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I fished in the Prospect Bay area five times this past week using two different launches. All of the previous trips featured outgoing tidal current, low wind, and no cow-nosed rays (CNRs). This morning I returned to the same area but faced different conditions. I launched an hour after low tide (this is generally a shallow water spot, such that I had to move farther from shore than on my previous trips). The wind had been strong here yesterday, which stirred up the sediment, making the water more turbid than before. The wind continued this morning, but shifted directions, making one of my preferred shorelines unproductive. Finally, those pesky CNRs had stayed farther south until today. All three of us who fished there today hooked rays and lost lures. I had the distinction of hooking three of them. The first ray made off with a Yozuri plug. The other two got only inexpensive jigheads and paddletails.
While rays can give a strong pull, for most of us they are a nuisance. Trying to get one to the side of your kayak to retrieve the lure can be a risky proposition. Once I verify that I have a CNR on my line, I immediately break it off. The most effective way to break off a ray (or to break off a snagged lure for that matter) is to point the rod directly at the source, then palm the spool. As the fish swims away or the current drifts you away, the line will break at the lure or at the line/leader connection. You do lose the lure, but not a bunch of line.
I spent several hours trolling along a section of shoreline that was sheltered from the wind. Initially I trolled 4 lines, but had enough action that I dropped to 3 lines and later to just 2 lines. Most of my catching came in a 2-hour stretch, when I caught 25 stripers, 3 CNRs, and 1 perch.
I like having a short drive to my launch spot. For much of the year, I can launch in the Severn 10-15 mins from home and fish the mainstem or the tidal creeks. Sadly, for the past three weeks, the water in the Severn has been stained reddish brown from a mahogany tide. I made a short trip on the Severn yesterday morning and had no bites. The water did not look good. Although I have not been on the water near the Bay Bridge recently, each day when I drive across the bridge, I see that much of the main bay also shows the reddish brown color. The waters I have been fishing are a bit farther (but not too long of a drive at 35 mins) but offer "normal" water quality for this time of year. And they are holding fish.
While rays can give a strong pull, for most of us they are a nuisance. Trying to get one to the side of your kayak to retrieve the lure can be a risky proposition. Once I verify that I have a CNR on my line, I immediately break it off. The most effective way to break off a ray (or to break off a snagged lure for that matter) is to point the rod directly at the source, then palm the spool. As the fish swims away or the current drifts you away, the line will break at the lure or at the line/leader connection. You do lose the lure, but not a bunch of line.
I spent several hours trolling along a section of shoreline that was sheltered from the wind. Initially I trolled 4 lines, but had enough action that I dropped to 3 lines and later to just 2 lines. Most of my catching came in a 2-hour stretch, when I caught 25 stripers, 3 CNRs, and 1 perch.
I like having a short drive to my launch spot. For much of the year, I can launch in the Severn 10-15 mins from home and fish the mainstem or the tidal creeks. Sadly, for the past three weeks, the water in the Severn has been stained reddish brown from a mahogany tide. I made a short trip on the Severn yesterday morning and had no bites. The water did not look good. Although I have not been on the water near the Bay Bridge recently, each day when I drive across the bridge, I see that much of the main bay also shows the reddish brown color. The waters I have been fishing are a bit farther (but not too long of a drive at 35 mins) but offer "normal" water quality for this time of year. And they are holding fish.
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