Waiting for stripers to show up in the Severn

[J.A. Veil]

Last year on April 23, I tried trolling at some locations in the lower Severn River. I had never fished those locations before in the spring, and was just trying to match the technique and pattern I had used on the Susquehanna Flats with some success. That day I found a good batch of small stripers -- enough to keep me coming out. Over the next three weeks I found a few really hot spots that produced stripers up to 27" inside the river. For three weeks last spring, I caught fish after fish -- then they moved somewhere else and the bite stopped until late summer.

I had hoped that the fish would be holed up in the same spots again this April. Over the past three weeks I made 4 long trolling trips over the same route that was productive last spring. On two of the trips, I had two other kayak anglers with me -- Raptor had one bite in a location that was not part of my trolling route -- neither of the other guys got a bite at all. Over all that time in more than 10 hours of trolling 4 rods through high potential water, I have not had a single bite.

At this point I am getting frustrated and hope that the stripers will show up soon (I hope they were just delayed by the cold weather). The silver lining to this dark cloud is that I am getting plenty of water time in my Slayer Propel. I learn a few new tricks or techniques on each trip and have been making minor tweaks to my rod holder arrangement to take into account the Propel pedal drive unit in front of me. The photo shows the rod holder extenders that I ordered last week that allow me to pivot the rod holder out to the side to stay clear of the Propel.

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I will continue checking my route each week for a while longer before giving up.

Today was a great day to be on the water. It was calm with few others boats out there. My temperature gauge showed 65 degrees, but that is the air temp inside my hull. The water did feel noticeably warmer than it did just a few days ago. The NOAA data buoy for the Severn shows that the water temp climbed all afternoon, reaching 59.5 deg at 6:00 pm today.

[Pc4sun]

Thanks for the report John. I went to Mattawoman today during low tide, on my second outing on the Slayer, and the water temp was 58. No one, except for the birds, was catching anything. Big, huge, fish jumping. One bird caught a fish so big that the bird could not fly and kept going back into the water to try to grasp the fish. I wish I were that lucky.

[DanMarino]

Looks like a great set-up John. Having the rod holders in front of you and within easy reach looks ideal.
So on the whole, how do you like the propel drive? After my kids are out of college I hope to get a used Native propel kayak to troll Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge reservoirs that are both less than 10 minutes from my house.

I'd eventually like to join you John on the Severn, but I'll wait until you have a successful trip or two first

[J.A. Veil]

Looks like a great set-up John. Having the rod holders in front of you and within easy reach looks ideal.
So on the whole, how do you like the propel drive? After my kids are out of college I hope to get a used Native propel kayak to troll Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge reservoirs that are both less than 10 minutes from my house.

I'd eventually like to join you John on the Severn, but I'll wait until you have a successful trip or two first

Tom -

I have been fishing from paddle kayaks for 13 years and from a pedal kayak for just a short time. There is definitely a learning curve to figuring out how to take advantage of having my hands free as wells as having much of the space in front of me occupied by a drive unit. Using a rudder to steer rather than my paddle is another new feature. Yesterday was my fourth trip in the Slayer Propel in the past 3 weeks. I now feel very comfortable in the water. I will still need to build up my leg muscles (3 hours of steady pedaling left me worn out last night) and experiment with seat position (both front-to-back and seatback angle) to find my most comfortable options.

The new rod holder extenders solved a problem I had on the previous three trips in which my legs bumped into the rod holders as I pedaled. The extenders also place the front two rods a bit farther out to the side, minimizing interference with the two rods deployed behind my seat.

I would be happy to have you join me on the Severn. Historically the white perch return to their shallow water locations by the first to second week in May. Even if they are delayed a bit, they will be here soon, providing fun fishing all summer long.

[dtandrade]

Thanks for the report John. I went out opening day and did some trolling out of Back Creek and the mouth of the Severn. I was trolling 4 1/2-12ft of water and not a single bite. Boat traffic was as bad as I would have expected so I was constantly looking around to make sure me and my new Hobie ended up returning in one piece. I am finding myself in the same position as you as I have always paddled vs pedal and my upper body has always been stronger then what I like to refer to as my chicken legs. Also I noticed with the Hobie that when you change from high to low seat position it throws off the pedal distance. I have just been taking my last 3 outings (which have all been skunks) to get more comfortable on it and enjoy the upgrade that I made. I am doing the Bass tournament on Mattawoman this Saturday so hopefully my luck will change and I will get a few nice fish that day. I will be trolling often in the Severn as I have such easy access to the water and hopefully soon you and I can start reporting some catches.

[dsiekman]

John,

Two years ago I had fantastic luck in the Severn starting around early April (it was warmer I believe) and lasting through late Fall. I was only skunked a few times. Probably less than 5% of my trips. Last year my luck was ok pre-season and then just fell apart. At the time I thought the issue was just my restricted fishing time. I've only been out once this year, but it was like a wasteland. I only marked a few fish and they were small. Who knows, they may not even have been fish! I'm not sure what is going on, but I am equally frustrated.

[Pc4sun]

I would be happy to have you join me on the Severn. Historically the white perch return to their shallow water locations by the first to second week in May. Even if they are delayed a bit, they will be here soon, providing fun fishing all summer long.[/QUOTE]

If there is room in your fishing outing I'd love to join you all. Dan, I'll let you try my Slayer if you are interested.

[J.A. Veil]

If there is room in your fishing outing I'd love to join you all. Dan, I'll let you try my Slayer if you are interested.

Sure Peggy. I look forward to having the experience of fishing with another Slayer Propel owner.

[kayak456]

John, check the shorelines. The fish have been there since late march and now the action is red hot some days .

[J.A. Veil]

John, check the shorelines. The fish have been there since late march and now the action is red hot some days .

Andrew -

I am fishing the shorelines -- the same locations and depths as I did last year. I know that you and at least two other people have caught decent fish from the shore this spring -- Congratulations. That is what encouraged me to start trolling last year's pattern in early and mid April this year. I am unable to get to the location where you have been fishing from my normal launch spots. That's my tough luck and your good fortune. I hope they continue to bite for you. I remain hopeful that the stripers will soon show up where I expect them to be.

[kayak456]

John, try the naval academy rocks, a few of my friend have been gettin them good there.