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Scott Taylor, Harlanbud and I hit the 37 degree Severn this morning looking for some residential Rockfish. All of us had been suffering from cabin fever and were just happy to get out on the water. Catching fish would be a bonus.
I had been eyeing up the charts of the area for months and had some spots I was anxious to check out. The conditions were prefect for doing just that. Happily, we were able to find them in some deep holes near the USNA.
We set out with the traditional bucktail / paddle tail trolling rigs. Despite marking some fish early, we were not able to get any takers. I doubled back to revisit the marks I had seen on my initial pass with the intent to drop a jig right on their noses. I recently bought a BlueBlue Searider jig from Joe at Shore Tackle and I was anxious to try it out. The thing is beautiful. If I were a fish, I would be all over it.
It didn't take long to feel the jig getting a lot off attention, but not a lot of hookups. I even watched 2 fish follow it up from the depths as I was reeling it in to recast. The water clarity was sublime, despite the excessive amount of leave debris that had been washed into the river from the recent weather.
Clearly, the fish like what they saw and I was eager to oblige them with more. I reconfigured how I had it rigged and started connecting with more regularity. The 10 knot winds worked superbly in blowing me over the marks, which were very tightly defined to specific areas. As soon as I drifted past the school, I went back up wind and repeated the process. This system was great until the school dispersed.
They weren't large - 18' to 21", but they were a great cure for my cabin fever. I ended the morning with a half dozen of them.
Both Scott and Harlan connected with multiple fish with trolling rigs and everyone returned home, content in having gotten out and enjoying beautiful weather, great company and a few fish to keep us smiling.
DSCN3802.jpgDSCN3800.jpgDSCN3794.jpgDSCN3796.jpgDSCN3793.jpg20160202_115327.jpg
I had been eyeing up the charts of the area for months and had some spots I was anxious to check out. The conditions were prefect for doing just that. Happily, we were able to find them in some deep holes near the USNA.
We set out with the traditional bucktail / paddle tail trolling rigs. Despite marking some fish early, we were not able to get any takers. I doubled back to revisit the marks I had seen on my initial pass with the intent to drop a jig right on their noses. I recently bought a BlueBlue Searider jig from Joe at Shore Tackle and I was anxious to try it out. The thing is beautiful. If I were a fish, I would be all over it.
It didn't take long to feel the jig getting a lot off attention, but not a lot of hookups. I even watched 2 fish follow it up from the depths as I was reeling it in to recast. The water clarity was sublime, despite the excessive amount of leave debris that had been washed into the river from the recent weather.
Clearly, the fish like what they saw and I was eager to oblige them with more. I reconfigured how I had it rigged and started connecting with more regularity. The 10 knot winds worked superbly in blowing me over the marks, which were very tightly defined to specific areas. As soon as I drifted past the school, I went back up wind and repeated the process. This system was great until the school dispersed.
They weren't large - 18' to 21", but they were a great cure for my cabin fever. I ended the morning with a half dozen of them.
Both Scott and Harlan connected with multiple fish with trolling rigs and everyone returned home, content in having gotten out and enjoying beautiful weather, great company and a few fish to keep us smiling.
DSCN3802.jpgDSCN3800.jpgDSCN3794.jpgDSCN3796.jpgDSCN3793.jpg20160202_115327.jpg
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