Full Moon Slam

Spent last week in folly beach SC. Did a bit of pier fishing...small croakers and 1 Fl Pompano. Back on bay last night. Hit the shoal around 7 and after 1/2 hour picked up a nice keeper on stillwater.

Tonight was about as good as it gets on lake Riva. Full moon, low humidity, and big slams. Hit the point at 7 pm and fished broad creek side of point with no blowups. Moved to shallows on river side around 7.30 and picked up a fat 22 incher in 2 foot of water. 15 minutes later caught the biggest fish of year in the river. Nice fat 26 incher right off the stump at point. 5 minute battle with lots of dancing. Its good to be home.

Lake Riva Review

Caught the last hour Monday night with my wife on board. She always brings me luck when aboard and this time was no exception. Set anchor on the broad creek side of point. After about 15 minutes of pluggin, I had a nice swirl. My wife was on front of boat playing with her camera and I told her to focus on that spot and I would hit it again. Right on que she smacked my Chug Bug again. Nice fat TCTC 18. Weds my youngest daughter joined me in the same spot, but luck was gone. Tonight I headed out to the River side of point and picked up another on trusty Chugbug.

Night to remember

Humidity and heat are finally gone. Left the dock around 6.30 pm and headed straight for Thomas Point Shoal. Water was not quite flat, but still excellent for topwater. I was just me and the Mako guy from fishing creek. First cast had a nice blowup that turned out to be a nice 17 inch bluefish. Next cast a barely legal 18 inch rock. I would not say it was non-stop, but very steady action the rest of the evening. 3 blues and 13 Stripers up to 24 inch. One of the 24's was so fat I actually netted her. Great sunset. Back at dock by 8.30.

Rough Night

Figured I would try and relive the magic of last night and headed out to the rock pile at 6.30. It was blowing hard against the incoming tide so breakers were 3 ft plus. Set the anchor anyway and tried some pluggin to no avail. Tossed a yellow curly tail on 1/4 lead head and immediatly started picking up undersize rock. After about 10, I headed into river looking for stillwater. Worked shoreline on river side all the way back to lake Riva..nada. Humidity has eased so it was a nice night.

Dog days of summer

Been fishing the river just about every day, except for 2nd week of July (vacation to Italy). It has been windy with a lot of boat traffic. Topwater action has been decent,but only the last 1/2 hour of light.

Tonight I finally made it out to Thomas Point. Nice flattish night with the typical July humidity hanging over water. Joined several other boats around 7.30 at the rock pile. Picked up 7 ot 8 undersized stripers on popper and then fianlly got a nice slam around 8 and boated first keeper. About 10 minutes later, I had a huge blow up that missed and within a blink of an eye had a second fish slam hard...a nice 20 inch fatty. Great night.

Been a while

Have fished everyday since my last post, mostly with family. A lot of fun but a bit disappointing since nobody experienced a blow-up. My 7 year old nephew stuck with topwater for a solid 1 1/2 hours. Not a peep out of him, must of made 100 casts with my Sirrus perch rod and Penn spincaster with 6lb test. We got out early on a Saturday, so there was no boat traffic. Did the Riva Lake circle... Point, 6 MPH sign, Oak tree, Riva Bridge, and Al's spot. Stillwater at all 5. He used a beat up Chug Bug that I was sure was the ticket. It would have been great, but not our day. The only thing better than a blowup is watching the reaction of someone seeing one for the first time.

Have done fairly well this week. Steady action on BA's at bridge and even caught 3 on top. All sub 16, but Top none the less.

Damn Ray

Thunderstorm came through around 6 pm and lasted until 7.30. Was able to make it out to point for the last hour. Hooked into something big around 7.45. She circled the boat for about 20 minutes with several good runs of line. Had to start boat and chase her for a while to avoid being spooled. If it was in the bay, I would have assumed it was a ray, and cut line...but not this far up the river. Well I was wrong. A damn ray. Fun dreaming of the big one though. Meandered my way back to Marina and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Bass Assasin

Yesterday was the first time this month I did not fish. Headed out to Thomas Point Shoal around 6.30 tonight. It was too choppy for Topwater, but a nice night. Tide was heading out and the humidity finally was gone. Caught my first Striper on a BA. Too close to call, but gut hooked so into the box she went. Picked up 1 WP and 4 more undersized stripers.

Wife's night out

Headed out to point after dinner with my wife aboard...a truly rare occurance. Anchored up on the north side of point. Tide did not seem to be moving and boat traffic had died down. Nice still water. On the 3rd cast I picked up a nice fat 18. Two casts later got another nice slam, which semi impressed my wife.

Rain Out?

It has been way too long since my last post. Fished every day for at least an hour. Striper fishing has been very tough. Between high winds and bad tides for the last hour of light, I had my longest slump ever...19 straight days. Stuck with TW..it was tempting to give in and throw a curly tail, but worth it. Finally on Sunday night after Brad's wedding I got into them out at Thomas Point Shoal. No frenzy, but steady action...6 from 16-18 and many more blow ups.

Tonight started out with a massive thunder storm rolling thru. Headed down to boat around 7. It was still drizzling, but headed out anyway. Headed to the point. It was perfectly still...no wind, no boats, no human sounds at all. With the addition of a surreal fog hanging over water it was a PERFECT topwater night. I just felt it. On the third cast I picked up a fat 20 incher. It sounded like a gun going off when the fish slammed. Actually mumbled to myself afterwords "that was awesome"

Boats Back

Finally able to pick up boat sat am. Nice ride back from Deale. Running great, but very dirty. Fished river sat/sun with little success. Windy all weekend.

Go home from work at 4.15 and it was like glass on the river, so I decided to take a ride out to bay to get a looksey. It was dead low tide when I arrived at "the spot" around 5.30. Meandered around waiting for tide to turn with nothing happening. Finally at 6Pm I got a nice slam and set the anchor. Next cast had a huge blowup and hauled in a nice fat 20. From that point on it was non stop action. Lost count at 10..many multiple slams and fish jumping out of water all around me. By 6.30 is was smooth as glass and several nearby trollers who saw the slams joined in the fun. Nothing big, but just what I needed after enduring 4 weeks of perch fishing.

100% Topwater

Ok...Topwater season has officailly started. Time to put away the Kastmaster and Rooster tails and go 100% pluggin. No more YP and dinky WP. Time for the Slams. Fished from 4.30 till 6 at the beach. It was stillwater city with no boat traffic or noisy kids. In a word..perfect. Tide was very low and still going out. Had 2 slams that both missed. Got a good look at the 2nd fish ...a big WP. Ok..if they want to play the topwater game also..so be it.

After dinner I hit the Marina light and had several good swirls before picking up a nice 17 incher. Did not really slam..more like swiped at the plug and got caught with a hook on side. Typical foul hook fight followed.

FINALLY

Woke up early around 7 am and was greeted by a beautiful sunny "topwater" morning. Could not resist so I headed down to beach for 45 minutes of chug buggin. Nada. After dinner I headed over to Marina light and continued my topwater assault. Absolutely nothing happened until 8.10 when got a nice slam. She caught a treble in side and 1 in mouth. Gave a great show for a 14 inch Striper and the monkey was finally off my back. Next cast got another great slam including a few jumps..again only about 14 inches, but topwater is topwater...I'll take it.

Elusive Topwater

Went to Donna's parents for weekend, so only got to fish sat am before leaving and 6-8pm sunday night. Skunked both times. Worked exclusively topwater. Tonight, I again worked topwater, but did toss a few Kastmasters. Picked up 1 WP at stump and a nice 18 inch Striper at the Marina light. Fairly cool evening with breeze blowing in and tide moving out.

Barbs Birthday

Fished the boat ramp from 4:30 till 5:30. 1 small WP on kastmaster. After dinner I hit the Marina and fished the pier end. Caught 2 small stripers on curly tail. Tried TW for an hour, but still have not landed first of year. Boat should be ready tommorrow.

Nice Night

Fished the boatramp from 7-8pm. Tide was high with a slight breeze. Caught one 16 inch Striper on a white curley tail. Plugged the rest of the time with no swirls.

Surfs Up

The wind was really blowing today. Fished the boat ramp from 2.30 till 4.30pm and then again from 7.30 till dark. The tide was the lowest I have ever seen. Total for the day was 3WP and 1 YP.
All were caught on either Kastmaster or Rooster Tail. Plugged most of the day with no blow-ups.

I did not post for the past few days. Not much new. Fished everyday from beach and caught a lot of White Perch. I did pick up a small 15 inch Striper on Sat. (kastmaster).

Had another very big fish on Sat morning. It was big and ran line off very quickly. I tried running along shoreline to keep it from braking off, but hook popped loose. Hooks on KM were just too small. It probally was a carp, but then again, it moved quickly like a striper. No head shake....so who knows. Fun none the less. Liz and Katie joined me along with a friend from Severn for about and hour. Tried to get them to pose with the yellow perch, but they wanted nothing to do with it.

Let the fun begin

Had to pick Liz up at 3 pm and then go back up to Severn to get grace from practice. Made it down to beach around 6. The wind finally changed direction and was blowing alot of water into river...combined with full moon, the water was very high. Picked up a good size WP on Kastmaster, but no Stripers. Could see alot of baitfish jumping over by Marina, so I headed down there after dinner and FINALLY picked up the first Striper of year. Caught on white curly tail with yellow jig head. No topwater action, but at least I know they have arrived.

I need my boat back

Donna is in Charleston picking up Katie. I hit the beach right after work. Got down about 4.15 and fished till 5.30. Same steady wind like the past few days. Blowing east and really churning up the water. Very little clarity. Picked up one WP who actually put up a fight. Plugged for most of the time. At 6 I headed over to the big Battle Lax game at Navy stadium for the Girls Severn vs St. Marys game. Severn won 7-6 great game. Grace was dropped off at the game. She won 7-6 against McDonough. She scored winning goal and got game ball. Figured I would chill and watch the Wiz game 4, when I read email from Mitch that he caught a 28 incher at my spot...Dang it. No way to get there with boat being painted....so back down to beach. The water has really laid down by now. Its a perfect topwater night to top off a nice night. Had the feeling, but NADA. I may have to drag myself out of bed for sunrise...nah.

First Slam

Fished from the beach from 10:30 am till about 1. At 12.30 I finally got a nice slam on Topwater Chugbug. Missed it but wow what a rush. I have been throwing TW about 1/2 the casts for past 3 weeks. Did not think it would ever happen. One Wp was all else. Wind was blowing downriver. It was overcast and about 60. Nice topwater day.

Headed back down at 3 for an hour and half. Nothing. Helped Tom Kerley launch boat.

Looks like my Topwater assault needs to be stepped up.

Where are the Stripers?

Been fishing every evening this past week. Quite a few WP and one YP, but Zero Stripers. Took the boat over to Tri-State on Sunday. They have a 3 week back up, so it looks like Kayak may be my only option...and I always have the stump.

Come on Stripers

I have not posted in a few days, mainly due to the fact that that I have not caught anything. Been fishing alot, but am pig headed enough to stay exclusively with top water. Been working both sides of the point. Not a swirl in sight. Oh well. Opening say is Saturday. I plan to stick with the river. Never know...one of those big cows could take a wrong turn. Not likely, but WHAT IF.

Fill her Up

Finally found an open gas station and filled the boat up. This allowed me to fish a number of downriver spots that I have been relutant for fear of running out of gas. Fished from about 3 to 6. Fairly calm day near 60. Tide was slack. Threw mostly topwater, but tried everything. NADA.

Moms Home

Liz and Mom returned from France tonight. Yeah. We missed them. I did manage to sneek down to boat ramp for 1/2 hour. Perfect Topwater night, but absolutely no tide movement. Seemed to be exactly low tide. Not a ripple on water and no swirls to be had. Water is real clear.

Last Night for Gracie and Daddy

Fished from 5.30 to 6.45. Water still low, air still cold, and wind still strong. YUK. We need spring. Did not get anything tonight. Grace took lots and lots of pictures.

Happy Easter

Fished for about 1/2 hour at beach around 1PM. Its still a cold 39 degrees, but wind has calmed a bit. Caught a Yellow Ned right off the bat.

Snow Day

Day started out with snow on the ground. Fished 3 sessions at he beach and finally picked up a Wp at about 6.45pm. It was very cold and windy all day. Very little water left. I hooked into something big this evening. Had it on for 2 runs which stripped off a bit of line on the Sirrus. Caught on a rooster tail. Whatever it was made a fairly big swirl. Will never know, but if I had to guess, a large catfish or carp. Did not move fast enough to be a Striper.

RAPTOR

Donna, Cathy, and Liz in Paris. Fished from 4-5.30. Perfect topwater night, so I plugged the whole time. The highlight was when Raptor of some sort (eagle or osprey...I was trying to grab camera) swooped in from the trees behind me and attacked my plug. Talons where in full sight. Those things are fish killing machines. Luckily she did not get hooked.

Off to Paris

Did not fish tonight. Grace had a lacrosse game. She scored her first goal of season. Afterwards we all had dinner at Gary's Grill...then off to airport for Mom and Liz.

Last night I had a good night. Caught 3 Wp in 1 1/2 hours. Grace joined me for the last 1/2 hour.

Perchin

Did not post yesterday, but did fish. It was a lazy Sunday and the Wizards were not on TV, so I fished from the Marina while listening to game on boat radio. Only managed to pick up one WP.

Today was a bit better. Lizzy finally passed drivers license test, it was 72 and sunny, and I caught 3 WP from 4.30 till 6 at the beaver stump. Daredevil was the ticket. There seems to be a lot a baitfish moving in, but visibility is low. Quite breezy

Nada

Fished from 5.15 till 6.30. Worked the point on both sides. Tide was clearly coming in and the breeze was light, but no fish. Tried spinner bait, topwater, sassy shad, and rattle trap. No hits. Nice night though. 64 and sunny.

PERMIT

Took to DMV to get her driving permit, but they were closed once again. Managed to sneek past the workers and take the boat out to Broad Creek. Fished for about 1 1/2 hours. Officer Darrel came over to kick off the summer. We talked fishing and he left me without any hassles. Good start. No fish unfortunately. Worked mostly topwater, but did toss enough spinner baits to at least have picked up a perch. Oh well. Nice night, but low tide and easterly wind

Slow Night

Hit the beach right after work from 5-6.15. Fairly windy blowing west. Tide seemed low. Caught 1 YP (decent size) and one WP. Missed what felt like a big WP. Nice night.

86 In March

Had a big appt in Virginia today followed by Grace's lacrosse game. Walked down to beach about 5.30 pm and picked up 2 WP and one YP. The marina redecking kept me from boat, but had a wonderful night non the less. Light easterly breeze had blown a lot of water out of river and tide seemed low

Home from work at 4.15. Headed to boat to get perch rod. Tossed a few near the light, but no takers. Marina redecking still underway. Headed home and down to beach. Worked shoreline from beaver stump to boat ramp. Water was high and cloudy. Fairly windy blowing west. Picked up one tiny YP

First Fish of Year

Fished the harbor hills beach from about 2 to 4 pm. Weather was great. Been using TW and Kastmaster with no success. Went to Marty's yesterday and picked up a Mepps with small plastic minnow attached. Finally picked up a small YP. Took picture with disposable camera. Caught down bank by the beaver stump. Picked up a decent size yellow a bit later. Went home and washed car then headed down to beach for another 1/2 hour. Picked up a 2nd smallish WP.