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One of the things I talk about in my fishing book and during my seminars is to fish the same bodies of water frequently and over different seasons and tidal cycles so you can learn some of the patterns. 2018 and most of 2019 have been strange years (maybe caused by the low salinity) during which many of my anticipated seasonal patterns did not set up.
I was encouraged over the past few days by seeing signs that the anticipated early fall pattern may be setting up in confined areas. Examples are the rear of tidal creeks, narrow coves or small bays, or where large structure creates confined pockets of water. Wherever bait accumulates, predators are likely to show up. In most of the past six years, the fall pattern set up in late Sept and lasted into mid-Oct. Signs like lots of bait flipping at the surface and gulls circling in areas where they are not found for much of the year tells me that the early fall big feed may be starting.
I had first hand evidence of this pattern on three trips during the past five days. On the first two, I was mainly casting for perch, but at the end of the trip I spent a few minutes trolling paddletails to see if any fish would bite. I caught a few modest fish on each of those short outings. I wanted to give the trolling a more serious effort today. In two hours of trolling 3 lines from my paddle kayak this morning, I caught 20 stripers. Many were small, but about a third of them were 16” -20”. Even though the water was murky (6” to 9” viz) and shallow, my best bites were in areas where the visibility was the poorest. Generally, fishing is better in cleaner water than in dirty water, but when the bait stacks up in dirty water areas, the predators will feed there.
My rods and tackle today were lightweight, in part because some of the areas where I trolled had shallow water of 3' depth or less -- I wanted the lures to ride near the surface to avoid contact with the bottom or submerged tree debris. Here is what I used: 1) 6’6” ML rod rigged with a 3/16-oz jighead and a 3” Fat Sam mullet paddletail (this lure caught over half of the fish). 2) 6’ L rod rigged with a 3/16-oz jighead and a 4” Gulp swimming mullet. 3) 6’6’ M rod with a 3/8-oz jighead and 4” paddletail (this slightly larger plastic caught only 2 of the 20 fish).
The fish wanted light colors (pearl, pale chartreuse) – probably because the water was stained, and they could see the brighter colors.
Keep a lookout for congregations of bait. You may finding something fun to catch nearby.
I was encouraged over the past few days by seeing signs that the anticipated early fall pattern may be setting up in confined areas. Examples are the rear of tidal creeks, narrow coves or small bays, or where large structure creates confined pockets of water. Wherever bait accumulates, predators are likely to show up. In most of the past six years, the fall pattern set up in late Sept and lasted into mid-Oct. Signs like lots of bait flipping at the surface and gulls circling in areas where they are not found for much of the year tells me that the early fall big feed may be starting.
I had first hand evidence of this pattern on three trips during the past five days. On the first two, I was mainly casting for perch, but at the end of the trip I spent a few minutes trolling paddletails to see if any fish would bite. I caught a few modest fish on each of those short outings. I wanted to give the trolling a more serious effort today. In two hours of trolling 3 lines from my paddle kayak this morning, I caught 20 stripers. Many were small, but about a third of them were 16” -20”. Even though the water was murky (6” to 9” viz) and shallow, my best bites were in areas where the visibility was the poorest. Generally, fishing is better in cleaner water than in dirty water, but when the bait stacks up in dirty water areas, the predators will feed there.
My rods and tackle today were lightweight, in part because some of the areas where I trolled had shallow water of 3' depth or less -- I wanted the lures to ride near the surface to avoid contact with the bottom or submerged tree debris. Here is what I used: 1) 6’6” ML rod rigged with a 3/16-oz jighead and a 3” Fat Sam mullet paddletail (this lure caught over half of the fish). 2) 6’ L rod rigged with a 3/16-oz jighead and a 4” Gulp swimming mullet. 3) 6’6’ M rod with a 3/8-oz jighead and 4” paddletail (this slightly larger plastic caught only 2 of the 20 fish).
The fish wanted light colors (pearl, pale chartreuse) – probably because the water was stained, and they could see the brighter colors.
Keep a lookout for congregations of bait. You may finding something fun to catch nearby.
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