Thursday, June 28, 2012

On a roll



and a half
one of the many 16's 
Carter and I left the marina at a little before 7. The winds were light on the river, but were blowing 10-20 knots on the bay. Despite low tide being and hour later tonight, the tanker ships had already begun to swing with the changing tide. We made a few drifts and picked up several dinks on top. After pulling the anchor several times, we finally settled in well up-tide of the rock pile. Carter was once again working a white twisty while I was locked and loaded with Papa Dogg.  We were able to make some incredibly long casts with the wind and work back over the pile. I had several blow-ups that, like last night, appeared the be keeper size fish or bigger, due to the distance from the boat. Each time I was disappointed when a 16 came along side the boat.The action was steady all night for both of us but most fish were in the 14 to 16 inch range. Right before sundown, I had a huge blow up at least 100 yards from the boat. This time the drag was screaming and I said to Carter "if this is not at least 18, then I am switching to golf". Luckily it turned out to be a very nice 22 (and a half!!!). The golf gods will sleep well tonight. Amen.
Rough conditions, but a great sunset

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

June Recap

June has historically been fairy uneventful, and this year has been exactly that. Although there have been some incredibly nice Plug-worthy nights, keeper size fish have been tough to come by. I have fished quite a bit the last week or so with Carter, a fishing buddy from Harbor Hills. While I stuck with topwater, he bailed fish after fish, until his arms hurt using a white twisty. Most were dinks, but a few hit the magic number 18, if you stepped on them real hard. The winds have played havoc with fishing the past 5 days, so I was pleasantly surprised when the wind laid down around 7 tonight. I glanced at the tide tables just as the ships on the bay came into view. Low tide was at 7 pm , but the ships were still pointing out, so I knew a tide change was imminent. Sweet!!!. I quickly anchored up at the spot and sure enough the boat began to swing around ever so slightly. My second cast, with the wind, was a beauty. Just as the plug hit he water, there was a huge splash and, what appeared to be a monster, tail slapped multiple times. I love it when a blowup occurs that far from the boat, since it always appears the fish is bigger than it turns out to be. From the splash and line scream, I was sure it was at least as 28, but alas, it was only a 24. Still a nice surprise and a rarity for June.

I was just about to send the picture to my oldest daughters boyfriend, Danny, when a message from my daughter arrived on my IPhone with a picture of him holding up a very nice smallmouth with a plug in its mouth. Danny had recently declared himself a "topwater only" guy and had been diligently working his plug every day in Rock Creek park hoping for his first fish. So the picture brought a smile to my face that almost rivaled the big grin on his.


Welcome to the brotherhood
June Surprise

My man Carter

Perfect Early June Night

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