Slow at Marshall Hall...but Quality

[kevinfry]

Ictalrus and I hit Marshall Hall for fear we'd miss out catching a December fish. Fishing was slow but we did catch a couple pretty great cats each. Here are our best...30" for me and 32" for Bill. day was windy but warm. We caught with chunked menhaden and venison steak I could eat after the cat pulled it off the counter and chewed on it (I salted it overnight)

[sparky1423]

Looked like a bumpy ride...nice december fish! I see both of you guys are ugly stick fans (looks like), that's all I use and take some criticisms for it. Have you seen the new GX2s? They have been getting some good reviews and are appealing to the eye.

[DanMarino]

It's great to see a photo of Bill holding a big fish! Nice job guys. I'll go try for a catfish next week.

[ictalurus]

Here are a few more pics:

32", 15lbs, 6oz blue:


26", 8lb blue:


Kevin's 30-incher:


Cat's eye (I think blues have empty, predator eyes like sharks):


Random colors:


The 32-incher was the biggest fish of any species I've ever caught. I've been stuck at 26" since I first started kayak fishing, so I am pretty stoked about my December fish.

We anchored in 19 fow, which was on the bottom edge of a drop off that was relatively close to shore. We fished the falling tide, and the current was moving fast enough to make a 3oz pyramid weight bounce along the hard, sandy bottom. The water temperature was 40-42* on the surface, but the bottom felt colder based on how my anchor and sinker felt. I was fishing in a slightly different area from Kevin when he caught his big fish. As I started pulling up my anchor to go take a pic, the 26-incher hit. Things slowed down a bit after that, so I attached a Fish Bomb to my anchor when I re-positioned and caught the 32-incher about 10 minutes later. I tried fishing deeper out by the channel edge. There were more marks out there, but the wind was going against the tide, which meant I turned side-to the waves when anchored. It was too windy and the waves were too high to stay out there very long, especially if nothing was hitting, so I came back in closer to shore after hearing Kevin catch his first fish.

Sparky--It's hard to beat an Ugly Stik for bottom fishing and for trolling. They're flexible enough that they bend far enough when the fish hit to let the circle hook do its thing. The new ones do look cool, but I haven't tried one yet. I prefer a fast action graphite rod for jigging, topwater, and blind casting, but I almost always have an Ugly Stik with me for everything else.

[kevinfry]

anchoring in this wind/tide combo was a treat, LOL, who doesn't love taking rollers sideways with 40 degree water? Air was plenty warm close to shore though.....and got a chance to use my new ulta-lightweight pacific designs paddle...which I liked well enough. Figured I'd get used to it while catfishing and see if it is really going to work for trolling. I've never used a "feathered" paddle before. A couple more pics.

[J.A. Veil]

Nice going guys. Congratulations on the big cats. I'm glad to see Bill posting again. It is soon time for our annual Severn pickerel trip.

[Shady]

Nice whiskered fish guys!

[kevinfry]

Nice going guys. Congratulations on the big cats. I'm glad to see Bill posting again. It is soon time for our annual Severn pickerel trip.

yeah John...we were thinking Jan fish would be a pickerel

[scorpioreno]

Nice catches! That place is literally 15 minutes from my house. I only have fished it in the spring for perch and rock. I HAVE TO GET OUT THERE.

[kitkatyaker]

Dang Kevin. You came up this way and didn't say a thing. Not cool dude. Anyway, I'm glad the trip turned out so well. Congrats on your NEW record December fish. That's a nice looking fatty!
Happy Holidays to you and your family.

[camelbird]

Nice job, guys! Glad you got on some fish! Heres to the orange horse fightin the wind

[chex]

Nice cats guys! Cool pics too

[tufnik]

Nice fat blue cats, my favorite kind of cat. Did they prefer the venison or menhaden?

[kevinfry]

3 bite venison, 4 bites menhadden, 1 bite finger mullet, none salt pork===4 fish

[buzz]

Ictalrus and I hit Marshall Hall for fear we'd miss out catching a December fish. Fishing was slow but we did catch a couple pretty great cats each. Here are our best...30" for me and 32" for Bill. day was windy but warm.

Nice.... now I wish I had gone too.

Beautiful fish.