First fish of 2022!

[Red_Beard]

Knowing that the unseasonably warm weather was soon to end, I got out on the Severn yesterday to catch a few pickerel. My last two trips of 2021 were both skunks so I didn't have great hopes, but had to try to redeem myself. I succeeded in catching two pickerel on a suspending jerkbait, and had several additional follows that I couldn't convert into bites. One particularly large fish spent a full two minutes circling my lure beside the kayak while I did Figure 8s in an attempt to coax it into biting before it finally spooked. I also tried throwing paddletails in the hopes that those would better tempt the followers, but they provided unproductive. Does anyone else have tips for this situation?

And feel free to jump in with your first fish of the year as well!

[rugbyfish]

I switched to live minnows on a jig head, fished slow, for my most recent outing. I tried lures with no luck, but minnows did the trick. The only lure I’ve had consistent luck with this time of year is a big in-line spinner. I replaced the treble hook with a large single hook for quicker releases.

[Red_Beard]

I debated picking up some minnows at Anglers yesterday, but decided against it as I hoped the warm spell would have them biting more aggressively. I fished with bait all of once last year when I went to the eastern shore to fish the yellow perch run. Now that it's getting colder I will probably get some for my next trip. I've got some size 2 and 3 Mepps spinners that I will try as well.

[rugbyfish]

#3’s have been productive, but I’ve also had good luck with #4 Mepps. I feel like I can fish the bigger blades even slower. And. Hear you, I only fish with live minnows once or twice a year, either for pickerel or yellow perch. I typically try to avoid the hassle of live bait, but sometimes it beats getting skunked!

[J.A. Veil]

I switched to live minnows on a jig head, fished slow, for my most recent outing. I tried lures with no luck, but minnows did the trick. The only lure I’ve had consistent luck with this time of year is a big in-line spinner. I replaced the treble hook with a large single hook for quicker releases.

I switched to minnows in mid-Dec, and did well for the next two weeks. Even so, the bite was slow the last few days of December when I fished in different Severn creeks and ponds.

12/29 - fished in pond on south shore of river - 2 fish; did not have minnows that trip; 1 fish on crankbait, 1 on 4.5" paddletail worked slowly in slightly deeper water
12/30 - fished in 3 different ponds/creeks on north shore - 5 fish (all in one pond, none in the other two)
12/31 - fished in 3 different ponds/creeks on south shore (different spot from 12/29) - 4 fish total; 2 in first spot, 1 in second, 1 in third)

I had very few casts on any of those days when I felt a bump or saw a fish following. The fish just were not very interested on those days. On Thurs and Fri, I made a few casts with the crankbait and paddletail rigs that caught fish on Wed. The fish were not interested in the lures those days.

That was a lot of paddling and casting for just a few fish. If the weather had not been so mild with calm seas, I would not have gone.

My pickerel niche is primarily Severn tidal creeks and ponds. I rarely fish in the eastern shore ponds and some of the freshwater rivers there. Fish behavior and fishing tactics may be different there.

With cold overnight air temps all of this week, there will be skim (or thicker) ice on portions of the tidal creeks and ponds (at least during the morning). Finding open water that has the right habitat may be tough this week.

[Red_Beard]

Thanks for the info! Looking at the forecast, I don't see myself getting out this week any time before next Sunday afternoon when its supposed to get up into the upper 40s. Just stepping out there today was enough to know my body is going to need some time to adjust to these lower temperatures. 40 degree temperature shifts in one day are a lot to take!

[dsaavedra]

One particularly large fish spent a full two minutes circling my lure beside the kayak while I did Figure 8s in an attempt to coax it into biting before it finally spooked. I also tried throwing paddletails in the hopes that those would better tempt the followers, but they provided unproductive. Does anyone else have tips for this situation?

Sometimes varying you retrieval can trigger a strike in these situations. Usually I'll kill the retrieve and let the lure fall, they like to strike on the fall. Sometimes a quick increase in speed or an erratic jerk can trigger a strike too. A lot of times they just follow and don't strike though. It can be frustrating but I think it's exciting and fun seeing fish follow or take swipes at the lures regardless of whether or not I hook up.

[Mark]

Cliff,

Congrats for getting off to a quick start.

I have not fished thus far in 2022 but my last outing of 2021 was on New Year's Eve in the Magothy.

My last fish of 2021 was a 21.5-inch pickerel caught on a Bendback Minnow fly. My son bested me that day with a 23-inch pickerel he caught on chartreuse crystal bugger fly. We each caught a couple of smaller ones. Included in that was my littlest pickerel of the year which I thought deserved a photo. It also hit the Bendback:

P1060552.jpg

Sadly, we were dodging a red tide in several areas. We got no bites where we saw the red plumes in the water. Perhaps the snow and colder night temperatures will cure that issue.

If mother nature cooperates, I hope to have a "first fish" of the year to post on your thread before too long.

[Red_Beard]

Sometimes varying you retrieval can trigger a strike in these situations. Usually I'll kill the retrieve and let the lure fall, they like to strike on the fall. Sometimes a quick increase in speed or an erratic jerk can trigger a strike too. A lot of times they just follow and don't strike though. It can be frustrating but I think it's exciting and fun seeing fish follow or take swipes at the lures regardless of whether or not I hook up.

Believe me when I say I was changing up my cadance quite a bit while doing those figure 8s. If I stopped the lure, she stopped. If I sped it up, she chased it, but she wouldn't quite take it before I had to change direction. It was both very fun and frustrating at the same time.

[Red_Beard]

Cliff,

Congrats for getting off to a quick start.

I have not fished thus far in 2022 but my last outing of 2021 was on New Year's Eve in the Magothy.

My last fish of 2021 was a 21.5-inch pickerel caught on a Bendback Minnow fly. My son bested me that day with a 23-inch pickerel he caught on chartreuse crystal bugger fly. We each caught a couple of smaller ones. Included in that was my littlest pickerel of the year which I thought deserved a photo. It also hit the Bendback:

P1060552.jpg

Sadly, we were dodging a red tide in several areas. We got no bites where we saw the red plumes in the water. Perhaps the snow and colder night temperatures will cure that issue.

If mother nature cooperates, I hope to have a "first fish" of the year to post on your thread before too long.

My last two trips to Curtis Creek and Solley's this year were skunks, and I believe it was because of either a brown or red tide bloom in the creek. The place seems to be all but devoid of life right now, or at least it was the week after Christmas. Hopefully this cold snap kills off these blooms.

[Mark]

My last two trips to Curtis Creek and Solley's this year were skunks, and I believe it was because of either a brown or red tide bloom in the creek. The place seems to be all but devoid of life right now, or at least it was the week after Christmas. Hopefully this cold snap kills off these blooms.

Cliff,

I recall you mentioning that in a prior post and I thought of that post when I encourntered it on the 31st. The odd thing is how localized it was. It was not in the other Magothy creeks we visited that day. It was not even in all areas in the first creek. There were spots where the water was clear and we caught fish in those spots.

As to changing cadence on retrieves, that's a given for most fish species, but especially for the Esox family. I've never done a figure 8 for a pickerel. I bet that was fun. I know from reading that it's a common technique when fishing for muskies and pike. My frustration on the 31st was the non-hits I had. I had many flash past my fly without touching it. Those that hit did so lightly. They were very moody that day. I wish there was some envronmental sign to forecast their level of aggressiveness on a given day.

The most determined pickerel I have seen happened in a Severn creek. I had momentarily laid my spinning rod on my deck. My perch jig spinner on the rod was hanging over the gunwale of my kayak. It was several inches from the surface of the water. A pickerel jumped out of the water and hit it.

[Mark]

Cliff,

You posted a report of your first fish of the year on 3 January. You asked others to post their first 2022 catches in your thread.

Little did we realize then what a messy weather month January would be.

Between snow, wind, ice and family issues, I have been grounded since 31 December 2021. I caught my last fish of 2021, a pickerel, that day.

Today, I finally got on the water for the first time in 2022. I visited a Magothy creek. My first fish came fast -- not on the first cast but in the initial spot I chose to fish:

P1060555 (2).jpg

It hit this odd-looking fly:

P1060557 (2).jpg
It's a crystal bugger with costume jewelry eyes. The eyes are from a necklace donated by my wife.

It later fooled this little hammer handle:

P1060561 (2).jpg

Look at those teeth!

That was it for me today -- 2 fish in 2 hours.

Lots of folks were in boats and fishing from shore. They were tossing minnows for yellow perch. The bite was tough according to those I spoke to. I saw no one catching.

So...I'm on the board with my first fish of 2022. It took longer than I thought.

[dsaavedra]

In typical fashion I struck out on blue cats yesterday. Today I fished my hometown lake and got on the board for 2022 with a little crappie on my 1st cast.

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I caught another crappie on my 2nd cast too. I ended up catching 18 crappie in my 3hr trip.

I also caught a new species for me... gizzard shad. I knew they were in the lake but I have never caught one on hook and line before. That was fun after going the entirety of 2021 without any new species.

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