The old Oak tree.

Has been very good for blues the past month or so, but keeper sized Rock on plugs has been very tough. I had my first decent blow up on Sat near the first pier upriver of Broad creek. Today it was raining off and on from 2-3 PM. Picked up a nice blue Topwater trolling over the point. Around 3 the sun came out, so a I made my way downriver from Riva Rd bridge. I always hit the large Oak tree at the point downriver from Mike's. A fishing buddy has caught several there over the years, but I had never had any action. The tide was moving out and wind was pushing water into bank. On my third cast, I had a nice blow up that appeared to be a striper. Had the same fish blow-up for the next 3 drifts. Decided to anchor off the spot and nail the sucker. Finally after a few casts the fish slammed hard and the fight was on. A very fat healthy 22 incher. FINALLY. Hope this is the start of fall river run. The river was eerily calm when the fish hit. The sound was incredible and had my heart pumping.

Singing The Blues

Have been hitting the Thomas Point Shoal most nights for the past few weeks. Stripers' have been few and far between, but the topwater action for Blues has been incredible. Tonight it was non-stop action right off the point. As the night was winding down, I has a strange fish hit my plug and immediately go skyward. It was a good distance away so I did not know what to make of it, but clearly it was not of this world. The way it came out of the water reminded me a of a skinny swordfish. As the fish got closer to the boat I thought it was just a foul hooked blue, but when she came over the gunwale, I had my first "?". One of the boats nearby saw the whole thing and gestured "what was that". He came over to take a look and said it was a needle fish...the biggest he had ever seen. Wow..one cool looking fish...with some nasty teeth. So now I have a new topwater hitting species to target.

Out-fished Again

Arrived at the shoal at 7PM. There were already 5 boats working the rockpile in a tight circle. Plugs were flying everywhere. One guy with 2 little boys was hauling in keepers nearly every cast. The dad was working TW, but I couldn't tell what the boys were using, but they were crushing dad. I managed 2 nice blues in the first 10 minutes and then a "seat" rock at 7.25. One more blue and that was it for me. Tide was going out, water temp was down to 71 and it felt like late Sept. Very nice sunset picture and back home by 8.30.

Love those August Nights

Arrived at Thomas Point Shoal at 7PM. Bill(Mako Guy) and the Grady Boys were already on the spot. Nudged my way in looked around and thought "this is going to be good. Tide had just run out and there was not a ripple in sight or a puff of breeze...perfect topwater night. Bill picked up a very nice 26incher right off the bat. Huge tail slap. The boys were matching him fish for fish for 1st 1/2. All I had was a few Blues and undersized rock. Finally at 7.45 I picked up a nice 20 on Stillwater. Had several more 16 inchers, but got out-fished tonight. Oh well...still a great night. It was very nice to have flat seas for once.

Tow In

Fished Thomas Point on Sunday with James and got skunked. It was very choppy with south wind and tide coming in. Monday and Tues were similar, so I stuck to the river. Still no keepers in river. Lots of blues.

Tonight I arrived at rockpile at 7.15Pm. The ride out was flat as a bathtub, but once again we had south wind against the tide. At least it was fishable. Picked up several good sized blues and finally a keeper rock at 7.45. It was just me and the Mako guy. He had trouble starting engine, so I towed him in to his dock. One of the nicest sunsets of summer.

All alone in heaven

My buddy James came in from Calif. on Weds for business so we headed out around 6.30 PM to try and recreate the night before, but alas the wind was blowing hard against tide, so we were forced to stay in river...NADA. Thursday night brought thunderstorms, so again I was forced to fish river..NADA. Tonight was like glass so I headed to the bay. Got to the spot late and anchored up at 7.30. Not a boat in sight. On my first cast I picked up a nice sized Blue (biggest of year). A few minutes later I got a huge slam and the fight was on. She gave several good runs and thought for sure I would lose her, but was finally able to bring her to side of boat and swing her aboard. NICE FISH. Covered the entire oil hatch which put her in the 28 inch class.

Fairly steady until dark. Picked up 7 keeper rock and 6 or so blues. All the rock were fat and healthy, but not in the class of the first one. Back at dock by 8.45 to clean up the bloodbath of one great 1/2 hour of fishing.

Right On Cue

I have been out to Thomas Point flats 4 or 5 times in the past month. Mainly tried Topwater and picked up a few sub legals, but have generally been disappointed. I knew in my heart that things do not get rolling until mid August. So I have primarily sticking to lake Riva and have not boated a keeper rock in a month and half. I have caught fish, but mostly on plastics and small fish.

Had that feeling tonight. Headed out to Thomas Point and anchored up at rock pile around 6:45 Pm. Nada happening for 30 minutes so I moved above the pile and let the tide drift plug over pile. First cast BAM a huge slam and boated a very fat 24 incher. Next cast I boated her twin. Basically non stop from then till sundown. Total of 13 keepers in 1 1/2 hours. Both the biggies were on a all white Stillwater before having a monster break off my 10LB braid. Both Chug Bug and SW worked in several colors. When it rains it pours.

Long overdue update

Have fished a lot this summer, mostly the river, but quite a few trips out to Thomas Point. Since this is a topwater blog, there really has not been much to report. The river is loaded with baitfish this year and tons of 1 year old dinks. 2 and 3 year old fish have started to move in, but have been very tough for TW. I have been throwing mostly soft plastics. Not exactly what I would prefer, but the only game in town. This weekend I picked up several keeper sized rock near the bridge and tonight I finally had a nice topwater slam that filled the seat(my measure for keeper size). I have picked a quite a few White Perch on plugs and even had a catfish hit a chug bug a few nights ago.

Trophy Season

Went out from 12 to 7pm today on friend Brads boat. Trolled the Matapeake area with 8 rod spread. Bay was like glass all day and air temp was a perfect 70 degrees with 5 knot wind. We picked up our first fish, a fat 39 inch cow, at 2.30. Fish was caught on the hand line down deep. About an hour later we picked up a male about 33 inches.Not much else the rest of the day, but it sure beat working. Great Day

Early Start for TW

Have fished 13 of the first 15 days of April. On the 5th of April I managed 2 undersized rock on kastmaster so they really did not count. I have basically stuck primarily with plugs even though I have never had a blow up before May..until tonight. I was getting ready to pull into Marina around 7.30Pm, but decided to try the Marina Light. On 3rd cast I had a nice TW slam and boated a healthy fat 16 inch resident rock. Water temp was about 60, so things should get rolling from here on. I hope. Very nice sunset to boot.

WOW

Tonight started out just like any other Jan-March night except that we finally had no wind. Air temp was around 55 and it was threatening to rain. Started my usual Lake Riva rounds. Hit all the normal north shore spots. Around 6Pm I saw a rather large splash in the shallows near the point at Broad Creek. Assumed it was a bird, but something told me different. I approached the point from the downriver side with motor off and tossed a Stillwater plug. After 15 minutes or so, I started engine and slowly motored around shallows to other side of point. Switched over to Kastmaster and on first cast felt a small bump. Felt like a White Perch, but as I tightened the slack, I knew it was big. Well it turned out to be my biggest river Striper ever. He did not fit on seat, but based on the oil well hatch, I would say 28 inch plus. The water temp was only 52 so the fight was rather sluggish, even on my 6 lb perch rod. If that fish had hit in summer,he would have surely spooled me. So now the question is...what was he doing there? He was clearly a migratory fish and was filled with sperm. Who says the South River is not a spawning river?

First Striper of 2008

Have fished every fish-able day since last post. Winter can be very peaceful and beautiful when the wind lays down, but requires a lot of patience. On March 5th I was fishing with buddy Brad and he picked up a keeper striper on the flats at Boyds point. I believe that the these resident striper's remain in the river year round, but rarely feed when the water is under 50.

The wind was blowing hard tonight, but the air temp was over 6o. The water temp has been creeping up to 51-52. Fished the marina light with a Kastmaster and finally picked up a nice 18. Suprised the hell out of me and gave a very good fight. Walked her back to boat for a "seat picture" which confirmed she was a keeper. Quick pic and off she went.

Happy New Year

Well winter fishing is in full swing, which is a bit like fishing in a bathtub knowing full well it contains no fish. There have been 25 perfect topwater days since my last post and I fished every one. We have had quite a few days above 50 and even 60 today. Global warming does have some upside. Alas, the topwater gods have not blessed me. The total for the 25 days was 2 stripers and one yellow perch. All caught on small Kastmaster. Tonights catch of a massive 12 incher was important for several reasons...1. It was my first January Striper ever. 2. It gives me hope that TW could still work in winter.

Not over yet

Had not caught a keeper since my last post. It has been very windy and winter seems to be setting in. Tues night I worked the point from 4.30 till dark and picked up one 16 incher about halfway up the shoreline from the point pier. Not much of a fight, but at it least gave me hope.

Did not fish last night. Fished both sides of point tonight from 4.30 till dark. Hit the marina light on my way in and finally had a small blow up from decent sized 14 incher.

Goal Acheived

Went out early around 4.30 tonight. Worked the point with no action so I moved down to Al's spot. Tide was coming in so I drifted downriver working some new spots. A little after 5 I picked up a very nice White Perch on my stillwater. This is was a rarity in itself, but the next cast was even more rare. I have always believed that Largemouth Bass can be found in the South River, but had never caught one. Well that changed tonight. Small, but a LM non the less. On my next cast I had a huge Striper on, but lost it at the boat. Nearly had a SR Slam.

Great start to fall season

Monday night I went out at 5.30 and picked up a 24 at Al's spot around 5.45 pm. Got another 18 around 6.15 near the brick pile. Had several other slams that missed. The water has cleared up a great deal with a more normal fall evening calm.

Headed out tonight at 5.45 and worked Al's Spot. Only one swirl, so I moved to point as the tide was coming in fairly strong. At 6.15 I picked up a 24 ,that seemed longer, at the point dock. Made my way back to the brick pile and had a huge slam at 6.25. The fish ran off line quickly and then was gone. It did not make much of a splash, but was definitely a big fish. Oh well. Great night.

Tough Couple of Weeks

On Oct. 18th I was working the shoreline behind the old island and picked up a real nice 20 incher next to the dock with crab cage. This new Lake Riva spot will now be referred to as the "Crab Cage". Unfortunately, as I went to show the fish to the old timer on the pier, she shook and sunk the front treble hook deep into my thumb. WHEN WILL I LEARN? After waiting 10 minutes for fish to settle down, I began the 15 minute, very painful,process of rocking the hook free.

My luck went downhill after that. We had the annual Harbor Hills tourney on Sat. After a massive storm on Friday night, it was windy Sat., with too many leaves on water to work a plug. Only managed one 16 incher on a curly tail. Winds and rain continued for the entire next week. Was not even able to fish the 24-26th which should have been "prime time".

Oh well. I was well rewarded for my patience tonight when I picked up what appeared to be the biggest fish from the river this year. Picked her up at "Al's Spot" around 5 pm. Several nice jumps. Season starting late, buy should be good. Water temp is still 68 degrees versus 56 last year.

New Spot

Went out around 5 pm tonight. Worked the point for about 45 minutes with nothing. Moved to the Jetty and picked up a sub-legal 16. Wind was blowing upriver with tide, so I did one long drift along north shore for the last hour. At 6.24 had a huge blowup at the next dock from "Al's Spot". I have had several slams in this spot before, but never hooked up. Finally, I landed and very nice 22.
This past week has been fairly breezy. Spent most of the week fishing from the Marina Pier. Caught legal size fish every day except Monday. All fish were towards the parking lot end on pier in 2 to 3 feet of water. All times of day. Even picked up a 18 Sat. afternoon at 2.30 with high sun.

Pier fishing

Friday night I picked up a nice 20 across from the point near the bridge. Fished for about an hour mid day on Saturday. Hit several lake Riva spots with no action. Returned to the Marina around 6 PM. There was still a lot of boat traffic, so I decided to work the shallows of the east side of Marina Pier. After about 10 minutes had a nice slam from a barely legal 18. Sunday morning I worked the point from 7-8:30 with no action. Returned to marina around 1.30. Sun was high, breeze had picked up, 88 degrees and tons of boat traffic. Decided to work the shallows from pier once again. After about 15 minutes , caught a very healthy 20 incher in 1 foot of water. Fish jumped several times and put up quite a fight on my ultra lite Sirrus rod.

Lost Fish

Have done a lot of fishing since last post. Had a good size fish break off at osprey nest 2 sunday's ago. First lost fish of year. So I changed my line from 8 to 10 lb. Well this sent me into a slump that lasted over a week. several blowups, but no fish for 8 days. Finally on Monday (after switching back to 8 lb) things returned to normal. 2 fish Mon, Tues, and Weds all caught in Lake Riva.

Tonight I had my main fishing buddy in town from CA. As I was waiting for him at the Marina, I picked up a nice 18 on Stillwater near the beginning of pier in 1 foot of water. I have made thousands of cast from this spot over the years, usually just testing new line, and this was the first fish I have ever caught. We headed out to Thomas Point shoal around 6pm. It was a perfect topwater night. Flat, no breeze and only 1 other boat at rock pile. On my 3rd cast I had a massive fish slam. There was little doubt it was my biggest fish ever....BROKE OFF...arrg. Ok, so I switch back to 10LB and get a birds nest about halfway down line...Bam...another big fish slams and line breaks at the nest. Retied and finally landed a fat 6 lb fish. The biggest of year. Yay.

Had another first tonight. Since the bay was so flat, the wake of a passing tanker was making its way from the eastern shore as we plugged away. When they hit the shallows of the shoal we were swamped by 8 foot swells. You could have literally surfed the waves. The other boat nearly went under.

Nice turn of events

Was not feeling well all day, but figured the fresh air would do me some good, so I hit Lake Riva at and 6.10 pm. It was overcast and kind of gloomy when I left the dock. No boats on water and zero wind. Worked the river side for 1 drift and had 1 blow up that missed. Headed to Osprey nest and again had a nice slam that missed. Moved over to broad creek at about 5.45 pm. Made several casts and looked up just as bright sun burst out on the east shoreline. Took several pictures and then resumed fishing. First cast...BAM...a nice 20. Worked towards point and as I came around the sunset blew me away. Spent 15 minutes or so sitting right on point taking pictures. Once again I picked up my rod and tossed plud into setting sun. BAM. Another 20 who jumped 2 feet into air with sunset behind her. NICE.