Magothy, 11-16-13

[HJS]

I fished one of the side creeks on the Magothy with my son on Saturday, 11-16-13, 10:00am-1:00pm. Action was surprisingly slow compared to last year’s successes at this same time & place. I’m sure the extra low low-tide was working against us in a big way. All total we caught about 8 pickerel and 1 yellow perch. As I remember, the 2 biggest pickerel were 21.5” and 22.5”. I think the extra low low-tide really hurt our efforts. You can see how low it was in the one pic. The water was surprisingly clear. We could see down 3’ or more in most areas. All the fish were caught on 3” pearl/pepper flaked twistertails on 1/4 oz jighead.

Magothy, 11-16-13 A.jpg
Magothy, 11-16-13 B.jpg

[J.A. Veil]

I agree about the low water. I recall only one other time that I saw lower water levels on the Severn as I did yesterday morning. My catching success was similar to yours - 4 fish for one angler vs. 9 fish for two anglers. I'm glad you had a chance to fish with your son.

[sparky1423]

My father-in-law lives on valentine creek. The water was so low, he dropped the boat down from his lift, it did not touch the water. He said he's never seen it that low.

I agree about the low water. I recall only one other time that I saw lower water levels on the Severn as I did yesterday morning. My catching success was similar to yours - 4 fish for one angler vs. 9 fish for two anglers. I'm glad you had a chance to fish with your son.

[Mark]

This afternoon I walked my dog to an offshoot/ tributary of the Bodkin Creek which enters my neighborhood.

(Unfortunately the bank is far too steep to launch a kayak.)

The water was lower than I had ever seen it.

Why is the tide so extremely low?

[scorpioreno]

I think it is because of the The Moon cycle.

[J.A. Veil]

I agree with Scorpioreno. We are in the full moon stage of the lunar cycle, which usually makes tides more extreme. Take a look at the tidal cycles on Windfinder for the Severn. The chart does not include data from Sat and Sun, but presumably it also showed higher than usual highs and lower than usual lows. http://www.windfinder.com/tide/annapolis_naval_academy Compare the highs and lows from Nov 19 to Nov 26. If you combine one of these lower than normal tidal events with sustained winds blowing water out of a river, you can get extremely low water levels.

I think it is because of the The Moon cycle.

[HJS]

I just checked one of NOAAs tide graph sites. It showed that for Saturday morning, the "observed" low tide was about 1' lower than the "predicted" low tide. So that pretty much confirms that indeed tides were exceptionally low mid-morning on Saturday. Generally, when tides vary substantially from what is predicted it is due to strong winds pushing the water around. But winds really were not all that strong on Saturday morning. So it's anyone's guess as to the reasons why.

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John - You beat me too it by just a few minutes.

Here's the link of the NOAA site I used that shows tides for Saturday morning. (Not sure if I can do this right)

http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/por...de=threedayswl

[DanMarino]

That canoe looks familiar. Great report Howard. I hope to try for some pickerel this weekend.

[HJS]

That canoe looks familiar. Great report Howard. I hope to try for some pickerel this weekend.

Actually, that's my son's Oldtown Discovery canoe, 16'9", 91 pounds. My son's canoe is a real tank compared to my light weight 16' Oldtown Camper canoe, 59 pounds, that is built light and low in profile to save on weight. They look nearly identical at a short distance away. Several years ago I had another adult up front in my light-weight 16' canoe and it was a fair bit shaky. Never again, it's been years since I last had another person in my canoe with me. Seems I was all the time doing quick compensations for the slight twitches of the guy in the front... and after a few hours of fishing I was about wore-out. I was afraid my son's canoe would be just as tipsy as my 16'er with 2 people in it. But my son's canoe was much more stable and smooth riding. My son lives in Cape St Claire on the Magothy so I'm sure we will be going out on the river more often now that I know it will be an enjoyable trip.