Potential Solley's Meetup on Saturday?

[UnkleRob2020]

I am not certain, but I am strongly leaning towards fishing Solley's on Saturday. I will have more certainty towards the end of the week. If anyone would like to join, I would welcome the company.

[Red_Beard]

I would join you, but we're heading out to western Maryland for the long weekend. I'm planning to do some smallmouth and trout fishing while I'm out there. I fished out of Solley's yesterday. I got a few decent stripers with the biggest going 19", and a bunch of perch. I also got a channel catfish on my ultralight that probably went 5 pounds. Fishing should definitely pick up there as things cool down.

[scorchy]

Rob - definitely keep this thread updated as the week progresses. It's hard for me to commit 5 days out, but I should know more about weekend plans by Thursday or Friday. I'm hoping to get out again at some point in the middle of the week too.

[J.A. Veil]

Most of our members who have been fishing from Solleys Cove have reported multi-species catches. I must be doing something wrong. I fished there from 8:30 to 11:30 this morning. I caught plenty of stripers while trolling near shorelines. I spent roughly one hour of the trip casting to shorelines that seemed to have good habitat (overhanging branches, grassy areas, rip rap, fallen wood, etc). I tried in at least three different tidal ponds and creeks within reasonable paddling distance from the launch. From all those casts with a Bignose spinner and a 3" paddletail, I had zero bites. I am not sure what I am doing differently from the rest of you (location, lure, speed of retrieval, etc.). I would appreciate any help either in a reply to this post or in pmails.

[scorchy]

John - I feel like the perch bite is either on or off. Last Thursday, almost all of them were caught in two different stretches of docks in distinct 15-30 minute stretches. Right before I started catching, I talked to guy working on his boat and lamented that the perch bite wasn't happening that day. He told me that a month ago, I could have filled up the kayak with them. I moved like 4 or 5 docks down and caught a bunch. On Sunday, I caught almost 20 perch about 50 feet offshore with no visible structure in sight. Would have never thought to stop and fish there if my paddletail hadn't been getting tugged while trolling. As for pickerel, the ones I caught Thursday were my first of the year in Solley's, and just like with the perch, were concentrated in maybe 100 yards of shoreline. The one I caught Sunday was on the same stretch of shoreline and may have been a repeat customer. The catfish are just dumb luck when I let my gulp sink before paddling off.

Feel free to PM me for more specifics.

[Red_Beard]

John - I got all of my perch on Sunday in about 5-10 feet of water on either a 2.5 inch paddletail on an 1/8 oz jighead or a quarter oz crippled herring spoon. I was fishing them around the old sunken ships and deeper pilings. This was how I got the channel catfish too. None of them came from casting to shore. I think with the water cooling off they are starting to back off the banks towards a little deeper structure.

[J.A. Veil]

John - I got all of my perch on Sunday in about 5-10 feet of water on either a 2.5 inch paddletail on an 1/8 oz jighead or a quarter oz crippled herring spoon. I was fishing them around the old sunken ships and deeper pilings. This was how I got the channel catfish too. None of them came from casting to shore. I think with the water cooling off they are starting to back off the banks towards a little deeper structure.

Thanks for that information. We are approaching the time of year when perch leave the shallows. Maybe I needed to fish a bit deeper.

[Mark]

Another thing about white perch is that sometimes they want a small meal.

Most of us on this forum cast 1/8 oz. jigs at them in some form -- jigs with Mr. Twisters, paddletails or spinner jigs like Stu's Big Nose spinners or other homemade iterations of spinners. Each of those lures are relatively large to a perch. In fact, many of us have caught pickerels, stripers, channel cats, snakeheads, redfish, LM and SM bass, etc. on those same lures.

The photo below has a fly and a lure that I have caught white perch on at Solleys Cove just two weeks ago and other Patapsco creeks and creeks in the Severn and Magothy this summer and fall:

IMG_4753 (2).jpg

I placed a dime in the photo to give you an idea of the relative size of the two offerings.

Sometimes, white perch do not want the spinner. But they will take the fly. The opposite is true too. I have no idea why their preferences change. But I have been in many spots this year where one approach will will work when the other one won't. Rarely will both work in the same area simultaneously.

I fish the fly, which is really a shad fly under a strike indicator on about 3 to 4 feet of tippet with a 5 wt. fly rod. I cast it out to traditional perch spots near shade and structure and merely twitch the indicator. The perch hook themselves, just as they do with the spinner as you retrieve it. When the indicator disappears under water I simply raise the rod tip and the fish is on. Interestingly, I have also caught picks and and one striper this year on the dropper fly.

For those of you who do not wish to fly fish, you could do the same thing with an ultralight spinning rod and a float.

It's another technique to try when the perch are finicky. They may in fact be present, but just not in the mood for a big meal. In fact I have caught them on Bluegill Bullies via the same method this year. That's a fly even smaller than a shad fly.

IMG_3691.jpg

Indeed, white perch are moving from their traditional shoreline spots now. But I think you can still find some holdovers. If not, a pickerel or striper may surprise you with their appetite for a tiny meal.

[Wheatonkayak]

Hey I am potentially in- you guys are talking about Solley’s Cove park? Is the water fairly protected? I am potentially in.

[Mark]

Hey I am potentially in- you guys are talking about Solley’s Cove park? Is the water fairly protected? I am potentially in.

It's both.

Curtis Creek at the site of the launch is slightly over 3/10 of a mile wide and therefore subject to wind and waves.

But sheltered coves and feeder creeks are within 1/2 of mile or closer.

Here's how it looks on Google Maps:

Screenshot 2021-10-04 190555.jpg

I've placed a Red Arrow at the approximate location of the ramp.

[Wheatonkayak]

Thanks Mark. Appreciate you posting this. I’m in (I think) as long as the wind stays down. Hey I think we did a meet up a couple years ago when we went to unicorn and it was frozen? Then we went to tuckahoe ?

[Mark]

Yes. That was possible. Tuckahoe sometimes remains ice-free when nearby Unicorn freezes.

Regarding Saturday, you should be OK if this forecast holds:

Screenshot 2021-10-05 102513.jpg

Keep the shoreline to your left as depart the launch and to your right as you return and you should be able to find sufficient leeside protection.

[Lisa]

The Eagle docked at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay yesterday. Look for a big three masted sailing ship. She may be up on the hard by now.

Lisa

[UnkleRob2020]

Thank you for all of the information and assistance that you provide, Lisa.

The wind and weather forecast has me thinking that tomorrow I should seek more sheltered waters. I am still inexperienced at trying to consider wind, tide, etc but double digit winds are not ideal. I started this thread with good intentions, and I may still go to Solley's tomorrow, but I am much less certain.

If anyone was planning to go....particularly if you were planning to go in order to meet and greet/fish with other anglers, please let me know either by replying to this thread or PM.

[scorchy]

Hey Rob -

No worries from me. I'm likely to go regardless (unless I wake up and the winds are roaring). Sunday looks like a washout and I've gotta go away for work Mon-Thurs, so I'm afraid of missing out on one of the last windows before it starts getting cold. If I go, I'll probably get to the launch around 7 or a little after. If you decide to come and see a blue Land Cruiser in the lot, I'm out there somewhere in a bright green Native WC.

Dave