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High tide: @ 3:30 a.m.
Winds: calm or light
Weather: sunny about 65 degrees at launch.
I launched early Monday at @ 6:00 a.m. on the north side of the Severn and worked my way downriver past the Rt. 50 bridge to the old RR tracks at Manresa; casting the points around the jettys along the way. I was trolling for the most part though using two rods; a rattletrap on the outside (since the snags are worse with that lure), and a half ounce white jig with a 4' chartreuse Gulp. About halfway I got a huge strike on the jig that I was certain was a keeper rock. Turned out to be a REALLY fat 11.5 inch w. perch, my first monster of the season! I kept trolling downriver, casting the point near the Rt. 50 Bridge, got to Manresa and headed back, trolling all the way.
I got another nice size perch in the same area as the monster, and circled back around a couple of times having identified it as a strike zone. Got one more nice size perch in the 9 - 10 inch range there. I was about 50 - 75 feet from shore in a grassy shoreline area between two jettys. Perhaps the perch were congregated in that area where there was a likely concentration of grass shrimp, or it was close to an oyster bar.
After that, the sun was getting pretty intense and I trolled my way back to the launch area with little action, just a few hits on the rattletrap. I got back at the launch at just after 9:00 am, and had most of the day left to get back to work.
Three takeaways; 1) the larger perch seem to be in the shallows now, but in localized spots, and trolling is a good way to find the strike zones. 2) Now that we're fully in summer mode, lines in the water at first light, or also at dusk seems to trump tide movements 3) Once I located a strike zone, I kept hitting it until the well ran dry, and then I moved on either up or down river.
Here's a photo after frying (Jamaican style) with six perch; three 8 inchers I caught under piers on Sunday in a creek, and the three larger ones. And yes, they all were great eatin' fish!
image.jpg
Winds: calm or light
Weather: sunny about 65 degrees at launch.
I launched early Monday at @ 6:00 a.m. on the north side of the Severn and worked my way downriver past the Rt. 50 bridge to the old RR tracks at Manresa; casting the points around the jettys along the way. I was trolling for the most part though using two rods; a rattletrap on the outside (since the snags are worse with that lure), and a half ounce white jig with a 4' chartreuse Gulp. About halfway I got a huge strike on the jig that I was certain was a keeper rock. Turned out to be a REALLY fat 11.5 inch w. perch, my first monster of the season! I kept trolling downriver, casting the point near the Rt. 50 Bridge, got to Manresa and headed back, trolling all the way.
I got another nice size perch in the same area as the monster, and circled back around a couple of times having identified it as a strike zone. Got one more nice size perch in the 9 - 10 inch range there. I was about 50 - 75 feet from shore in a grassy shoreline area between two jettys. Perhaps the perch were congregated in that area where there was a likely concentration of grass shrimp, or it was close to an oyster bar.
After that, the sun was getting pretty intense and I trolled my way back to the launch area with little action, just a few hits on the rattletrap. I got back at the launch at just after 9:00 am, and had most of the day left to get back to work.
Three takeaways; 1) the larger perch seem to be in the shallows now, but in localized spots, and trolling is a good way to find the strike zones. 2) Now that we're fully in summer mode, lines in the water at first light, or also at dusk seems to trump tide movements 3) Once I located a strike zone, I kept hitting it until the well ran dry, and then I moved on either up or down river.
Here's a photo after frying (Jamaican style) with six perch; three 8 inchers I caught under piers on Sunday in a creek, and the three larger ones. And yes, they all were great eatin' fish!
image.jpg
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