Tweet
Throughout much of 2018 and this year, fishing in my home waters of the Severn has been challenging and disappointing. The lack of predictable catches had me driving to more distant water bodies in search of fish.
Recently things have improved. In early Sept, I found lots of stripers in the back ends of several Severn creeks. Bait accumulated there and the stripers hung around for the feast. Over the first two weeks of Sept, I caught about 100 stripers trolling paddletails in the back end of the creeks. About 20% of these were keeper size (although none were kept). I believe those fish have left the creeks now and are in deeper water in the main river. Traditionally October is a good month for finding decent stripers in the river.
2003-08-01 00-00-07.jpg
This week I fished the past three mornings for a few hours each day and visited 4 different creeks or tidal ponds. I achieved a Severn Slam (striper, white perch, pickerel) on days 1 and 2. This morning I caught striper, white perch, and a surprise 12.5" yellow perch. During 2016, 2017, and 2018, the pickerel had essentially disappeared. Over those three years combined I caught only 7 pickerel. So far this year, while perch fishing on three different days, I already caught 9 pickerel. These are young fish that range mostly from 8" to 12" (hammer handles). I am tickled that they are back in at least some of our creeks. They are far from thick yet, and are not the 18" to 24" powerhouses we enjoyed in past years. But hopefully they are a sign of things to come. If you do encounter them, please treat them gently and get them back in the water quickly.
2003-08-01 00-00-04.jpg 2003-08-01 00-00-04.jpg
Recently things have improved. In early Sept, I found lots of stripers in the back ends of several Severn creeks. Bait accumulated there and the stripers hung around for the feast. Over the first two weeks of Sept, I caught about 100 stripers trolling paddletails in the back end of the creeks. About 20% of these were keeper size (although none were kept). I believe those fish have left the creeks now and are in deeper water in the main river. Traditionally October is a good month for finding decent stripers in the river.
2003-08-01 00-00-07.jpg
This week I fished the past three mornings for a few hours each day and visited 4 different creeks or tidal ponds. I achieved a Severn Slam (striper, white perch, pickerel) on days 1 and 2. This morning I caught striper, white perch, and a surprise 12.5" yellow perch. During 2016, 2017, and 2018, the pickerel had essentially disappeared. Over those three years combined I caught only 7 pickerel. So far this year, while perch fishing on three different days, I already caught 9 pickerel. These are young fish that range mostly from 8" to 12" (hammer handles). I am tickled that they are back in at least some of our creeks. They are far from thick yet, and are not the 18" to 24" powerhouses we enjoyed in past years. But hopefully they are a sign of things to come. If you do encounter them, please treat them gently and get them back in the water quickly.
2003-08-01 00-00-04.jpg 2003-08-01 00-00-04.jpg
Comment