Jan. 11, 2012 Weems Creek Pickeral Report

[Foursteps24]

MetroMan, MytMouse, and myself met to head to the Patuxent for possible early YP but with the potential for high winds we decided for a protective area. We decided to head to Weems Creek. We stopped by Anglers for some minnows . The price of minnows are sold by the pint which ends up being quite a bit of minnows. Cost about $8. We made it with perfect conditions. We tried a few spots with no luck and moved further up the creek. MetroMan hooks up and gives the infamous "SamWich" call. He hooks into a nice pickeral. Soon after he hooks up again with a bigger one . A little while later I hook up with my first pickeral ever. I ended up catching two at 14.5 and 18.5 inches . MetroMan ended the day with 4 pickeral, I ended with 2, and MytMouse 2 as well. Had a good time and see why pickeral fishing is so much fun after having cabin fever.

[J.A. Veil]

Congratulations on your first pickerel. They are fun to catch.

[moc]

Good job on the pickeral Foursteps. The are indeed fun to catch. They are a pretty cool looking fish. I hope to get out on Sunday.

[MetroMan]

[moc]

Nice video Metro. I love the camera angles.

[kayak456]

Good stuff. I'm going pickerel fishing tommrow

[frettr00]

If it smacks against the boat, it still counts.

[mytmouse]

Glad to see you posted the report!! I was waiting on Spike Lee AKA Metroman to post it!! I will have to say this was one of the most frustrating fishing experiences I have had in a lonnngggg time! When we got to the launch I realized that I forgot something, my waders.... But I decided to press on. I had an extra pair of sweats I put on over my intial pair and I could launch with a friendly push from Metroman without getting wet. And since I left my waders I also had to fish in wool socks and flip flops. LOL This was my first time pickeral fishing. So doing the bobber thing next to structure is new to me. Metroman and Foursteps24 caught fish before I did... so of course the monkey was on my back, I had 2 hits, but nothing to show for it. Since Metroman and Foursteps caught fish, they were ready to roll out... me I was staying to make sure I didn't start the year off with the skunk. But even more importantly so I wouldn't have to hear Metroman and Fourstep24's mouths!!

It started to rain... so my already cold feet felt worse. My hands were freezing from grabbing minnows out the bucket... I wasn't even getting hits after they left. I was really getting pissed... but then something said "Go with what you know". So I went back to using one of Woody's spinner jigs I picked up from Angler's, I have never tried them before, but I had a little cash leftover from Christmas so I swung for it. It's like bright yellow. Again, no hits. Then I thought, well maybe it's too bright of a color... so I tied on a rooster tail that was the same green as the minnows to only get snagged amongst the trees... UGGGHHHH!!!!!! It was the only one of that color I had. So I switched to a black and silver one... oh its such a sexy color. Then I proceeded to work areas OTHER than the submerged tree limbs. I went to a spot that I thought looked fishy and caught one... it wasn't huge, but it got the skunk off! LOL Then I ventured to another spot and hooked up again!!! This one got off before I got it in. It started to rain a tad more so I went ahead and headed in... on the way in I tried once more in another spot I thought would hold fish... it did! LOL I caught one more! The second one was bleeding pretty good when I pulled it out the water... It wasn't gut hooked or anything. But I saw some teeth marks on its back!! I am thinking that there is a big'un lurking in there somewhere!

Overall, it was a great trip!! And it was fun to add another species to the list! Picks are hard fighting fish for their size. The one thing that I have learned to make sure I do is to "Go with what I know!!!" I know that minnows and bobbers work, but they just weren't working for me! I have used RoosterTails since I first started fishing... when I feel that slight vibration of the spinner I know it's ready to get hit!! LOL Maybe it was me moving that did the trick, but I can surely say I had more confidence with the rooster tails than I did with the minnows.

[MetroMan]

LOL For your sake, I'm glad you found a few to cooperate.

I left out one catch in the video...One of the picks I caught looks like it was attacked by something bigger as well. It kinda looked like sores along the side, but on the top behind the dorsal area looked like a puncture.

[Shady]

Nice video Metro, I've never tried the bobber and minnow technique for Picks, but have heard of others doing that.

I think the wounds that you guys are talking about are from the Picks getting wacked by Herons.

[ictalurus]

Very cool. I can't imagine fishing that day without waders. I have made due in the past with some rain pants and rubber boots I had in my truck, but even that wasn't great. Just socks and sweatpants...

Nice vid, Langston. Seeing you stand up in your yak gave me chills. It was just like that scene from Titanic...

[J.A. Veil]

Nice video Metro, I've never tried the bobber and minnow technique for Picks, but have heard of others doing that.

I think the wounds that you guys are talking about are from the Picks getting wacked by Herons.

That sounds like a good theory. A few weeks ago, I was fishing in a Severn tributary and watched a heron jab its beak down in the shallows and come up with a wriggling 10"-12" pickerel. The heron sat there for a moment trying to figure out what to do with a fish larger than its normal prey. Eventually, it flew a short distance away to an exposed sand bar and settled in there for a meal.

[sparky1423]

Great video, you definately had some fun with it! Man, now I have to figure out where to fit a bait bucket on my yak

[sparky1423]

Has anyone fished Valentine Creek, north of Weems on the Servern? I had to google map Weems creek (I live in Harford County) and realized it's close to my father in laws house....he lives in Herald Harbor. I fished off his pier and caught a few pickerel and WP. I am new to the kayak angler's world and interested to see if this creek would be worth the trip for me.

[J.A. Veil]

Has anyone fished Valentine Creek, north of Weems on the Servern? I had to google map Weems creek (I live in Harford County) and realized it's close to my father in laws house....he lives in Herald Harbor. I fished off his pier and caught a few pickerel and WP. I am new to the kayak angler's world and interested to see if this creek would be worth the trip for me.

There are pickerel in many of the creeks and coves well upstream from Weems Creek in the Severn. For most of us, getting there is the challenge -- the northernmost free public access point is Weems Creek. I personally am limited to a 1-2 mile one-way paddle from there. My furthest upstream spot for fishing has been Martin's Cove. Smith's Marine in Little Round Bay may allow off-season launching, but when I asked before, they told me I would need to pay the regular ramp fee of $20. If you have a personal connection to allow access further upstream, go for it. The pickerel are almost certainly there. Plus the pickerel in the tributaries near Jonas Green and Weems Creek have seen a great deal of angler pressure already this winter.