First fish of the year

[J.A. Veil]

I fished on the final four days of 2021, but had not been on the water at all in 2022 due to cold weather and ice cover. This afternoon I drove by several of my pickerel spots and saw that the ice was gone. I launched at one of them and caught several pickerel over two hours. Although the bite was slow, it felt really good to be back in the kayak seat and do some casting. It has been 41 days since I had fished previously -- my longest absence from the water in recent memory.

2021-04-11-003.jpg

[bignose]

Glad that you finally got out on the water.
You're a tougher man than me, John.
The only liquid I like that cold is beer.

BTW, that looks like a pretty good sized fish!

Most of the ponds here in Columbia were still crunchy on top yesterday morning.
Since we don't have Pickerel in them anyway, I'll just have to wait until the combined air and water temps total gets closer to 130.

Or wait until Shad season, and fish from shore.

[dsaavedra]

Nice work John. I think I ran into you on the water on the last day of 2021 and likewise, I haven't been on the water since. I'm planning to take advantage of the 60 degree forecast over the next couple days and hopefully put my first fish of 2022 in the boat.

[Shoobs]

Way to go John - great to see some 2022 fish.

[J.A. Veil]

It seems that the Severn pickerel bite is pretty slow right now. Yesterday I had 6 bites in 2 hours, and landed 4 of them. Today I fished in a different Severn location. In 2 hrs and 15 mins, I had only a single bite and landed that pickerel. The water temperature is pretty cold, even during the afternoons. Hopefully the bite will pick up as conditions warm.

At one point on today's trip, I was blocked by a large sheet of ice in a shaded cove. I paddled through one edge of the ice, but eventually it grew so thick (estimated at 1/4 inch), I could not dig my paddle in to pull myself forward. I had to reverse my path and go around a longer way.

[Boynextdoor]

Hi! Nice work for sure.
Isn’t that forbidden atm?

[dsaavedra]

Hi! Nice work for sure.
Isn’t that forbidden atm?

Fishing for pickerel is permitted year round in Maryland, however, you cannot keep any pickerel from tidal waters from March 15th to April 30th