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Last evening almost proved to be an expensive Severn Slam. I launched at Weems around 5:00 pm and fished pretty hard for 3 hours, mainly working shorelines but also casting toward the occasional splashing fish and trolling from spot to spot. I managed my first pickerel of the year, three small perch, and two decent rock. It seems like all the places where perch were plentiful (and bigger) last year have kind of dried up in 2021. I also got carelessly finned by one of the rock, and being on blood thinners for past DVTs, bled like a stuck pig for minute or two. Luckily my wife makes me carry skin adhesive everywhere. I paddled back to the launch just as it was getting dark and pulled out my phone to text my wife that I was in safely. When I was only about 15 feet from the shore, a guy that was throwing tennis balls for his dog while conversing with someone else and not paying attention to the water nearly hit me. I guess when I ducked, my phone, which I had not put back in my pocket, must have fallen out into the water. I didn't notice till I had loaded up all my gear. By then it was dark, and my cursory search of the launch area came up empty.
I guess kayak fishing must be really great at chilling me out, b/c instead of being angry, I just chalked it up to the cost of doing business. I mean, replacing my phone via insurance is $200, but my friends that play golf or have other hobbies routinely spend that in a week. Anyway, when I got home, I called my phone just in case and it did ring a few times before going to voicemail. Then I checked google tracking and it showed the location as just off the launch - exactly where I thought. As I started doing an insurance claim around 10:30 pm, I saw that the map had updated and showed the phone was now in Beltsville outside DC. Strange. I called it from home phone and no answer. But then my home phone rings and it's a lady that had been out fishing and found my phone in about two feet of water - she and her husband saw it light up in the water when I had called it earlier. I drove down today to pick up from her and she was completely insistent on not taking any reward despite my best efforts. Good karma for her, I guess.
This actually marks the second time where something like this has happened to me. About 10 years ago, I lost my keys while wade fishing in the Patapsco above Ellicott City. I posted an ad in the lost-and-found on Craigslist and got a reply within 2 hours. I think the replacement key for my wife's car was like $450, so that was some major good fortune.
In other news, I actually made it four times last week. One other time in Weems, where the rock were actually biting pretty good immediately before the storm rolled in and chased me off, once at Solley's where the highlight was lunch at Ram's head (plus a few small perch), and once at SW Park where I caught a couple of catfish. I really like the launch at Solley's and having a lunch place where you can paddle to is a major plus, as is the porta-potty in the parking lot. Looking forward to getting to know it better and maybe catch some bigger fish in the fall. SW Park is so close for me but just doesn't bring the joy - I've never caught enough fish to outweigh all the unsightlyness around the launch and into the Patapsco.
I guess kayak fishing must be really great at chilling me out, b/c instead of being angry, I just chalked it up to the cost of doing business. I mean, replacing my phone via insurance is $200, but my friends that play golf or have other hobbies routinely spend that in a week. Anyway, when I got home, I called my phone just in case and it did ring a few times before going to voicemail. Then I checked google tracking and it showed the location as just off the launch - exactly where I thought. As I started doing an insurance claim around 10:30 pm, I saw that the map had updated and showed the phone was now in Beltsville outside DC. Strange. I called it from home phone and no answer. But then my home phone rings and it's a lady that had been out fishing and found my phone in about two feet of water - she and her husband saw it light up in the water when I had called it earlier. I drove down today to pick up from her and she was completely insistent on not taking any reward despite my best efforts. Good karma for her, I guess.
This actually marks the second time where something like this has happened to me. About 10 years ago, I lost my keys while wade fishing in the Patapsco above Ellicott City. I posted an ad in the lost-and-found on Craigslist and got a reply within 2 hours. I think the replacement key for my wife's car was like $450, so that was some major good fortune.
In other news, I actually made it four times last week. One other time in Weems, where the rock were actually biting pretty good immediately before the storm rolled in and chased me off, once at Solley's where the highlight was lunch at Ram's head (plus a few small perch), and once at SW Park where I caught a couple of catfish. I really like the launch at Solley's and having a lunch place where you can paddle to is a major plus, as is the porta-potty in the parking lot. Looking forward to getting to know it better and maybe catch some bigger fish in the fall. SW Park is so close for me but just doesn't bring the joy - I've never caught enough fish to outweigh all the unsightlyness around the launch and into the Patapsco.
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