Sunday Slower Lower report

[ronaultmtd]

Yak 67 and I wanted a nice mess of fish for a fish fry, so early this morning we launched into the St Mary's River to search for big White Perch. I was slow trolling Capt. Bert's Perch Pounders dressed with zoom curlytail trailer. One was white and the other was chartreuse. Did not take long to get the skunk off with a school striper landed...then the first of 14 puppy drum I caught and released- the biggest a tad over 15 inches...over the next couple of hours I landed dozens of white perch with the biggest 12 1/8 inch but all I kept were 10 inch minimum...13 on the stringer...it was a four species day. Lizardfish, redfish, striped bass and jumbo White Perch...Gary had a cooler full at the launch, but I threw six more in his cooler bag and took seven home...they made a nice bag of skinless, boneless filets...

[ski357]

Ron, nice report. Hauling firewood today, so no fishing for me. Hope to get out there tomorrow!

[Yak67]

It was a Good Morning with Ron. I got a ST Mary's slam with a quartet of 6-inch fish lol Redish, Flounda, WP and schoolie rock. I thought I had snag some grass/debris and pulled up a 2-inch Flounder, LOL. They are little Gangsters, how he was going to swallow that perch pounder and curly tail I'll never know. Hitting the fall pattern now, nice cool mornings are a treat.

Yak67
2017 Hobie PA-12 Camo
2019 Hobie Outback

[J.A. Veil]

Good work guys. Your range of species at the moment is outstanding. Enjoy the fishing.

[J.A. Veil]

I made two trips to Southern MD to fish over the summer. I found out the hard way that the best bite was the first hour or two after sunrise. Is that still the case, or have things loosened up a bit?

[Yak67]

Things have started to "Loosen Up" John, we launched at 7am, Ron wanted 8, I like 6am so we split the difference. The bite was fine from 7am right until we quit, Ron was still catching. A surprise rain shower got us at 1030am and we quit, but a nice bite overall.

Yak67
2017 Hobie PA-12 Camo
2019 Hobie Outback

[ski357]

John-I fish the same waters, but primarily in the afternoon and evenings. In the last three weeks we have made mid day forays with success. Though, the mornings and evenings have been most productive.

[ronaultmtd]

John- i like to fish the tides-Find that moving water is the ticket around structure. The seasonal change is on- water temp was 78 degrees and getting cooler everyday. Fish are feeding up for the annual migration, so the rules are changing. Daylight still is king, but good fishing continues after first light.

And I don't "just troll" with the rods sitting in a holder. I hold a rod and give it an intermittent twitch, yo-yoing occasionally. Each lure has its own "sweet spot" as far as trolling speed and action. Capt Bert's Perch Pounder is very sensitive to trolling speed.It likes slow speeds. I like the 3/16 one with gold blade, but inventory is low every where- A large CNR took my last one yesterday and the Tackle Box did not have any. So I now have the 1/8 oz. ones. It is a very versatile lure that catches more than just White Perch as was evidenced in me catching 14 redfish yesterday on mine.

[Mark]

Ron,

I didn't fish tidal water often until until I got into kayak fishing.

I knew how fish related to current from wading freshwater rivers. I soon learned tidal fish behaved similarly. They usually face into the current waiting for food to pass by on the current. They also look for structure to both block the current giving them a place to rest and to provide a hiding place for potential meals.

The difference in tidal fishing as opposed to fishing a freshwater river is that our current changes direction here in the Mid-Bay with two highs and two lows each day. The water flow is not as intense for each change nor are the highs and lows the same each day of the month. But if you can time your outings on those changes, your chances for success improve. If you pay attention to the direction of flow, you'll also know which side of structure to approach with your casts.

It's rare to have good tidal fishing on a slack tide.

What I also learned from kayak angling is that even freshwater ponds have a flow. The fish in the pond relate to that moving water. If you can find a feeder stream, where that stream empties into the pond is usually a good place to target. The flow may be minimal. But the water is moving water and fish like it.

Just another thing to keep in mind on outings. Moving water is good water to fish.

[dsaavedra]

Ron, sounds like a great trip! When you fish St. Mary's River do you launch at the little spot in Great Mills or somewhere further downriver? I just learned of this spot in Great Mills the other day and am looking forward to launching there. It looks like it would be very similar to launching at McIntosh Run, a fun 2.5 mile paddle starting in a small stream through the woods that gradually transitions to a marsh and then open tidal water.