Decent Day on the Patapsco

[UnkleRob2020]

When planning to fish this weekend, there were no reports of really good fishing at any of the areas that I prefer to fish at this time of year. I took my chances and visited my home waters after string of really bad luck on the Patapsco heading back to last Fall.

I launched a bit after sunrise and I saw a couple fish splashing and I paddled in that direction.

Trolling paddletails in shallow water I caught 10 stripers to 20". Casting, I caught six white Perch (two were huge) and a very nice pickerel on big nose spinners and a beetlespin.

My buddy, who fishes only Freshwater caught nothing all day. This is the second time in a row that he has fished next to me at on the Patapsco and I have a decent day and he strikes out...I cannot figure out what he was doing differently...I even gave him the exact same paddletails and jig heads I was using...

On the way back, fish were breaking and tge birds were feeding, and as we approached them, a jet ski rode right through and they disappeared.

Whenever I am jet skiing or on a power boat, I always go way out of my way not to disturb people fishing in kayaks, small boats, etc. I will even go so far as to try to explain to my friends that own boats to be more courteous about not disrupting anglers...in 15 seconds a jet ski or power boat can ruin an area for hours afterwards...Ugh....it would have been nice to cast to that feeding frenzy a few times...maybe next time?

[dsaavedra]

Nice going Rob, congrats on breaking a bad streak at that location. I've had trips where I catch fish and a friend doing the same stuff does not, or vice versa. There can be a lot of variables at play, too many to speculate on without actually being there. Using the same lure is just one part of the equation. If the fish are being particularly picky, even something as small as a difference in line diameter could be enough to keep your lure out of the strike zone (thicker line = more drag through the water = lures run shallower). A lot also comes down to experience/skill/intuition as an angler - you mentioned tidal fishing is not something your friend does often, so you are likely more "in tune" with how things work in tidal water, even if subconsciously. Or maybe nature just decided to flatter you yesterday Part of the fun of is all the unknowns, try as we may we'll never figure everything out.

[Mark]

Rob,

Were you in the Patpasco or one its creeks?

The reason I ask is because of your pickerel catch. I have never caught a pickerel in the river itself, only its various creeks. The same goes for the Severn and the Magothy. But I'm curious if they sometime traverse the river to relocate to another creek. I assume they do, but my thought is that they would stay close to shore if they venture in bigger water.

Has your hardluck buddy trolled a trail directly behind you? That might help.

But really, aside from tide considerations, I see little difference in freshwater vs. inshore tidal fishing in our kayaks. The fish in each environment react similarly to same factors: light, water temperature, current, depth, structure, etc. My fishing experience was largely freshwater until I started kayaking. If your friend considers that, and applies his freshwater skills, his catching may improve on his tidal trips.

And finally, I also live very close to the Patapsco. In my house, I can hear the foghorns of the ships as they make their their way to the harbor. Our population density is high and the river and its creeks are prime recreation locations. I've see it all, especially on weekends: the jet skis, the tubers being dragged behind speeding boats, roaring cigarette boats, and recreational crabbers working pots or long trot lines. I sympathize with you. I can avoid busy weekends when the folks are out playing because I am retired. But the water belongs to all of us. I stay out of their way as much as I can. Evidently, some of them with expensive toys are retired too!

[UnkleRob2020]

Hi Mark,

The pickerel was caught in Curtis Creek. I have caught a few in this location over the last few years. Now that you mention it, I have never caught one in the Patapsco River proper.

My buddy was trolling directly behind me both times we fished here. On the first trip, after I landed a few stripers, I encouraged him to follow directly behind me and he did so on Sunday as well. While trolling behind me, while I am catching fish, it should increase his chances, but it only seemed to frustrate him as he was directly behind me while I was catching and he was not....i can still hear him saying "Again? You gotta be kidding me...." :--)

I agree 100% about the similarity of techniques between freshwater and inshore tidal waters. In fact, the white perch and pickerel came on the exact same two lures (bignose spinner and white beetlespin) with the same retreive/action that I caught a number of smallies at Edwards Ferry the week before.

There are a couple of spots that I like to cast to on Curtis Creek, upstream from the launch. I try to hit those spots earlier in the morning as after around 10am or 11am, the boats n jet skis come flying through from further upstream...I sometimes feel like I am riding a bike on the beltway...

I appreciate all or your help and the thoughtful reply. Thank you.

[J.A. Veil]

My buddy was trolling directly behind me both times we fished here. On the first trip, after I landed a few stripers, I encouraged him to follow directly behind me and he did so on Sunday as well. While trolling behind me, while I am catching fish, it should increase his chances, but it only seemed to frustrate him as he was directly behind me while I was catching and he was not....i can still hear him saying "Again? You gotta be kidding me...." :--)

Rob -

When two anglers are trolling close to one another, the second angler is likely to do better if he/she trolls parallel and close to the first angler but not directly behind. I believe that as the first kayak passes through, the hull noise and turbulence caused by a paddle or pedal drive device disrupts the water temporarily. There are advantages to trolling close to someone who is having success, but they should not be directly behind the first angler. This is a more significant issue for trolling in shallow water (say less than 10 ft) than in deeper water.

Having said that, when trolling, I watch my GPS screen closely to see the routes I trolled earlier (the dark lines on the image) and where I actually caught fish (marked as waypoints). I often catch more fish near the first set of waypoints. In the screenshot shown below, most of those waypoints were marked last year. When I fished it last week, I followed an orderly course to intersect the waypoints.

2023-05-12-003.jpg

[UnkleRob2020]

John, thank you. That makes a lot of sense....there are so many variables to consider...i was trying to ensure that he was in the same depth of water as I was, but now i understand that I may have actually hindered his potential success by disturbing the water he was fishing in...thank you

[Mark]

Thanks Rob,

I've caught some nice picks near the launch at Solley's Cove. That's Curtis Creek, I believe. I would like to know more about pickerel behaviors. For example, where do they go in summer? I catch few then. Yet, I catch white perch and stripers in the precisley the same spots that picks occupied in winter. I'd also like to know about their mobility, specifically their range. But little is written about them.

As to your friend, I've been on both sides of the scenario you describe. Luck can be a factor. Also, I believe there are subtleties in each angler's approach that lead to catching fish or not. Further, I think successful anglers may not be consciously aware of everything they did to entice a fish to bite -- minute adjustments driven by inuition and experience. For example, the speed of their retrive, the depth they allowed their lure or fly to sink, or where they chose to cast. And that makes it very difficult to share what we did with others. Although millions of words have been written on fishing strategies and techniques, nothing replaces time on the water to make a better angler.

[UnkleRob2020]

I never really think about how long I let a lure drop prior to beginning the retrieve...or how long I pause during the retrieve, angle of rod tip, twitching, etc...I like the you worded it, Mark ...."everything they did to entice a bite" ... it is so satisfying to pay careful attention to those details and then get a strike following an intentional drop or twitch, etc...it feels more like I enticed the fish to bite than just dropping a lure on its head...