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I spend a lot of time in shallow tidal tributaries casting to the shoreline. Some days the bite is good -- others not so good. Today leaned toward the slow side of the spectrum. I was casting a Woody's feather spinner in 1-4 ft depth in a Severn tributary and catching a perch here and there. From time to time, I threw jigheads with soft plastics paddletails or buzztails. They got bumped and tugged regularly, but assuming the pursuers were perch with small mouths, I had no actual caught fish on those lures. I also tried casting a Gulp swimming mullet on a small jighead without much success.
When I fish Gulp, I worry that the lure starts out full of scent, but after a while it may diminish its effectiveness. I hate to leave a Gulp bait laying on the surface of the kayak drying up while I am casting another rod. At one point, I decided to try another fishing technique in tandem with my casting. I put a bobber about a foot up the line from the jighead (where the leader and main line connected). Then I flipped the jighead and Gulp out behind the kayak while I continued casting. I set the rod in a rod holder. 20 minutes later I heard a splashing behind me, quickly wound up my casting rod, and grabbed the rod with a bobber and Gulp. I had hooked a 12" bluefish.
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Although a 12" bluefish is not generally a bragworthy prize, it does represent a successful outcome for my experimental technique. Fishing bait or a lure under a bobber is certainly not new or novel, but it is a technique I had not previously tried at the same time that I was casting. Having two lines out at once does lead to more tangles or snags, but once you get used to having two lines, it may increase the number of fish you can catch -- and may provide a way to catch species other than the ones you are targeting with your main lines.
Another short-lived moment of excitement came when I was sitting in 1 foot depth and cast a spinner out into 2-3 foot depth. After a few turns on the handle, the lure was smashed and started moving in the opposite direction. In less than a second, the line snapped. I saw a large swirl and pressure wake. I have caught many pickerel in that tributary and suspect I was bitten off by a strong pickerel.
When I fish Gulp, I worry that the lure starts out full of scent, but after a while it may diminish its effectiveness. I hate to leave a Gulp bait laying on the surface of the kayak drying up while I am casting another rod. At one point, I decided to try another fishing technique in tandem with my casting. I put a bobber about a foot up the line from the jighead (where the leader and main line connected). Then I flipped the jighead and Gulp out behind the kayak while I continued casting. I set the rod in a rod holder. 20 minutes later I heard a splashing behind me, quickly wound up my casting rod, and grabbed the rod with a bobber and Gulp. I had hooked a 12" bluefish.
001.jpg 002.jpg
Although a 12" bluefish is not generally a bragworthy prize, it does represent a successful outcome for my experimental technique. Fishing bait or a lure under a bobber is certainly not new or novel, but it is a technique I had not previously tried at the same time that I was casting. Having two lines out at once does lead to more tangles or snags, but once you get used to having two lines, it may increase the number of fish you can catch -- and may provide a way to catch species other than the ones you are targeting with your main lines.
Another short-lived moment of excitement came when I was sitting in 1 foot depth and cast a spinner out into 2-3 foot depth. After a few turns on the handle, the lure was smashed and started moving in the opposite direction. In less than a second, the line snapped. I saw a large swirl and pressure wake. I have caught many pickerel in that tributary and suspect I was bitten off by a strong pickerel.
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