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So far this year I have had the good fortune to be able to go fishing pretty often. Even better, I have caught some fish on nearly every trip. In fact, I have caught at least one fish during every week of 2012.
I did not fish this week on Sun-Wed. I headed out Thurs afternoon and decided to launch at a small boat ramp area off of Edgewood Rd near Hillsmere/Eastport. If you look at the aerial photo below, it is where Edgewood Rd bends just past Bert Jabin's Yacht yard.
I had seen on the aerial photo two small salt ponds with narrow entrances to the Severn in the vicinity. If you paddle out to the mouth of Back Creek, then turn right, you will come to Chase Pond and Heron Lake. They are not too far north from Blackwalnut Creek where kayak456 has been pounding perch for several weeks, so I hoped to explore there. It took more than 30 minutes of steady paddling to reach the Chase Pond entrance. Once in the Severn, I fought a brisk wind and steady 1.5 footers off the port bow.
The entrance to the pond was about 5 ft wide with a rapidly moving current into the pond. I was psyched to try out the pond until I saw a large sign next to the pond entrance indicating to keep out -- that this was an ecologically protected area. There was no indication on the sign about who had posted it (for example, DNR, City of Annapolis). I was not in the mood for getting hassled for trespassing, so I moved a short distance away to Heron Lake. I was stymied there too.
The entrance was barely wide enough to fit a kayak, plus there were two large tree trunks across the entrance. The waves were pushing me fast against the shoreline. Rather than risk getting soaked, I left and paddled back into Back Creek. Much of the shoreline there is hard structure and marinas and private piers. I tried fishing a few areas with natural shorelines but had no bites.
I realized that my fish-per-week streak was in jeopardy, so I headed out again this afternoon from Jonas Green. I visited a cove that had been a predictable pickerel producer all winter, and which is a good perch spot in summer and fall. I was surprised to see how much aquatic grasses and plants had already grown up since I was there last only 3 weeks ago. It should help water quality, but it snagged nearly every lure I tossed in the area. I used a variety of small soft plastics and spinners today -- no more minnows for me in the Severn until next winter.
Now for the surprise catch of the day. On one cast, I retrieved the jighead and twister tail and saw something wiggling. Upon close inspection, I had snagged a 1.5" transparent baitfish, much like a silverside or bay anchovy. Several photos of the baitfish are shown below. So I suppose I did indeed catch my fish of the week to keep the streak alive. I admit that it may be questionable to count a fish that was snagged rather than actually caught in the mouth. Nevertheless, I did catch a fish on hook and line.
Putting that silly catch aside, I can offer that the white perch have not yet moved into their shallow-water, warm-weather spots in the mid- to lower Severn tributaries where I fish. Last year, I did not catch my first white perch in the summer locations until May 21. Hopefully they will show up sooner this year.
The last photo shows a deer that was standing at water's edge when I first paddled into the cove today. This one allowed me to get about 50 ft away before slowing walking away.
I did not fish this week on Sun-Wed. I headed out Thurs afternoon and decided to launch at a small boat ramp area off of Edgewood Rd near Hillsmere/Eastport. If you look at the aerial photo below, it is where Edgewood Rd bends just past Bert Jabin's Yacht yard.
I had seen on the aerial photo two small salt ponds with narrow entrances to the Severn in the vicinity. If you paddle out to the mouth of Back Creek, then turn right, you will come to Chase Pond and Heron Lake. They are not too far north from Blackwalnut Creek where kayak456 has been pounding perch for several weeks, so I hoped to explore there. It took more than 30 minutes of steady paddling to reach the Chase Pond entrance. Once in the Severn, I fought a brisk wind and steady 1.5 footers off the port bow.
The entrance to the pond was about 5 ft wide with a rapidly moving current into the pond. I was psyched to try out the pond until I saw a large sign next to the pond entrance indicating to keep out -- that this was an ecologically protected area. There was no indication on the sign about who had posted it (for example, DNR, City of Annapolis). I was not in the mood for getting hassled for trespassing, so I moved a short distance away to Heron Lake. I was stymied there too.
The entrance was barely wide enough to fit a kayak, plus there were two large tree trunks across the entrance. The waves were pushing me fast against the shoreline. Rather than risk getting soaked, I left and paddled back into Back Creek. Much of the shoreline there is hard structure and marinas and private piers. I tried fishing a few areas with natural shorelines but had no bites.
I realized that my fish-per-week streak was in jeopardy, so I headed out again this afternoon from Jonas Green. I visited a cove that had been a predictable pickerel producer all winter, and which is a good perch spot in summer and fall. I was surprised to see how much aquatic grasses and plants had already grown up since I was there last only 3 weeks ago. It should help water quality, but it snagged nearly every lure I tossed in the area. I used a variety of small soft plastics and spinners today -- no more minnows for me in the Severn until next winter.
Now for the surprise catch of the day. On one cast, I retrieved the jighead and twister tail and saw something wiggling. Upon close inspection, I had snagged a 1.5" transparent baitfish, much like a silverside or bay anchovy. Several photos of the baitfish are shown below. So I suppose I did indeed catch my fish of the week to keep the streak alive. I admit that it may be questionable to count a fish that was snagged rather than actually caught in the mouth. Nevertheless, I did catch a fish on hook and line.
Putting that silly catch aside, I can offer that the white perch have not yet moved into their shallow-water, warm-weather spots in the mid- to lower Severn tributaries where I fish. Last year, I did not catch my first white perch in the summer locations until May 21. Hopefully they will show up sooner this year.
The last photo shows a deer that was standing at water's edge when I first paddled into the cove today. This one allowed me to get about 50 ft away before slowing walking away.
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