I plan to continue keeping lures in the water to maximize my pullage.
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