Two Personal Bests - and I was woefully unprepared

[scorchy]

First, the disclaimer: personal bests may not mean as much when the biggest rock you've ever caught was 20" and you had never caught a pickerel until earlier in the week...

Headed back to Weems around noon hoping the fishing would be as good as on Monday. It was a lot windier than I expected, so what the heck, decided to start up the creek in the same cove I had fished a few days ago. The water was a lot lower and there wasn't as much shade so wasn't sure what to expect. I still had the same black Mepps that was killing it before rigged up on rod #1 but it didn't get a single sniff in the first 10 or 15 casts. Thinking I was mainly going to be catching small fish if any at all, I also had brought along my ultralight that I use for stocked trout with a white Mepps. The first cast on the UL picked up a small perch. Then a few more over the next 10 minutes (all a lot smaller than Monday), followed by a maybe 12" rock. I was kind of daydreaming about how the color of the hair on a spinner could really make a difference, when BAM, the drag just took off. At first I thought maybe it was a huge pickerel, but I hadn't cast towards the shore and this seemed way bigger anyway. I really needed to be careful on the 6 lb test, so I feel like I fought for almost 90 seconds before I caught good sight of it about 20 feet from the yak - definitely the biggest rock I had ever hooked.

After another couple of minutes I managed to get it near the boat and realized I had no idea whatsoever on how to deal with a fish this size on a yak. I had caught a skate and a small shark before, but I knew those weren't getting anywhere near the inside of my kayak, but this I wanted to measure and get a picture while being extra careful not to break the line and leave a big striper with a lure in its mouth. Well, I got the pic, but not the measurement, and the pic is kind of crappy and doesn't do the size justice. Judging by how high I was holding my arm when the tail left the water, I swear it was 30 inches - and fat. Now, I'm totally willing to admit that maybe my eyes deceived me, and if someone says "Bollocks, man, no way is a 30" striper that far up Weems Creek," I'll demure. But still easily the biggest fish I ever caught on the kayak (skate excluded).

I didn't get another bite in the cove for the next 15 minutes, so moved across the creek and fished the rip-rap and docks. Caught a few more perch (no real size) and two decent pickerel before crossing back again and working the same terrain on the other side. I was chatting with a bunch of dudes crabbing off one of the docks while casting a gulp minnow to the shore when I got another big hit and a fish taking drag. This time, the culprit revealed himself quickly by jumping out of the water - a pretty dang massive pickerel, several inches longer and like double the girth of any I had caught before. It was fun having my own cheering section from the docks as I brought in, but realize I must of looked like a total wuss trying to figure out how to unhook it while avoiding the teeth. He/she just refused to chill out any time I tried to grab it, but luckily managed to spit the hook before I embarrassed myself further.

I figured that was as good as I could expect for the day and paddled the short distance back to the launch, casting the gulp along the way. Managed to grab another 20" rock that fought like crazy before getting back. No problems boating and unhooking that one, but no witnesses either.

I feel spoiled. And I also plan to be much better prepared the next time I'm lucky enough to catch a fish that's more than a handful.

[Yakmac]

That’s a nice fish! If you say 30” I’m not going to dispute it. I fished Weems on Tuesday and didn’t find anything except small perch and one 17” striper at the mouth. May be worth making a trip back. I’ve usually had pretty good success there this time of year. Congrats on your PB’s

[ronaultmtd]

It is "Roctober"...Stripers return from the depths to feed up for a long winter in creeks and flats...glad you were able to land your personal best...always a "memory maker"...

[Mark]

Scorchy,

As you've learned, you can grab (lip) stripers with your fingers. At the worst, you will get "striper thumb" if you hook a bunch of them. That's the sign of a successful trip. I enjoyed a case of striper thumb last week. Unfortunately, all my catches were small fish, not impressive like yours.

For pickerel, if they're under 20 inches, I can usually get my left hand around their back next to their gills and lift them into the boat. If they're lip-hooked, and most are, I can pop out the hook with my fingers. If the hook is deeper in the fish's mouth, I use forceps which I keep clipped to my PFD to remove the hook.

If I see the pickerel's back is wide and I cannot get my fingers around it to pick it up, I use my plastic fish grips and insert them into the fish's mouth as I as get it to the side of my kayak. Then I lift it into my boat and use my fingers or forceps to remove the hook.

You're doing well in Weems. Indeed this is the time of year when larger stripers visit creeks. I'm not surprised you hooked a big one.

The creek's orientation is mostly west to east especially in the back past the bridges. You can usually find leeside protection there in a northern or southern wind. If the wind shifts to the northeast or southwest, you'll find less protection near the mouth of the creek. But there are enough cuts and coves to find protection regardless of the wind direction. That's one reason it's a good location to fish.

Continued success to you.

[J.A. Veil]

Congratulations on your good catches. Larger fish can be found from time to time in Weems. One day last week I caught 8 pickerel there, and one of them was 23" long. They do increase in girth as they grow longer. Mark explained his process of grabbing fish around the body to control them before removing the hook. He said that he does not grab them that way when they are longer than 20". I grab all of the pickerel I catch that way, even the larger ones. Just pretend you are grabbing the thick end of a baseball bat. Keep your fingers away from their gills. Your hand will smell (pickerel slime has a unique scent), and a few of the pickerel grunt or make some other sound of displeasure as I am holding them firmly (I cannot think of other fish that do that). FishGrips do help in controlling a fish, but they can cause some trauma to a fish's mouth. I only use them when I am concerned that I cannot control the fish with just my hand, or if I have hooked a large very toothy fish (3' barracuda, 4' shark -- caught in the Keys).

I have not caught stripers above 21" in Weems this year, but have caught them up to 27" in past years during Sept-Oct.

Most of the pickerel and stripers I have caught in Weems over the past two weeks have been more energetic than during the summer. I had several pickerel go airborne after I hooked them, and had stripers tow my kayak for short distances.

If you are interested in measuring your catches, I recommend that you purchase a HawgTrough or some other type of portable measuring device. As an alternative, some kayak paddles come with a ruler marked on the shaft -- this can help estimating length.

[ronaultmtd]

Nothing beats a net, especially a rubber coated net...our problem as kayak anglers lies in the very limited space available and the problem of storing and retrieving the landing net for using it to land a fish on the water...The tiny folding nets are nearly useless for large fish like stripers and gator trout...they work OK for panfish but why would you need a net for panfish? And the question of having a measuring device onboard only matters if you think you will harvest any fish...DNR regs set minimum legal sizes for gamefish...guessing could be extremely expensive if you guess wrong...

[scorchy]

Thanks for all the input and advice. I grew up bottom fishing in Tangier Sound and have caught a zillion croaker and spot (and decades ago, weakfish) on a boat but nothing of too much size or toothiness and definitely nowhere that I had to worry about a sudden weight shift tipping me over - I think I told that story on here on my first go-around with kayak fishing.

I'm just really happy to be getting back into this for the fun and the "zen-ness" it brings. No plans on keeping fish, though I wouldn't mind a few measurements here and there just so I'm not telling my father a bunch of fish stories.

[Slackdaddy]

Nice job,, I have not been having as good luck down on the PAX,,
Used to live in HH on the Severn, it was a fun river.

[Mark]

Pickerel -- I can't grab the big ones. My fingers are not long enough to hold onto to their slimy bodies!

I've gotten good at judging their girth and length when I see them in the water. A 20 incher is more than I can hold.

A net is sounding more feasible to me. (Brand recommendations welcome.) I never wanted to carry one but I may reconsider especially as snakeheads become more common in our waters.

[J.A. Veil]

I fished in a Severn tributary this morning (not Weems) for two hours. I caught 4 pickerel, 5 perch, and one powerful striper. My kayak was sitting in 12" of water near a dropoff down to 4'. I cast out my 3" paddletail and worked it back slowly. I made many casts like that, but on this one I felt the bite, then the fish took off. It pulled line off my reel against the drag and towed my kayak about 20 yards before slowing down. I took my time getting the fish next to the kayak, put my thumb inside its jaw, and lifted it into the kayak for some quick photos before a gentle release back to the water. The fish was about 24" long but had a huge girth. It was a memorable fight on a 6'6" light rod.

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