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Since the weather was nasty, I decided to go fishing. I headed towards Fletcher's and launched around 3:30, in a driving rain.
I wasn't sure what I was getting into...
Shad were jumping everywhere, and my fishfinder was lighting up.
A few shore fisherman were targeting them.
The first thing I did was lose my new anchor... AGAIN! Last week at Fletcher's I snagged my anchor and had to leave it there. This time, I didn't clamp it right and it came loose and sank, along with the float that was supposed to prevent this. In the fast flowing river, I knew I was screwed.
I spent the next 2 hours snagging because I was drifting and dragging my lead along the bottom... and looking for safe rocky harbors to take shelter in and try to stay put.
I managed to catch one cat from the yak, a nice 24", but I couldn't get a pic because it had pulled me out of my harbor and I was drifting fast towards rocks by the time I had it unhooked. But here I am fighting it!
So, I decided to go to shore. I pulled my yak up on a sandy beach on the VA side and used it as a really big rod holder. Several times, I had to scramble to catch the expensive rod holder before fish pulled it into the river.
From shore I caught 4 more cats, including a nice 27" blue, 4 perch (that I used as bait) and a huge rockfish (see photo below).
I'm pissed because I got some big pullage on the live perch, but could NEVER get a hookset. I was using 5/0 circle and these huge J hooks I have. Hooking the perch in the back or through the eyes. At least 10 times, something took the live bait. I let the line go out and slowly applied pressure to let the circle do its job, but every time the behemoth that had eaten it let go. A couple times, I tried setting the hook hard... same result. Argh! Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
When I got home I was pretty wet.
(I did not use the striper as bait. It was foul hooked in the eye.)
I wasn't sure what I was getting into...
Shad were jumping everywhere, and my fishfinder was lighting up.
A few shore fisherman were targeting them.
The first thing I did was lose my new anchor... AGAIN! Last week at Fletcher's I snagged my anchor and had to leave it there. This time, I didn't clamp it right and it came loose and sank, along with the float that was supposed to prevent this. In the fast flowing river, I knew I was screwed.
I spent the next 2 hours snagging because I was drifting and dragging my lead along the bottom... and looking for safe rocky harbors to take shelter in and try to stay put.
I managed to catch one cat from the yak, a nice 24", but I couldn't get a pic because it had pulled me out of my harbor and I was drifting fast towards rocks by the time I had it unhooked. But here I am fighting it!
So, I decided to go to shore. I pulled my yak up on a sandy beach on the VA side and used it as a really big rod holder. Several times, I had to scramble to catch the expensive rod holder before fish pulled it into the river.
From shore I caught 4 more cats, including a nice 27" blue, 4 perch (that I used as bait) and a huge rockfish (see photo below).
I'm pissed because I got some big pullage on the live perch, but could NEVER get a hookset. I was using 5/0 circle and these huge J hooks I have. Hooking the perch in the back or through the eyes. At least 10 times, something took the live bait. I let the line go out and slowly applied pressure to let the circle do its job, but every time the behemoth that had eaten it let go. A couple times, I tried setting the hook hard... same result. Argh! Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
When I got home I was pretty wet.
(I did not use the striper as bait. It was foul hooked in the eye.)
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