Someone has to be the designated party poopeer......

[manlystanley]

... and this week, that's me.

Launched Mid-Severn at 6:00 (I slept in late).

Got:

1 rockfish, 13 inches. -- returned to Mom and Dad.

1 Perch, 7 inches -- Returned to Mom and Dad.


But, it was a beautiful day, had a blast being on the water after 3 weeks hiatus.

But, for me, the last 2 weeks of May were real good fishing, today not so much,

I borrowed a yak from my daughter/son-in-law and I'll be taking my beautiful wife out Friday. Hopefully, I'll have more to report.


Best Regards,
Stan

[J.A. Veil]

Sorry to hear that your catching was not as good as you had hoped. I have fished the Severn and its tributaries by boat, canoe, and kayak for more than 20 years. Most of those trips were done in kayaks where my paddle/pedal radius was based on the few public launch points. I got to learn some tributaries pretty well by fishing through the seasons and over many years.

During that time, I found that only a small portion of the river yields good bites for me. To my eye, an adjacent stretch of a creek shoreline may look equally good for targeting perch or stripers, but when I put in comparable amounts of effort, one section produces well, while the adjacent one does poorly. Over the years I made a mental catalog of where to focus my energies and which areas to bypass.

It is also interesting to note that if I have 20 small areas that I believe are higher probability targets and I hit all of them on a single trip, I am lucky to find fish in half of those targets. And the productive target areas on today's trip may not be the ones that produced on last week's trip.
Having said that, sometimes I get surprised when I make a couple of casts to what I anticipate will be a low probability spot or to a totally unknown spot, and that spot produces well. My strategy is to follow one or more of my "routes" hitting many areas on each route. Hopefully I can find at least a few that will produce. I often check out a new area for a few minutes. Even if I catch nothing in those areas, it helps me expand my knowledge base.

One of many good things about fishing from a kayak is that we are close to the water and are moving relatively slowly. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you can see a lot of beautiful habitat and wildlife, but may also find bait schools, potentially good habitats, or moving or splashing fish. These opportunities can be added to your knowledge base (either a mental list or notes that you write down later).

Don't give up hope. This year has been a difficult fishing year in the Severn for many anglers. Keep at it and learn from your successes and your less successful days too.

[Mark]

Stan,

As John mentioned, it helps to keep moving. After all, the fish do. They move a lot in the Severn and in all tidal waters.

You can do absolutely everything right in terms of angling technique, but if you're casting or trolling or dunking bait where no fish happen to be, you will be disappointed with your results.

And then, fish may be present and still not bite because you are using a lure or a lure retrieval method not to their liking. So not only do you have to cover some water in your Ride 135 to find willing fish, you have to select a lure they like and vary how you retrieve it until you discover what kind of movement incites them to bite at that particular spot and time. Yesterday, the white perch would hit a moving jig spinner, but would only hit a fly on the pause. Go figure. There's no reason for their finicky behaviors discernable to us. But the fish clearly have preferences and their likes change often, even during the same outing.

Your Severn launch at 0600 today was in moving water on a falling tide. You picked the right time. But perhaps you fished in the wrong places, especially for perch which appear to be in their normal seasonal pattern at long last. Severn stripers remain an enigma in 2018.

So, good luck on your next outing. Don't wear out any particular spot too long with no success. Then you will indeed get discouraged. Keep moving, vary your retrieves if you are using lures, and enjoy the ride and the scenery along the way. There's always something interesting to see on the Severn besides fish on the end of your line. Yesterday, a USNA crew boat rowed into Weems. It was fun to see them in the creek instead of the big river.

Looking forward to fishier reports from you!

[YakCapn]

John/Mark, curious if you find perch at the same docks repeatedly or if it varies. I found about 3 docks in particular held a good number of perch last trip on the Severn (and many others that held none!). Wondering if I should automatically target those same docks next time, or was it just blind luck those docks held the perch last time and I should just randomly cast to all docks.

[J.A. Veil]

John/Mark, curious if you find perch at the same docks repeatedly or if it varies. I found about 3 docks in particular held a good number of perch last trip on the Severn (and many others that held none!). Wondering if I should automatically target those same docks next time, or was it just blind luck those docks held the perch last time and I should just randomly cast to all docks.

I encourage you to visit the same spots where you caught fish previously. That is how I build my "routes" as described above. If the fish are not biting at those spots on a later trip, take a few casts, then move on. Also try to remember what were the features of the spot on the day when you had a good catch (tidal movement, water depth, sun/shade, season, etc).

Many perch fishermen specifically target docks or piers -- it is a good strategy. Personally, I do not. I spend very little time casting to pilings, docks, or piers. I focus more on shorelines that have a good bottom contour (a flat bench that sloped gradually works better than a steeply sloped drop off) and some type of habitat (grass beds, rock wall, fallen wood).

[Mark]

YakCapn,

Docks are my choice of last resort. I've caught fish under them, of course, but I prefer targets with open landing zones. My favorite is riprap on a high falling tide.

I like wooden bulkheads too and I especially like areas with phragmites at the waterline. John mentioned shade. I will slide casts under overhanging trees, but I rarely do that on docks. Frankly, there are just too many other areas that hold fish. I'd rather target water easier to hit than to sling casts under docks.

My typical approach is to launch a few cast from afar perpendicular to my target area. If I get strikes close to the target, I'll move in closer, usually to the left and toss lures and flies that run parallel to the structure and tight to it. If strikes are coming out from the structure, say 5 to 15 feet (and that's common) I'll reposition and change my parallel casting to that distance. In that case I am catching perch in essentially open water. I believe many tend to ignore those areas falsely thinking perch are always sitting tight to structure.

I mentioned this recently but it's worth saying again. Vary your retrieve. Sometimes white perch want a fast moving lure/fly. Other times they respond better to pauses or slower retrieves. I cannot predict when they will prefer a particular kind of retrieve. I've noticed nothing about the environment, tide, or temperature that will predict their response. It's purely trial and error to find out what works.

Lastly, I follow route when I fish familiar water. I have caught fish at predictable, proven sites repeatedly because I visit them often. However, when I fish new sites, like the new launch from Downs Park, I look for those areas similar to where I have caught fish in other waters. I don't need a fish finder. I can see everything I need with my eyes. John mentioned them -- the contour of the shore predicts depth; tidal current is visible slipping by riprap, downed wood protruding from the surface indicates ample structure underneath, etc. It's all there right in front of us. Fish know that and see it too, albeit from a much different perspective.

[manlystanley]

J.A. , Mark and Yak: Great advice, thanks! I'm finding out, that I've gained a great deal of skill learning from you guys. But, what I lack, is how to vary my techniques when the fish are not biting. I was shocked how many marks (in certain areas) I was getting on my FF--and yet got no bites. I will go and try all your suggestions and hopefully, me and my wife can do better Friday.

But, even if we don't get any keepers, I love: getting out on the water; learning how improve my success rate; etc. It's a journey, and I'm enjoying the ride!

Last time out, at one spot, there were some smaller fish that bit, but did not get hooked. I spent sometime there, casting and re-casting and varying my retrieval. It was fascinating how certain retrieves compelled no hits. But, then other retrieval types got hits each time. Fascinating......

Thanks gain for your help.

Best Regards,
Stan

[J.A. Veil]

Few of us are really skilled at knowing what the marks on our FF screens actually mean. I have had plenty of days trolling on the Severn when I saw what I thought were stripers and had no bites or only a few bites. Learning how to adjust your electronics to give you the best information is not an easy process. I have noticed that some of the lower priced units offer fewer adjustable controls.

Unless you are confident that what you see on your screen is really predator fish, and not bait, debris, or electronic clutter, don't get too worked up over not catching fish by those marks.

When perching in the shallows, your electronics have little use. The transducer sends out a cone of signals. When you are in shallow water, that cone has a small diameter when it hits the bottom. Most of my kayak trips these days are in a paddle kayak with no electronics. Mark commented earlier that you can learn a lot about an area's potential by observation using your eyes and ears. I agree with him.

[YakCapn]

Thanks for the insights, I’ll try some new spots next time out. I did notice that the FF was of little use for perch fishing. I use it more for trolling and finding drop offs in depth. Last time out i tried to focus more on spotting bait fish breaking water rather than using the fish finder when I was trolling. Didn’t help land any stripers but I now realize i prefer looking at the water and trying to read it, rather than staring at a FF screen!

[manlystanley]

Unless you are confident that what you see on your screen is really predator fish, and not bait, debris, or electronic clutter, don't get too worked up over not catching fish by those marks.

Good point. I'll remember that.

Most of my kayak trips these days are in a paddle kayak with no electronics. Mark commented earlier that you can learn a lot about an area's potential by observation using your eyes and ears. I agree with him.

I am learning that. I have been forming a circuit, like you have recommended, and am hopeful that it will produce for me. But, I am many years a way from being able to coax resistant fish to bite my lures. But, with time, I'll learn. That is the fun of this hobby, there is so much to learn...

Best Regards,
Stan

[bignose]

This is an excellent thread!

Unlike John and Marc, I enjoy pitching under docks and into all sorts of gnarly stuff. But I make my own lures and don't mind throwing them into harm's way.
It is an extension of my Bass fishing techniques of working structure and cover. I have a fish finder, but it is not for locating fish, rather it is used to establish depth and finding features in the water that are unseen.

I have a routine that I follow, but I usually start out trying to find a consistent a pattern, which sometime changes from day to day.
Some days they are hanging under the shady side of the docks in 4-6 feet of water (4th piling from shore), sometimes along the weed edges (late Spring on the Severn), sometimes 15 feet off of rip rap, or in transitional areas, where wooden bulkheads hit rip rap.

And sometimes you just catch them in random places. The fish may be thinking something quite different than the fisherman!

Today, Friday, I caught perhaps 25 perch all within 250 yards of the Tucker street ramp. Only two were near 8 inches, the rest were cookie cutter 4-6 inch dinks plus one 6" Striper who decided to hit a "perch" lure. I worked two very reliable areas and didn't feel motivated to move. I could have tried some other productive locations, but it was enough to keep me occupied for 2 1/2 hours before it got too hot.

[Mark]

That's a fun day, Stu.

One generalization I think you can make about white perch is that they must like company, especially as the season progresses. When you catch one, another is usually close by waiting to bite.

So the trick is finding where they are hanging out with their buddies. As we both mentioned, they are not always tight to structure. But you can use structure as a starting point and work your way out from it in hopes of finding them.

[manlystanley]

I went out today and spent 3 hours fishing with my wife. Much of the time was spent: reminding her how to cast, untangling line, and generally helping her out. But, in general, it was fun to have her along--while she tried to figure out why I love this sport so much.

I love being on the water pre-dawn and to see the colors slowly come out in the sky. What a way to spend a day off with my wife!

The bite was much better today then this past Tuesday. I caught 5 rockfish, the biggest was 17 inches. I think the bigger RF have not moved in yet, as there was tons of fish jumping and splashing today. It seems that larger rockfish do not jump, they just swirl around as they chase baitfish.

I am hoping that this coming Tuesday the fishing is as good, so I can get my first keeper of the year.

Best Regards,
Stan

[Mark]

Congrats on the stripers, Stan!

[bunnielab]

One generalization I think you can make about white perch is that they must like company, especially as the season progresses. When you catch one, another is usually close by waiting to bite.

That is what I love about white perch, finding a good school and seeing how many back to back casts I can catch one on. My current record is 12, the run ended when I got too excited and threw my spinner up into a overhang tree.

It's good to hear that the perch have finally arrived. Last season my bass-obsession kept me from getting out for them but I plan to hit them hard starting at the end of the month. I also geared up to start some striper trolling, but it sounds like this might not be the year for that.