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Knowing that the striper season would close on July 16, I made an extra effort to fish for stripers during the past 10 days. I used three Queen Anne's County launches (Little Creek, Cabin Creek, and Jackson Creek) during five trips (July 6, 11, 12, 14, and 15). On several of those trips I fished at one spot for a while, loaded up and drove to a second spot, and launched again. All trips started between 6:00 and 6:15, and ended by 11:30 or earlier. During these five trips, I averaged 25 stripers per trip. On each trip I caught a few fish over 20" up to 23". I also caught specks of 15", 18", and 20". All fish were caught in depths less than 5'. I was somewhat surprised that I was able to find that many stripers in the shallow hot water (mid-80s). They were clustered in a few pockets. It took some searching, but once I found them, I could catch several in the same area. Normally, I fish these spots by light tackle trolling. The trolling has not been stellar recently. Once I caught fish by trolling, I stopped and began casting while drifting. That technique was more productive during these five trips.
The lures I used were primarily jigheads (1/8-oz, 1/4-oz, and occasionally 1/2-oz). The soft plastics were 3" mullet paddletails or 4" Buzztail paddletails (Producto Lures brand). I tried throwing topwater poppers for a while and caught two fish, but they preferred the paddletails.
This morning, I launched at one spot at 6:15 and did not find many fish. I left there at 9:00, loaded up, and drove to a second spot. Fish were more abundant there. I caught 17 stripers (to 22") there and was getting sore back muscles from making so many long casts. I decided to stop casting and prepared to troll back to the launch. I had two lines in the water. A moment later, I had a good strike that did not feel quite like the many stripers I had caught already. Once I got it in, it turned out to be an 18" speck. My wife and I enjoy eating specks, so I kept it. I continued toward the ramp and kept catching stripers. I caught five more on the way back in, including a 21" striper that I added to the stringer. These are the first two fish I have kept this year from my kayak fishing. I felt pretty happy to finish off my striper fishing for the month by catching 29 of them today along with a nice speck.
2021-04-11-001.jpg
The lures I used were primarily jigheads (1/8-oz, 1/4-oz, and occasionally 1/2-oz). The soft plastics were 3" mullet paddletails or 4" Buzztail paddletails (Producto Lures brand). I tried throwing topwater poppers for a while and caught two fish, but they preferred the paddletails.
This morning, I launched at one spot at 6:15 and did not find many fish. I left there at 9:00, loaded up, and drove to a second spot. Fish were more abundant there. I caught 17 stripers (to 22") there and was getting sore back muscles from making so many long casts. I decided to stop casting and prepared to troll back to the launch. I had two lines in the water. A moment later, I had a good strike that did not feel quite like the many stripers I had caught already. Once I got it in, it turned out to be an 18" speck. My wife and I enjoy eating specks, so I kept it. I continued toward the ramp and kept catching stripers. I caught five more on the way back in, including a 21" striper that I added to the stringer. These are the first two fish I have kept this year from my kayak fishing. I felt pretty happy to finish off my striper fishing for the month by catching 29 of them today along with a nice speck.
2021-04-11-001.jpg
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