First shallow water perch in Severn

[J.A. Veil]

I fished this morning out of Jonas Green with moc and Surfdog. The wind was at 10 mph, but was blocked most of the time by the northern shoreline of the Severn.

We started by trolling medium spinning rods over a stretch that has produced for me the last two weeks. Sadly, the fish seemed to have moved somewhere else. We each had a bump, but I caught the only fish there -- a 15" rockfish.

After trolling, we headed into Carrs Creek to work some areas that produced last year for moc. We spent over an hour working the shallow water shorelines. I was pleased to catch my first two shallow water Severn perch for 2013. I have been checking for perch in shallow areas weekly for the last month without any signs of them until today. Both were caught on a 1/16-oz feather spinner bait. Sadly, the two perch were little guys -- 5" and 6" respectively.

Even though the report is not an impressive one, it does signify the start of the return of the perch to shallow areas in the Severn.

Come on perch!

[moc]

Yes, John said it all. I did not catch any fish this time around, but I did get to see and use some of John V's lures for trolling for Rocks. The education was invaluable. Thanks again John for the lesson and the lures. I will try them again next time.

[J.A. Veil]

Martin -

After getting home from the morning trip and putting the gear away, I was tired. I planned to have a quiet afternoon relaxing at home while my wife was off with friends. About 2:30 I got a call from a friend who was trolling by himself in the Severn in his 19' center console. He asked me if I could get away to join him for a few hours -- I could not pass up an offer like that. We headed out the river to the same spot where moc, Surfdog, and I had trolled for stripers in the morning. This was a whole different ballgame with heavy trolling rods and tandem bait rigs. We were not nearly as maneuverable as I am in the kayak.

We made a pass through the target zone as I worried we might drag the baits along the bottom in relatively shallow water. Just then, my buddy made a loud exclamation -- I turned to see one of the side rods dancing around. He got the rod out of the holder and wound in a fat 31" striper from the spot that had not been generous to us in the morning. There are definitely good fish in the river but they do take some patient hunting to find them.

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[kayak456]

john, after trolling on the boat this morning, i went to blackwalnut cove and caught 19 perch on my ultra light, all were eating size and they sure did taste good!

[Ryker]

John you helped me on my first outing in my hobie last year in weems creek. I was just about to pm u and ask if the perch had arrived yet! Thx for the report of them showing up.

[J.A. Veil]

I spent two hours in Weems Creek this afternoon casting to the shorelines. I found one 10" perch near the mouth of the creek and another tiny perch above the Rowe Blvd bridge. It is still very slow out there. The water is a chocolate brown color that came on in just the past few days. I believe it is some type of microbial bloom, possibly triggered by the addition of the tons of pollen and other plant reproductive material that has dropped recently.