Still no Severn pickerel but...

[DanMarino]

Dem Cats is hungry!

[J.A. Veil]

I caught a bunch of them on Rat-L-Trap in the Chester River this summer.

Nice work by Capt C-Hawk and Kiko. That was impressive variety for the Severn.

[brianisoutside]

I have caught channel cats while fishing for smallmouth on the upper Potomac


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[creight57]

I find the choice of target habitat for the pickerel to be interesting. Normally I find pickerel in or over submerged grass or under lily pads - usually in shallower water. That's what I look for to target them. That said I am unfamiliar with the Severn so surely you know where to find them better than I might. My typical pickerel lures of choice are flukes, or curly tailed grubs/worms (weightless and weedless or Texas rigged) color of choice is anything with some chartreuse and ideally a flash of red. Spinners are always a good choice too along edges and transition areas. Good luck breaking your drought. Picks get no respect but are a personal favorite of mine.

Years ago, I caught about a ten lb. channel cat on a jigged tube on ultralight gear while bass fishing at Rocky Gorge. That was about a 20 min. fight that left me with a sore arm and out of breath. So fun.


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[Mark]

I find the choice of target habitat for the pickerel to be interesting. Normally I find pickerel in or over submerged grass or under lily pads - usually in shallower water. That's what I look for to target them. That said I am unfamiliar with the Severn so surely you know where to find them better than I might. My typical pickerel lures of choice are flukes, or curly tailed grubs/worms (weightless and weedless or Texas rigged) color of choice is anything with some chartreuse and ideally a flash of red. Spinners are always a good choice too along edges and transition areas. Good luck breaking your drought. Picks get no respect but are a personal favorite of mine.

Years ago, I caught about a ten lb. channel cat on a jigged tube on ultralight gear while bass fishing at Rocky Gorge. That was about a 20 min. fight that left me with a sore arm and out of breath. So fun.


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Thanks. Sounds like you fish fresh water for them. Unicorn Lake on the Eastern Shore has the vegetation you mention and it is full of picks. No lily pads to speak of in the Severn's tidal creeks I fish. But in past years pickerel have been tight to shore in the shallows of those creeks near downed wood and other structure.

Your suggestion of flukes is a good one. In fact, I carried some with me and failed to use them. Next time for sure.

[manlystanley]

So, I thought of this thread this past week. I was fishing with my son-in-law on the Occoquan river, using a 1/4 oz Mepps spinner. I caught the standard Bass (ranging from 5-10 inches), spot, etc. Then something bigger hit it and took off. It turned out to be a 18 inch cat fish. My first cat fish via a lure. I could not believe how this cat fought. Usually, they just come up shaking there heads back and forth, not running back and forth....

I really don't know my Cat fish species that well, but I was told it was a blue cat.

I cooked him on the grill. I was shocked how good that was. the grill really dried and firmed up the meat. Then the bones stayed connected to the spine, so i was simple to take off the meat....


Best Regards,
Stan

[Mark]

Stan,

You had me all excited. I thought you were going to announce catching an elusive Severn pickerel. But a catfish on a lure is a good catch. Congratulations on that. The first of many for you caught that way, I hope.

I saw catfish today but couldn't entice them. Harry (On the fly) and I waded the upper Potomac for smallmouth. Last night's cold snap must have put them down. Harry caught one and I missed one. That was it. A very poor outing. But Harry saw a school of catfish in the very clear water under the bridge at Brunswick. I later saw one near the bridge too. While I have caught catfish on flies before, the ones we saw today were not interested in anything we had to offer.

[manlystanley]

Stan,

But Harry saw a school of catfish in the very clear water under the bridge at Brunswick. I later saw one near the bridge too. While I have caught catfish on flies before, the ones we saw today were not interested in anything we had to offer.

That is the joy of fishing. Just getting out and trying different things--and trying to figure out what works, at different times.

A friend of mine is getting into fly fishing. Has never caught a single thing. Doesn't even care. Just enjoys learning again what he did as a kid in the mid-west. I think it's cool how we all enjoy the same sport is so different ways.


Best Regards,
Stan

[mike o]

I am surprised you haven't caught catfish in the Severn before. I catch them almost everywhere I go. Two different times have caught 9 in a day on Tony's fishing for perch and Rock in the upper bay. I even caught one on a surface popper.

[rugbyfish]

My girlfriend caught an 18" white cat in a Severn tributary a couple weeks ago. I had heard of channel cats in that area, but I had never seen a white there before.

[Mark]

The MD DNR calculates YOY indices for species of fish other than striped bass. Among those are channel cats. You can find that data on this page:

http://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pa...s/species.aspx

The metrics indicate a higher than normal spawn for channel catfish in recent years in many Bay locations.

Severn channel catfish are not specifically measured by the DNR. But overall, Chesapeake channel catfish spawning appears to have been above long term averages in recent years and perhaps that is why we are seeing more of them as by-catches on our outings.

[ronaultmtd]

Blue cats hit lures...caught many on crankbait fishing Mattawoman Creek...and in my opinion blue cats are the best tasting, too...until they get big...then they make good fertilizer for rose bushes...