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After all the chest beating and comments about "screw the paddle", I'm not sure if an angler using an old-fashioned paddle-propelled kayak can post here any more. I hope so, because that is how I plan to continue to fish for the foreseeable future.
I needed to be home by noon today but I still wanted to get in some kayak fishing. I drove from my home to within 1/2 mile of the Severn River launch site and realized that I had loaded all the necessary kayak gear but no fishing rods. I drove 15 minutes back home to pick up the rods then returned to launch at 8:45. The water level was about as low as I have seen it this year -- it continued to drop throughout the morning so that entire mud flats and sand spits were exposed in the creek where I fished today.
It was cool and windy. I started casting at my usual spots in this creek with three different lures on ultralight rods: a) 1/4-oz jighead with chartreuse Gulp swimming mullet; b) Strike King micro-king small spinnerbait in sun perch color; and c) one of Woody's glow-jigs in chartreuse and white. For the first 90 minutes, I got lots of casting practice but had no bites. I was persistent however, and continued to try different spots. Finally the ice broke with a rather lethargic 13" yellow perch. 20 minutes later, I caught a young rockfish. A few minutes after that, I hooked an 8" white perch. All three of these fish hit the Gulp bait.
I was hoping for a pickerel to round out the Severn mini-slam, so I began casting the micro-king, which has attracted quite a few pickerel bites over the last three months. Sure enough, in just a few more minutes a 14" pickerel hit the spinnerbait, danced on the surface for a short while, then was released. I was quite pleased with the 4 species and decided to start working my way back to the ramp.
A moment later, I cast the micro-king near a sunken trunk and began winding it back. Just a few feet from the boat, I felt a bump, then the ultralight rod doubled over with the obviously heavy fish swimming back under the kayak. Because very little line was out, I was able to subdue the fish quickly. As I got my first glimpse, I was shocked -- it was a jumbo white perch. This is the second time in my fishing career when I have looked in the water to see my fish and thought it was a large mouth bass because of the size and depth of the body. It was a mammoth white perch of 13.5". I did not have my Hawg Trough on board today. I show several views of the fish with a measuring tape, and several objects for scale (the Gulp bag is 7" across, and the gripper tool is 8.5").
Ironically the other time I thought my huge perch was an LMB was several summers ago in the same creek and no more than 50 feet from where I caught today's biggun. I wonder if this is the same fish? I put the big guy back and hope to catch him again.
My entire fishing time lasted 2.5 hours, and I caught nothing during the first 1.5 hours. That final hour brought nice diversity and a memorable perch.
I needed to be home by noon today but I still wanted to get in some kayak fishing. I drove from my home to within 1/2 mile of the Severn River launch site and realized that I had loaded all the necessary kayak gear but no fishing rods. I drove 15 minutes back home to pick up the rods then returned to launch at 8:45. The water level was about as low as I have seen it this year -- it continued to drop throughout the morning so that entire mud flats and sand spits were exposed in the creek where I fished today.
It was cool and windy. I started casting at my usual spots in this creek with three different lures on ultralight rods: a) 1/4-oz jighead with chartreuse Gulp swimming mullet; b) Strike King micro-king small spinnerbait in sun perch color; and c) one of Woody's glow-jigs in chartreuse and white. For the first 90 minutes, I got lots of casting practice but had no bites. I was persistent however, and continued to try different spots. Finally the ice broke with a rather lethargic 13" yellow perch. 20 minutes later, I caught a young rockfish. A few minutes after that, I hooked an 8" white perch. All three of these fish hit the Gulp bait.
I was hoping for a pickerel to round out the Severn mini-slam, so I began casting the micro-king, which has attracted quite a few pickerel bites over the last three months. Sure enough, in just a few more minutes a 14" pickerel hit the spinnerbait, danced on the surface for a short while, then was released. I was quite pleased with the 4 species and decided to start working my way back to the ramp.
A moment later, I cast the micro-king near a sunken trunk and began winding it back. Just a few feet from the boat, I felt a bump, then the ultralight rod doubled over with the obviously heavy fish swimming back under the kayak. Because very little line was out, I was able to subdue the fish quickly. As I got my first glimpse, I was shocked -- it was a jumbo white perch. This is the second time in my fishing career when I have looked in the water to see my fish and thought it was a large mouth bass because of the size and depth of the body. It was a mammoth white perch of 13.5". I did not have my Hawg Trough on board today. I show several views of the fish with a measuring tape, and several objects for scale (the Gulp bag is 7" across, and the gripper tool is 8.5").
Ironically the other time I thought my huge perch was an LMB was several summers ago in the same creek and no more than 50 feet from where I caught today's biggun. I wonder if this is the same fish? I put the big guy back and hope to catch him again.
My entire fishing time lasted 2.5 hours, and I caught nothing during the first 1.5 hours. That final hour brought nice diversity and a memorable perch.
, but excellent catch! I had plans of stealing away for a couple hours to wade and trout fish tomorrow morning, but rain/snow may foil that plan. I wonder how the Severn will look on Sunday for a quick paddle trip in my old kayak...
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