Mouth of the river, 6/7 & 6/8

[kaya king]

Been a ridiculously busy spring. The fever set in.. I had to fish. It was critical to my mental well being.. which will explain my decision to fish this past Friday, in a friggin' deluge.
I fished the mouth of one of my favorite rivers, mid Bay, Eastern Shore. I really would rather not give too many location details, as this would be an easy spot to burn.

I ended up fishing from the bank, but getting there was from a 'yak, and it was still very shallow water, so this post seemed well suited for this site.
Fishing was done in 2-3' of water, off of a rock point, with a few submerged rocks nearby. Flooding tide, on the nearer side of high.
Fish Finder rigs, with fresh peeler.
When I first got there I fished a section that had been historically the better spot to go, but not this time. After about an hour and a half of bailing 9" hardheads in the torrential rain (and having to change rigs/reels after a mechanical failure), I decided to make a change. I grabbed the 4 pieces of bait I had cut up & walked about 100yds to the aforementioned point. Cast out about 30' to the vicinity of the submerged rocks, and before I could take the slack out of my line, I was hooked up to a clean 21"er. Second cast, immediate hook-up, 17 1/2"er. 3rd pitch yielded a nice perch, and my final piece of bait brought me a fat 20".
The whole scene took less than 10 minutes.
I grabbed my 2 keepers, headed home. Awesome dinner of whole baked rockfish accompanied by asparagus and kick ass homemade mac & cheese courtesy of my Domestic Administrator.
Oh, and that meal is so perfectly complimented by a few Sweet Tea & Bourbons.. just sayin'.

Next day, the rain finally eased up, I still had peelers, so I headed back. Same exact spot, but tide wasn't as full. I caught a load of beautiful, thick perch. 1 dink rockfish. I kept a few perch over 10", went home, and had me a little fish fry.


Before that day, I had only fished once this spring. It was trolling, and we did nada. First spring I've gone this long without fish/fishing in probably 20 years.
I lack the creativity to describe what a cleansing, almost cathartic experience I had on Friday. Alone, fishing in a ridiculously heavy downpour.
Thinking it was going to be a fruitless day, until those last few minutes.
As Stimpy used to say, "Oh, rapture!!"

I just had to share.

[kayak456]

this year is my first year using peelers. every time ive used them this year ive been suprised by keeper rocks on such small pieces of bait. last sunday we were bailing croakers and perch by thomas point in our boat and i got 2 decent rocks using size 4 hooks and 1/8 of a soft crab. i did great in april catching keepers from a spot on the westernshore that i didnt tell anyone where it was, you gave the details of where you were and thats what count

[J.A. Veil]

Nicely done. Catching fish for the table is enjoyable, but the experience of being in the great outdoors is good for the soul and spirit.

I got caught in the rain in Weems Creek yesterday afternoon. Since I was already soaked, I stayed out for another 1.5 hours and caught a bunch of perch.

[kaya king]

Kayak, peelers are my favorite summer time bait. Of course softies work well too, and you can eat what you don't use, but they aren't as tough. Nibblers, like perch, can suck'em right off. Paper shells are obviously better than an actual softie, and if you have shedding operations nearby, paper shells can sometimes be gotten for a deal.
As far as the spot, I tried not to give too much, without giving too little. With what I've given, anyone mid bay should be able to do what I did and expect results...hopefully.

JA, although this spring has been an exception, I usually boat and fish a great deal.
My very best experiences have been like what we've described.
Its why I love my kayak. It keeps me in touch with what means the most to me about where we live.