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QA County waters produced fish today

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  • QA County waters produced fish today

    Today was a welcome change from many subpar trips I have had this year, including disappointing perch trips in the Severn and Rhode Rivers the previous two days. With DNR's rockfish moratorium starting on July 16, I wanted to try for stripers a few more times in the next week. My best striper catches this year have been when launching from several of the Queen Annes County launches. I launched at two different QA County locations this morning and caught plenty of fish. The weather was great. Partly cloudy, mild air temp, almost no wind, flat seas. I fished the end of the outgoing tide at the first spot and the middle of the incoming tide at the second spot. Other than some crabbers in the distance, I had both places to myself.

    I launched at 5:45 at the first location and paddled over to the area I call the Hot Spot. On my first time fishing at that location several years ago, I trolled in 4 to 5 ft depth parallel to a shoreline with side-by-side houses with piers. The bite was so-so until I reached a group of three specific houses. Stripers were actively feeding there. Each time I returned to that area, I made a point to pass by those houses several times at different distances away from shore. It was uncanny how that shallow area with some oyster shells on the bottom produced fish trip after trip. And many of the fish were above 20”.

    Today the fish were so active there that I quickly caught two by trolling once I reached the Hot Spot. I stopped trolling and began casting in all directions and rarely went 5 casts without another fish. In about an hour, I caught 19 stripers there with five of 21”-22”, a 23”, and a 24” fish. Most of the others were 17”-18” – good pullage on each fish. I also snagged a large cownose ray that pulled me around for a bit. Once I confirmed it was a ray, I broke it off. A white 3" paddletail on 3/16-oz jighead was the hot lure today.

    I fished there for about 1.5 hours, then loaded up, drove to the second launch, and launched again. I have fished this location often in May and June, and have a sense of where the fish are likely to be. They were more or less where I expected them to be. I caught 21 stripers (including a 21” and 22”) over the next two hours here. I also caught two large perch and my first speck for that area in 2022. Catching 40 stripers in July with a quarter of them being keeper size was a pretty good morning. The 15" speck and 11" perch were bonus catches.

    2021-04-11-002.jpg

    2021-04-11-003.jpg

    Last edited by J.A. Veil; 07-08-2022, 04:46 PM.
    John Veil
    Annapolis
    Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

    Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

  • #2
    We haven’t had a striper bite that good since May. Great day, not sure I could bring myself to leave quality fish to find fish.
    Mike
    Pro Angler 14 "The Grand Wazoo"

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    • #3
      The bite at the first spot was winding down. I think the tide was reaching dead low. Also I wanted to try out the second spot. I fished there quite often over the last two months. I am trying to collect data on when the stripers leave those shallow areas. I thought they might be gone by now, but nobody told them. The average size of fish at the second location has dropped since May, but it is still fun to catch 16" to 18" fish on light spinning tackle. And my goal is to get the fish back in the water in 10 seconds or less from the time I first lift it from the water, unless I want a photo.
      John Veil
      Annapolis
      Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

      Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

      Comment


      • #4
        It seems to be consistent that the Eastern Shore has been more productive this year, than the Western Shore has been.
        I don't have an explanation for this.

        Anybody got a thought?

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        • #5
          Great job, J! Any idea what the water temp was? Thanks—

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Magothyman View Post
            Great job, J! Any idea what the water temp was? Thanks—
            The kayak I used yesterday does not have any electronics on it, so I don't know the water temp.
            John Veil
            Annapolis
            Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

            Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by bignose View Post
              It seems to be consistent that the Eastern Shore has been more productive this year, than the Western Shore has been.
              I don't have an explanation for this.

              Anybody got a thought?

              Stu - I'm sure there are multiple factors that have contributed to the observed differences between the shores. Here are a few thoughts. These are not specific to 2022, but are more overriding factors.
              1. Population - There are fewer people living on the eastern shore.
              2. Water quality - the degree of contaminated runoff and water pollution is generally more extreme in populated areas than in more rural areas. From a visual perspective, the eastern shore waters usual have better clarity than the western shore waters.
              3. Habitats - Most of the lands next to the eastern shore tidal spots I fish in are rural and undeveloped. I see more areas with large SAV beds on the eastern shore than on the western shore.
              4. Salinity - For the most part, the waters on the eastern side of the bay have higher salinity than those on the western side at the same lateral level. There are several reasons for this. a) The overall water circulation pattern in the bay is counter-clockwise due to the Coriolis Effect; b) the two main water inputs to the bay are the Susquehanna River on the north end and the ocean from the south end. The counterclockwise circulation pushes the higher salinity up the eastern side, while the fresher inputs from the western shore rivers are pushed to the south.
              5. Fishing pressure - For western shore anglers, it is often faster to get to western shore fishing spots than to drive or boat to eastern shore spots. As a result, most eastern shore spots receive less fishing pressure.
              John Veil
              Annapolis
              Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

              Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by J.A. Veil View Post
                Catching 40 stripers in July with a quarter of them being keeper size was a pretty good morning. The 15" speck and 11" perch were bonus catches.
                That sounds like an amazing day on the water, thanks for sharing this report John

                Dave

                2021 Hobie Outback Camo
                2013 Native Slayer Hidden Oak

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                • #9
                  I returned to the same locations on Mon and again this morning. Opportunities for catching a lot of decent summer stripers are still there, but the fish seem to be condensed into just a few small areas. If you can find those areas, the bite is good. But finding the areas is getting tougher.

                  The Hot Spot did not produce any fish by trolling on Mon or today, but when I stopped and began casting, the bite was on in a 50 yd by 50 yd area.. Once I moved outside that limited area, the bite died. On Mon, I caught 10 stripers to 24" (4 of them were keeper size) in about an hour of casting. Today, from 6:00 am to 7:00 am, I caught 16 of them up to 23" and a massive cow nose ray by casting. Then all of a sudden, the bite stopped.

                  After spending some time early at the first location each day, I relocated to the second area. The bite there was slow, but I was able to find a few clusters of fish.. They were not as large on average as the ones at the Hot Spot. On Mon, I got 19 of them, but only 9 today.
                  John Veil
                  Annapolis
                  Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

                  Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I am strongly tempted to drive across the bridge this evening to do a little night fishing before the striper closure. The tide will be outgoing as the sun goes down, so could be a good bite.
                    - Cliff

                    Hobie Compass
                    Perception Pescador Pro 100

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Red_Beard View Post
                      I am strongly tempted to drive across the bridge this evening to do a little night fishing before the striper closure. The tide will be outgoing as the sun goes down, so could be a good bite.
                      Just when you think you have things figured out, the fish change things up. I returned early this morning to the Hot Spot. Yesterday between roughly 6:00 and 7:00, I cast a white paddletail and caught 16 stripers to 23" in the hour, all in an area the size of half of a football field that has consistently held fish. I had many other casts that produced bumps but no hookups. This morning, I was at the same location during the same time frame and used the same lure. I cast dozens of times in all the corners of the Hot Spot and had only one caught fish (21") and no other bumps.

                      I have no complaints. I fished often in QA County waters during May, June, and early July. Most trips were quite productive. I am unlikely to return again until at least mid-August.
                      John Veil
                      Annapolis
                      Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11, Falcon 11

                      Author - "Fishing in the Comfort Zone" , "Fishing Road Trip - 2019", "My Fishing Life: Two Years to Remember", and "The Way I Like to Fish -- A Kayak Angler's Guide to Shallow Water, Light Tackle Fishing"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Coming back just one day later, it sounds like you gave all those fish something to think about, and they're still thinking!
                        - Cliff

                        Hobie Compass
                        Perception Pescador Pro 100

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