Weems Creek 9/29

[scorchy]

Took the afternoon off yesterday and decided to drive down to Weems Creek. Got on the water around 1 pm. First I headed right from the ramp towards the Severn. I had picked up a few smaller rock there the week before trolling gulp through schools of jumping baitfish. Unfortunately, the wind was gusting pretty good, and I'm out there to relax, so just wasn't willing to fight the conditions. I decided to paddle back up the creek and fish the shorelines for pickerel, having never caught one before. I managed to pick up one schoolie (maybe 12") on the way there but that was it. I mainly fished the coves to stay out of the wind, tossing an inline Mepps spinner on light tackle, and really wasn't having much luck. The wind was a lot better back there but still was pushing me around in a lot of the spots. I trolled across the creek to a cove on the other side and caught another schoolie on the way. And then, like magic, the bite was on.

My first cast to the shore with a black Mepps brought me my first pickerel. Right after that, a couple of big perch on consecutive casts. For the next 30 minutes, the perch bite was on fire - the only thing that stopped the catching was getting snagged multiple times in the underwater branches. Since those Mepps aren't cheap, I lost a bunch of time paddling over to the shore to unsnag them. On the way out of the cove, I caught two more pickerel against the shoreline - the way they hit the spinners is such a blast.

I was back at the ramp by 5:00. Caught 1 fish in the first 3 hours and 15 minutes, then managed one rock, a dozen good-sized perch, and three pickerel (biggest seemed about 20") in the last 45. All were released back into the creek to fight another day (though the post in the other section does have me planning to switch out the treble hooks on my spinners).

[jbrown]

Consider a beetle spin or small traditional spinner bait. Same fish with less snags. Great report.


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[Mark]

Scorchy,

Nice report and outing.

Congratulations.

[J.A. Veil]

Congratulations on a successful trip. Weems offers a lot of options, and is usually fishable even in high winds. I fished it yesterday morning. I started by casting a paddletail or Bignose spinner to the shoreline. I found 8 pickerel in 90 mins, including one at 23" (my largest there in a while). I caught a few small stripers, but despite a lot of effort, could not find a perch yesterday.

In some previous falls, a great striper trolling fishery sets up in Weems and other larger Severn creeks. For some reason, conditions have not really set up this year. The last two times I trolled there in a systematic fashion, I drew a blank.

I fished in the Severn again this morning. I caught pickerel, perch, and stripers in parts of Weems that I had not visited the previous day. I also paddled to a second tributary where I had an amazing fishery for 30 mins. I caught 3 pickerel, 5 perch, and 10 stripers -- all in about 100 yds of shoreline -- during that period. The stripers seemed to have swallowed vitamins or borrowed some of Popeye's spinach recently. I cast my Fat Sam mullet paddletail to a shoreline expecting a pickerel hit. I felt the bite and the fish took off with fury. I levered the kayak with my paddle using one arm to twist my angle so I would not get dragged into the shore, while holding the bent rod in the other hand. Once in slightly deeper water, the fish dragged me for 10 yds before slowing down). I did not know what fish had put out that much effort. I was surprised to find it was an 18" striper that was hyperactive.

I stayed in the same general area and caught another 9 stripers on the next 12 casts. All pulled far harder than I had expected for their length. The largest was about 20", and it pulled like a redfish (strong runs, bent rod, singing drag).

[scorchy]

Congratulations on a successful trip. Weems offers a lot of options, and is usually fishable even in high winds.

I've just started to get back into this hobby after a long hiatus and Weems has fast become my favorite for exactly that reason. To me, it's worth the 35 minute drive from Catonsville because the entire experience is relatively stress free and you can still catch fish. I've been trying some water closer to home like SW Park/Belle Grove but haven't had a lot of luck (and there's a lot more trash). I've also tried out bigger water on the Eastern Shore and caught bigger fish than Weems, but a lot of times it feels like I end up doing more paddling than fishing. Hopefully can make it back down of Friday to fish for a few hours. If you see a guy with a big beard in an orange Native Manta Ray 14, I'm always happy to take some instruction from a Severn fishing legend.

I also paddled to a second tributary where I had an amazing fishery for 30 mins. I caught 3 pickerel, 5 perch, and 10 stripers -- all in about 100 yds of shoreline -- during that period. The stripers seemed to have swallowed vitamins or borrowed some of Popeye's spinach recently. I cast my Fat Sam mullet paddletail to a shoreline expecting a pickerel hit. I felt the bite and the fish took off with fury. I levered the kayak with my paddle using one arm to twist my angle so I would not get dragged into the shore, while holding the bent rod in the other hand. Once in slightly deeper water, the fish dragged me for 10 yds before slowing down). I did not know what fish had put out that much effort. I was surprised to find it was an 18" striper that was hyperactive.

I stayed in the same general area and caught another 9 stripers on the next 12 casts. All pulled far harder than I had expected for their length. The largest was about 20", and it pulled like a redfish (strong runs, bent rod, singing drag).

Sounds like a great time. Jealous.

[scorchy]

Consider a beetle spin or small traditional spinner bait. Same fish with less snags. Great report.


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Thanks. Will try that out next time.