6/26 Severn/Jonas Green

[thedutchtouch]

launched around 6:15 from Jonas green this AM, spent some time poking around structure in the severn, some in a creek/cove, got rained on briefly twice but it was a great day. I fished a bignose spinner ( a few different ones, color didn't seem to matter) and occasionally tossed out a salted shrimp under a popping cork. I ended up catching 4 total species, croaker, white perch rockfish and menhaden. white perch were plentiful but i didn't find many of significant size, 5 perch were selected to be transferred to Lake Crisco, the rest released unharmed other than a lip piercing. fished until around 2:30, the wind had picked up quite a bit and i was getting tired of fighting it so i called it quits and fished my way back to the beach. likely my last trip on the kayak for a while, I head to Alaska for a week of halibut and salmon fishing on the 8th. Tight lines everyone.

[UnkleRob2020]

Thank you for the report Justin. Hmmm...I am leaving in 10 minutes to go to either Solley's Cove or Jonas Green. Gonna check the winds now.

I am jealous of your trip to Alaska ...tight lines and be safe

[thedutchtouch]

Thank you for the report Justin. Hmmm...I am leaving in 10 minutes to go to either Solley's Cove or Jonas Green. Gonna check the winds now.

I am jealous of your trip to Alaska ...tight lines and be safe

you're likely out on the water now... when i launched i headed right (upstream) and found perch under almost every dock in 5-7 FOW. also found some in the first cove to the right (not sure what it's called, the one right by the giant white building thats an eldercare). the rockfish, menhaden, and croaker all were around the first few .

on a different note:
i have decided that my 7' ugly stik g2 ultralight is not the right pole for this type of fishing. i think ultralight is the way to go, but this pole is too much of a noodle to get a decent hook set, i missed more bites than i landed and had a good dozen fish come unbuttoned right by the kayak. i was using brand new bignose spinners so hook sharpness was not an issue. the reel is getting crunchy and the drag is pretty much worthless (i didn't take care of it since it's a 10 dollar shakespeare reel, figured it would last a season and this is it's second) so it's time to replace the whole setup. this rod will remain my go-to for bank fishing put and take trout with a circle hook, but i'll be looking into something else for my perching rod. anyone have a favorite rod/reel (i remember reccomendations for a pfleuger president at one time i think? i have an older 1000 shimano reel so i'll likely just get a rod and put that on the ugly stik.

[Mark]

Justin,

I'm big advocate of Pflueger Presidents. They're an excellent value for the money. I've had several in service for over 7 years. They're smooth and lightweight. Plus the spools are designed for braid.

I like the 30-series size because it accommodates everything I target in my kayak from white perch to stripers to channel cats to bass and picks. It's not too big and not too small.

I also like fast action rods for subsurface lures. I like slower action rods for topwater.

Regarding hooks, even brand new ones deserve attention with your file or sharpening stone. They lose a little edge to their sharpness just by sitting in storage, especially if they have been exposed to air or dampness. You'd be surprised how dull some new hooks right of the package can be. I touch mine with a stone routinely before the first cast of the day and I hit them again often during outings. Sharpening takes only a few seconds. I believe it's a good tactic to reduce long-distance-releases.

[moc]

LOL.... I love the reference in your report to "Lake Cisco"

[bignose]

One of the things I have experienced this year has been a plethora of small perch short striking the spinner jigs. It doesn't matter how sharp the hook is in this case. I could trim the lures back a bit, but from my experience that would just mean hooking more 3-4" perch-not what I am fishing for.

As to preferences, I used to be a Shimano guy, all the way from the entry level AX reels of 40 years ago thru the Stellas of 20 years ago. ( I didn't pay retail for the Stellas, I bought some "new-old stock" on consignment as discontinued models).
But due to lack of product support from Shimano, planned obsolescence of Shimano reels, and general overpricing, I have recently converted to Daiwa BG reels.
A 2500 reel would cover almost all Tidal fishing.
I use the 1500 models for perch and small rock.
They are a bit clunkier, and heavy than the Shimanos, but so far, over the past two years they have held up very well. I believe that they are sealed to prevent water intrusion.

Rods are pretty personal choices. I like a relatively short, light rod for my canoe fishing. I fish around docks and fallen trees, so I like the ability to flick lures into tight areas. I broke the tip tops off of some longer rods.
So this is not a place where I will fish my old Loomis rods!
My choice, here, is more utilitarian these days.

I currently use a couple of Bass Pro Crappie Maxx 5'-6" rods, and a 5'-6" Bass Pro Extreme Rods for my perching, but these are kinda light if you encounter a good sized Rock or Catfish in the Tidal Creeks.
I recently tested some 13 Fishing Defy spinning rods, found them quite precise, with a very fast action, but they are not available as 5'-6" models. They are very reasonably priced, only a couple of bucks more than the Ugly Sticks.

[J.A. Veil]

The rods I use for perch fishing are: a) 6' St Croix Triumph light, and b) 6' St Croix Premier ultralight. I use Stradic 1000 reels on each. They have enough backbone to not feel floppy, but are still light enough to make for fun fishing for perch. I have caught stripers to the low 20", dozens of pickerel, several catfish, and a few snakeheads on those rods. I also use them for freshwater pond fishing when I am targeting largemouth, crappie, bluegill, etc.

[Mark]

One of the things I have experienced this year has been a plethora of small perch short striking the spinner jigs.

Stu,

My last Magothy outing was like that. Tap tap and no hookup. I don't know if they were small because I never saw them. However, a change of venue to another creek an hour later and the situation completely reversed. Nice sized 9-10 inch perch hit spinners and flies hard. I caught a dozen in short order. It's hard to understand what caused the difference in behavior. It was the same day in the same basic body of water, just a different locale roughly 60 minutes later.

Fishing is like dealing in real estate. Timing and location are everything.

[thedutchtouch]

Stu,

My last Magothy outing was like that. Tap tap and no hookup. I don't know if they were small because I never saw them. However, a change of venue to another creek an hour later and the situation completely reversed. Nice sized 9-10 inch perch hit spinners and flies hard. I caught a dozen in short order. It's hard to understand what caused the difference in behavior. It was the same day in the same basic body of water, just a different locale roughly 60 minutes later.

Fishing is like dealing in real estate. Timing and location are everything.

i did have quite a few taps like that as well so likely contributed a lot to it but had at least a dozen fish that i'd rell in the 10-20 feet to the boat and come unbuttoned at the last minute with no precieved change in line tension. if they're short striking and then holding on that's pretty impressive, so i chalked this up to not getting the hook set well enough due to bendy pole and failing reel drag