Bay Bridge and Weems Creek 11-17-2012

The plan was to fish the Bay Bridge for the first time for this year. The weather reports looked promising. Winds were predicted to be 5 to 9 mph dying down to 7mph in the late afternoon. High tide was just after 7am , and low tide would be around 1pm, producing an outgoing tide for the morning. Well, Tom (Medicyaker), Jimmy (Rockchaser), Tufnik and myself planned launched from G-Dock acrosss the Bay Bridge and met up on the water. Tom decided before launching at G dock to go somewhere else. He decided to try the Severn, since he noticed the choppy water as he drove across the Bay Bridge. After only an hour out there and no fish, I called it quits for saftey reasons. I did not mark any fish until I got to 40 feet of water. We had stiff winds and 2 to 3 foot chops on the Bay. Not an ideal situation for me to try to get my jighead down deep. It did not seem safe on the cold water and 42 degree air temps. Rockchaser decided to come back to shore also. Tufnik decided to "tuff" it out and try to fish the sewer lines. Jim and I opted to head to Weems Creek to get some protection from the winds, since it was only 10:30am. We launched at Weems but Jim had some bad luck. He lost his best fillet knife on the water, never to be seen again. We fished the lower half of Weems, but fishing was tough there too. We decided to head over too a nearby creek. There I had some luck. I hooked up with four pickerels, landed three. The largest one was 22 inches, providing some aerial acrobatics. We made it back to the launch by 2pm. The winds we calmer by this time. It was a tough day. My Bay Bridge Striper will have to wait for another time. I did not get my desired rockfish, but it is always good to be out on the water.

[DanMarino]

I'd love to catch one of those. What lure did it hit and what depth?

[tufnik]

Good move to the Severn. You got pullage.

I stayed at the BB, and after 10 am, the weather started to settle. Winds dropped to 5-10 mph and the chops were down to 1+ foot. Still had an outgoing tide. Tried to fish the drainage pipe several hundred yards north of the span, but I couldn't find it. So I went back to the pilings.

Again, I jigged a bkd along the pilings from 6 to 60 feet. I even dragged a rat-L-trap. Nothing. Not even a nibble. Turned out to be a nice afternoon though. Was off the water at 1:30 pm.

[FRED driver]

Word to the wise...the only fish at the bay bridge are deep, save the occasional school of 16s. I caught 3 or 4 of these types on Friday but caught a 26" and 23" at the kent narrows, one Friday and one Saturday. Attached pic of the smaller one.

[moc]

So I guess I should have gone to the Narrows instead of the Bay Bridge. Did you catch them at the Narrows while trolling or jigging?

[FRED driver]

Jigging, but by no means was it a good bite there either...those 2 fish were my only hits

[Kiko]

Moc,

Good to meet you out there....nice job on the pickerel!

Ernie

[moc]

Good to meet you too. I am assuming you were the one that purchased a Hobie ProAngler.

[Grady-Black]

Martin, You guys better leave John's pickerel alone! Lol
GB

[J.A. Veil]

Martin, You guys better leave John's pickerel alone! Lol
GB

GB -

Martin and I have exchanged pmails about careful handling of my pickerel buddies. He is in agreement with me that they must be treated with care -- for much of the winter they are the best local fishing game around.

I fished yesterday afternoon in a favorite Severn location for 90 minutes. I caught 10 pickerel, most of which were very acrobatic as Martin described. Now that the SRRKC tournament is underway, I was hoping for a fish larger than 21" to get onto the leaderboard. But yesterday I could not find any big pickerel -- the largest was 19" and most were 15" to 16". They were great fun nonetheless when fishing using a 6' ultralight rod.

[Kiko]

Good to meet you too. I am assuming you were the one that purchased a Hobie ProAngler.

Yep....that would be me.

Ernie

[moc]

Hope to see you out on the water in the warmer months Kiko. Also hope to see you at our third annual CBKA Tournament next year.

As for you John, the Pickerel are a delicate species in the Severn and its tributaries. The Severn areas are not ideal areas for a robust pickerel population. So harvesting them could bring the poplulation down. I just like to catch them, have them say cheese for my camera and then I let them go. I also do the same for large female rockfish in the over 30 inch class. I will keep the smaller ones under 27 inches for food, but only after I finish the fish that is already vacuumed sealed in my freezer.

[AbuMasgouf]

Nice Pickerel Martin! Sorry I wasn't able to join you guys this time.

Yep....that would be me.

Ernie

I see you've met Ernie! I've met Ernie virtually and he's a great guy who does a lot for local HS fishing club in our area. Still waiting on the day to meet him in person!

[Kiko]

Hope to see you out on the water in the warmer months Kiko. Also hope to see you at our third annual CBKA Tournament next year.

I've been away on business travel for the 1st two tourneys....hopefully, I can participate at the next one.

Still waiting on the day to meet him in person!

Same....

Ernie

[moc]

LOL....small world in the sport of Kayak Fishing.......