White Perch on the Fly

[Mark]

This morning I hosted 5 members of the Free State Fly Fishers on our annual white perch outing. In years past we have confined this outing to Weems Creek. Also, I normally lead this trip in June. However with the late arrival of perch this year I kept postponing the trip to make sure fish were present. Before I knew it, July had arrived. And then I had to postpone the trip twice more this month due to bad weather.

And with the continued spottiness of the bite in Weems, I decided to launch the group from Jonas Green Park, or to be precise, Jonas and Anne Catherine Green Park.

Finally, today was the perfect confluence of clear dry skies, low wind and yes, even fish.

We had a good outing with decent pullage, although I don't believe any of us caught anything extraordinary. Most of our perch were between 8 and 10 inches. Again, not large but a good pull on the fly.

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If you're looking for a reliable perch pattern, it's hard to ignore a simple Clouser Minnow.

We essentially worked the shady edges of the main river. This area may be familiar to you:

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It was productive until the sun got too high and shade got too narrow.

Then we were off the water in a flash and putting big dent in the buffet at the Canton Restaurant in Annapolis. That is where most of us did our best work of the day.

So, after many delays, we finally had our outing and it was a good one -- well worth the wait.

I'm especially appreciative that the perch decided to participate in our club event today. I had my doubts that they would show up given that they have been playing hide and seek with me most of the year thus far.

[J. Rentch]

Was able to catch 6 WP, all on Clousers. None were large, but gave a nice tug!

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[Worrptangl]

Looks like a great time!


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[bignose]

Was able to catch 6 WP, all on Clousers. None were large, but gave a nice tug!

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I've seen that fly before!
(Actually a Krystal Flash Wooly Bugger on a jig hook, but what difference does it make?, the fish hit it). I'm glad that it worked for you.

I'm glad that Mark has finally had a productive outing. You were due a decent perch outing.

You didn't miss much by skipping Weems today. In 2 hours, 9:15-11:15, I caught about 15 perch and 1 baby rock. It was interesting retrieving the spinner jigs just over the weed tops with a high tide.

[J. Rentch]

Stu,
Thanks for the correction.

[Mark]

I'm glad that Mark has finally had a productive outing. You were due a decent perch outing.

Thanks Stu!

Based on your report, I'm glad we avoided Weems -- although it was my backup site if river conditions required us to move. The big river was really pretty yesterday and the fish were holding on its shady edges. We had a little luck in one tidal pond, but only one. It makes me wonder if oxygen or the lack of it is the problem in the slower moving tribs. I saw an article recently in The Sun about the growing oxygen deficit in the Chesapeake due to excessive nutrient runoff last year and this.

I also caught a baby rock on the Clouser. I probably taught him his first life lesson that all he bites is not food.

[DanMarino]

Good report Mark and Stu.
Mark, do you use a floating fly line, or intermediate?

[Mark]

Good report Mark and Stu.
Mark, do you use a floating fly line, or intermediate?

Tom,

I used both. I took two rods, one with floating line and one with intermediate.

Also, on Monday I had tied these two flies to use on the outing:

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The first is an unweighted Bendback. I used that on the intermediate line. The second is the Clouser. I used that on the floating line.

Only the Clouser worked.

Go figure...

[bignose]

Mark,
One of the concerns I have had this year, is the extreme clarity of the water in the Severn tributaries, i.e. when we fished over in Brewer Creek a couple of weeks ago there was over 3 feet of visibility. And the weeds were so thick, areas were unfishable.

The enhanced the growth of the SAV is unprecedented.

I fished in Weems Creek yesterday and there were significant weed beds from the shoreline to more that 6 feet of water. The turbidity in Weems due to run off was limiting water clarity to 18," considerably less than it has been all summer.

If the nutrient load leads to a major algae bloom, the SAV will be light deprived and I wonder if this will result in a severe oxygen depletion and die off.

It's one thing to have a "Dead Zone" in the main stem of the Bay below 19 feet, but in a Creek where the deepest water is 12-15 feet, there would be no place for the fish to go.

[Mark]

Stu,

The SAV has been thick in the Severn this year for sure. The river itself was fairly clear of it in the places we fished yesterday but the mouth of one tidal pond I visited was choked with it to the point that I locked the drive on my Revo and paddled to enter. I rarely resort to that. (Something folks thinking of Hobies should consider...If they are going to be predominantly fishing areas with high vegetation, whether on tidal creeks or freshwater ponds, a paddle boat may be a better choice.)

In any case, conditions have definitely clicked for abundant tidal SAV this year. I suppose the fish like it, unless it's so thick they have no room maneuver. It has made tidal fishing a challenge for many this year.