New member & first report - Severn River

[fil]

Hey, guys and gals. New to the forum, and new to the area. I fish from my canoe, so hopefully I'm not too much of a red-headed stepchild for you yak'ers. You'll see me mostly in the Severn on the western shore near Jonas Green, 17' green Wenonah.

Anyway, fished the Severn twice this past week. Yesterday I launched from the Naval Academy. The wind was howling, which is tough in the canoe. Had to work for them a little bit, but caught about 20 or so wp. These actually were the biggest I've caught, which ain't saying much since I've only fished here twice. Managed a few 12", most were in the 10" range. I've decided that unless I'm specifically targeting stripers, I'm going to use my ultralight setup. Was using 4lb test yesterday, and it was perfect. 1/16 oz Roadrunners was the ticket, chartreuse seemed to be the fav. Also used a Mepp's bronze Aglia for a bit and did ok.

All fish caught off rocks. I've not really had any success fishing docks/piers. All fish, both days, caught off riprap shoreline. I jigged piers a few times, had a couple nibbles, but true hits I did not get.

Was some good pullage, especially yesterday with the bigger ones.

[kevinfry]

be encouraged, I started here as a canoer. Caught plenty of fish that way. Sometimes even a better vessle for fishing (like going under piers and such) but the wind is the big problem.
12" perch? I hope so, that would be a great catch.

[ronaultmtd]

I had at least a 12 inch perch two weeks ago at Piney Point- lost it getting it off the hook when trying to reel the second rod hooked up and trying to keep the Outback off a sandbar- multi-tasking isn't my strong suit- biggest perch I have ever seen- thought it was a big croaker at first- bounced off my leg into the water

[Mark]

Fil,

I caught many fish from an Old Town Discovery canoe but you’re right a canoe can be tough to handle in the wind.

Mepps spinners were the first artificial baits I ever used. They do work great for white perch.

I visited the Severn from Jonas Green myself last week and caught a fat 11 inch white perch with a chartreuse 1/8 oz. Road Runner trailing a white curly tail grub on 6 pound test. I actually thought it was a rockfish when it hit and pulled. Catching them on light tackle is fun.

Anyway, Road Runners are excellent lures. I think the attached spinner attracts fish. In lieu of using Road Runners I’ll use regular jigs attached to a safety pin spinner.

Welcome to Snaggedline and continued success to you in your canoe.

Mark

[fil]

Correction...just filleted them up, and I measured the biggest 3. 11.5", 11", and 10.75". The rest were in the 9" range.

I actually don't think I'll ever move away from the canoe. I can stand in it no problem, which is good for giving the back a rest. Also, my kids often join me.

[kevinfry]

Correction...just filleted them up, and I measured the biggest 3. 11.5", 11", and 10.75". The rest were in the 9" range.

I actually don't think I'll ever move away from the canoe. I can stand in it no problem, which is good for giving the back a rest. Also, my kids often join me.

good perch any other way

[moc]

I have a canoe also, but since I started kayak fishing, I have not used it much, except on the occasions that a bring someone else fishing who does not have a boat. I was at Jonas last Friday kayak crabbing in the early afternoon. I was in a red Hobie Revolution, and I saw a guy pull up in the parking lot with a canoe to go perch fishing. Was that you?

[fil]

Not I. I launch directly across from there at the Naval Academy. There's a 20 yard stretch of beach between the Academy seawall and bridge...that's where I put in. How's the crabbing? I picked up four topless traps today, and I'm going to give it a try on Saturday. Gonna use the perch heads from yesterday's fishing.

[fil]

About to go look it up, but the crab regs are basically males only, 5 inches, correct?

[Fishtank]

Even though I/we fish from kayaks (Malibu Stealth 14 and a couple Hobie Outback’s) I’m a closet canoer. I have a Mad River canoe (Adventure 16) that is my optional go to on some days especially when taking someone else along. The space, relative stability and speed are great. Had it is some less than stellar conditions and it performed exceptionally well. When going in open water I do use airbags as if white water canoeing.

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[HJS]

fil - You and I are in the same boat.

The only boats I’ve owned during my 50 years of boating have been canoes. My current canoe is a 16’ Oldtown Camper, weighs 60#. I use it heavily on all freshwater and frequently take it out on several side rivers to the Bay like the Patapsco and Magothy. I’ve been fishing the Susky Flats for years from my canoe but I don’t consider the Flats to be the main part of the Bay.

There are a lot of advantages to a canoe:
- Very easy to attach a 40# trolling motor to the side of the canoe, takes 3-4 minutes tops to install. I use my troller when ever possible. An unintended benefit of adding a trolling motor is that the trolling motor hanging down increases stability by a noticeable degree.
- Don’t have to worry about where/how to attach a FF transducer. Just permanently strap it to the bottom of the trolling motor.
- Lots more room. Don’t have to worry about how to hold fish I intend to keep. I just put a medium-sized cooler behind the seat.
- I stay completely dry unless it rains. During 50 years of fishing from my canoe, maybe 1500 launches, I have never turned-turtle while fishing.
- Rods lay across the thwarts for very easy access.

Disadvantages:
- Dang wind can be a major issue for canoes, much more than it is for kayaks. This can be a big problem, so much so that I pick my days and locations very carefully. I’m probably over cautious, but it seems to work for me.

BTW, I’m sure you are well aware that when paddling solo in a 2-seat canoe, you should sit in what is normally the front seat but face the other way. So in essences you are paddling the canoe backwards. Sitting this way better centers your weight in the canoe and makes it more stable.

fishtank - Nice looking Mad River. Can the seats/backrests be reversed when you want to paddle solo?

canoeHH.JPG

[bignose]

HJS,
My "kayak" is a Canoe too.
I have further modified my 25 year old Camper by removing the standard front seat and I replaced it with a low, removeable chair (old school desk chair with cut down legs. This is much easier on the knees and back, but raises the Center of Gravity). I can slide this further forwards to achieve a better balance this way. I used to be able to stand up in the boat to fish and pole in shallow water, but I don't trust my balance anymore.
Yes, you paddle around ass-backwards, but this boat has a symmetrical hull, so it is no problem.
I also carry the trolling motor battery, which weighs as much as the canoe does (minn-kota 55), up towards the front, once again to help with the front to back balance.
This in turns levels the bow out more, so you don't have a "sail" in the front.
I gooped my transducer onto the bottom and shoot thru the hull. Works fine.
While wind is always an issue ( there is scientific evidence that fishing causes the wind to blow), my biggest concern is large boats wakes, especially the ones that sneak up on you and catch you broadside. I'll stay off of the main stem of the Severn on weekends because of this.
A couple of times I've gotten pinned under docks and you always have to watch out for head high boat lifts when dock hopping. They have a way of finding you when you sidle up to the docks to skip lures underneath them.

The only time I ever turtled was when I got caught out below Conowingo Dam on a water release. Yee-haa!

[whenican]

Welcome and.....fyi: MD crabbing regs adjust on July 16.

[HJS]

bignose - If you look carefully at my canoe pic you'll see that I too have raised my seats. I'm 6'6" and if I didn't raise the seats my knees would be bumping my chin. I just took out the wooden spacers. I take one or two of the 53# BPS deep cells depending on how big the body of water is where I am going fishing and how much area I intend to cover. And like you, the heavy batteries go up near the front.

Each boat/ship makes it's own characteristic wake. Go-fast bass glitter boats don't throw much wake at all when they are going WOT. It's when they come down off of plane that their wake becomes bigger. Still no big deal. It's the big lumbering cabin cruisers that throw a mean wake regardless of their speed. I keep a watchful eye on cabin cruisers as they go by. But you never know. One time in the Patapsco I got passed by a big tugboat at moderate speed. I braced for a big wake but it just wasn't any. I've seen 14' Jon boats throw a bigger wake. So you never what to expect so I keep an eye on all boats.

[fil]

Yeah, I noticed in the pic how high your seats are. That must take some getting used to. I paddle a Wenonah Kingfisher...love it. Very wide and stable. Not going to win any races with it, but as far as fishing (it's intended use), couldn't ask for more.