Peaceful Night

I was solo tonight, and was able to get out early, so really had no plan. Started off at "Al's Spot" with no action. My next spot was the "the nest". The guy who owns the pier had watched John and I catch the two twenty's there last night, so when I showed up he seemed eager to get my attention. On my second cast, had a nice blowup and boated a twenty. He was waving one of those short poles with a reflector that you put around your driveway. I could not hear him due to the motor noise, but he seemed to want to talk, so I motored over to the dock. I gathered from or discussion that he is from Thailand and had been trying to catch fish off his pier for some time and wanted to know what "bait" I was using. I showed him my plug and explained how it floats..etc. He said he had caught several bass up to 12 inches, but had never gotten anything like what he had been watching me catch. It was then that I noticed his setup. He had a 8 foot line tied to a hook and was using the reflector pole as his rod. Nice guy (Peter) that I hopefully converted to the Topwater brotherhood.

I moved to the "Oak Tree" and picked up another 20. This was followed by another 20 at the first pier on the eastern shore of Glebe Bay.. "White House". There is a nice grass bed to the left of the pier that I have made at least 200 unsuccessful casts into over the last 10 years. Well tonight was the charm as the fish exploded the second the plug hit the water. The fish missed, but was all mine within three casts. It turned out to be the biggest of the night at 24 inches. Ended my night in the exact spot that we finished the
night before. Took a while to locate the fish, but then it was non stop action until dark. Final toal for the night was 6 fish.

Perplexed

Yesterday was about a nice a day as you get in October. I fished from ten in the morning until the Ravens game started at 1. Worked my way out to the point with no action. Once I got there the breeze was stronger than I had expected, so I took a page from Friday night and drifted instead of anchoring. I was using the big sized Stillwater on my med-heavy St Croix. I rarely use this rod, but was hoping for one of the big boys. It did not take long for my plan to work, as I had a huge blow up and boated a fat healthy....18. Oh well, I was still happy to have picked up another fish on the drift. I have noticed on my last couple of trips to the shoal a large number of new boats crowding around "the spot". I am sure they are Tidalfish brethren who read my blog, so the company was welcome. I think they are to missing the point though. You can do well with topwater anywhere on the shoal, not just the particular rock pile that my lazy butt goes to every time out. It is a Shoal...not a Honey Hole. I need to say that 3 times before my next trip out. Headed back out after the game and was shut out. What is perplexing is why Sunday's have been so lousy and Monday's have been so damn good. My only theory is the lack of boat traffic on Monday

Met up with John, a old fishing buddy, who has not fished with me all year. We started off at "Al's Spot" and picked up 3 quick fish. John's Dad is a gourmet cook, and he wanted to keep a few fish, so into the box they went. Moved over to "the nest" and picked up another 2 fish. We then headed to the "brown house" where we gave up after 15 minutes. We continued our drift around the shoreline to the eastern shore of Glebe Bay. The two of us had slayed them there this time last year, so John took the reins and positioned us just as he remembered. Well he must have a good memory, because it was non stop action from the time we shut the engine off until dark 20 minutes later. We boated at least 6 and had many more blowups.
John cleaned the fish when we returned to the marina. I thought it was interesting that they had nothing in their stomachs. That explains why they were so aggressive.

Bad Bet

Today was our annual community fishing tournament,and for the 4th year in a row, the conditions nearly made fishing impossible. There was a steady 25 knot wind blowing straight out the river. There were actually white caps in front of my house near the headwaters. Fortunately, I did not wake up until an hour after registration and was, to my chagrin, sitting this year out. Most of the fleet of 5 to 10 boats are weekend warriors who's sole comfort zone is trolling the deep waters of the bay proper. Since the tournament is held in mid October each year, I have exclusively fished the river, and am always the only boat to do so. I knew the guys had to miserable, yet I kind of wanted to go fishing, but it just never looked like fun.

As five rolled around ,and the winds had died down a tad, I decided to fish the last hour of light. There were still a few guys from the tournament hanging around on a boat a few slips down. On my way out, I stopped to see how things had gone. The grand total of fish caught by the 5 boats was zero. The one guy described his trip across the bay to Poplar island at the crack of dawn when the winds were fairly light. They had trolled for 2 and a half hours with not even a knock down. As the winds picked up they decided to head west towards home. Two and a half hours later they arrived back home drenched and exhausted. As I started to head out one of the guys bet me a hundred dollars that I could not catch a keeper sized rock in the next hour. I thought of " Al's Spot" before telling him that I did not want to take his money, Headed straight to "Al's Spot" and immediately had what appeared to be a twenty at the side of the boat when I lost him. Damn, that would have been sweet to show up two minutes later to prove the "Trollers" wrong. Could not get the fish to resurface, so I headed to the seawall from last night. Had several quick blowups that missed, before finally boating a 20. Was it possible to run this fish back, show them that there are plenty of fish in the South River, and release the fish? I left the fish attached to the plug and hauled ass back to the marina. Their faces said it all as the clearly heathy "keeper" sized rock swam off in front of their eyes. After the accusations of cheating died down, I headed back to the seawall. By this time the winds had completely died down, but not before blowing a ton of water out of the river. The water was 3 to 4 feet below median low tide. It was non stop action until dark. I ended with 7 virtually identical twenty inch fish and had many more blow ups. It was like a mirror as the sun set behind me and the plug from my last cast was sent five feet in the air by one aggressive rockfish.

WIND

The strong wind and a commitment to take my daughter somewhere, was to keep me from fishing tonight. When she called and said she had a ride, I hopped on the boat for a quick jaunt around Lake Riva. The wind was blowing east and the tide was going out at a brisk pace as I made my first drift along the river side of the point. I was only able to make about 10 casts along the entire shoreline as my drift had me moving at a good 10 knots. I moved across the river to the "nest", which was a bit more protected. Made about 10 cast before the wind had pushed me past the last pier. One of the lessons I have learned over the years is that the wind can be your friend. I have had very good luck fishing coves where the wind and current is pushing the water up against some man made structure like a wood or stone bulkhead. As I surveyed the situation, it looked like everything was being pushed against the cement wall on the south shore of the Riva Bridge across from Pauls. I see a lot of shore fisherman casting from there and usually avoid it for several reasons. Foremost is that I have never had a blow up or observed anyone from shore landing a rockfish. I have seen many a catfish and perch caught, but never a rock. Last night James had good luck with the big Chugger, so I changed rods and abandoned my trusty Stillwater. On my third cast up against the wall, I had a nice blow up and boated a 22. Moved back out for a second drift and picked up another 22 at approximately the same spot. My third drift resulted in several blow ups that missed. At this point, I headed in, content to have landed 2 fish on a night that I was just happy to be out on the water.

Bonus Night

It had been raining non stop all day, but I was determined to get out there.My buddy James was still in town, so we planned on meeting at 3 PM. Fortunately, we both got tied up by life, so 3 became 5.30. At 5 I started looking for my rain gear, when I noticed that the western shy was beginning to brighten. It was breezy, but certainly not enough to keep us off the water. I arrived at the boat first an snapped off a picture of the first glimpse of blue sky. We pushed my Yammy to max RPM's and made it to the point in record time.We hoped to at least get in 45 minutes of good fishing. After anchoring up and making a few casts into the wind, we realized we were way under dressed. It felt like fishing Va Beach in December. We fan casted around the boat for the next half hour and finally deciding to call it a successful night just for getting to fish and enjoying a great sunset. Just as James pulled up the Anchor, I had a nice blow up that missed. It was hard to cast back into the spot as the wind was now howling with a fast moving ebb tide. We decided to drift for a while. After about 5 minutes James had a nice blow up and landed a 22. As soon as the fish hit, I hit the waypoint marker on my HDS8. It was now dark, but we decided to go back and drift one last time over the waypoint. Sure enough, just as we hit the waypoint, James had another blowup and boated his 2nd 22. Back to the dock at 7.30.

Short Window

My buddy James from CA, called yesterday and said he would be in town today and needed a topwater fix. Unfortunately he was not landing until 4:40 and needed to stop at his parents house, down the street from me, to change.So, by the time we got to the dock it was already 5.45. We headed straight for the point and arrived a around 6:15. There was another boat on the fish already, so we tried to anchor up close enough, but give them their space. Unfortunately, like last night, the fish were staged in a very small area. Finally we found a comfortable spot, and James immediately hooked up to a 20. He continued to get several blowups as I fumbled around in the front of the boat with a perplexing line tangle. By the time I made my first cast the sun was disappearing behind Thomas point. This generally signals that the fish would shut down within 15 minutes or so. It did not take long to boat my first fish of the night. The next 10 minutes was fairly crazy with more blowups than hookups., but we did manage 3 more in the 18/20 inch class. The ride home almost made up for the short fishing window due to one incredible Oct. sky.

Best Night of the Year

I wait all year for a night like tonight. Left the dock at 5:15 and headed straight to the shoal. The water was like glass and there was zero boat traffic. Then my first 4 casts resulted in spectacular blow ups and four 20 inch healthy footballs. I was in heaven. I got a call from Dabs who said he just got home and would be out in a minute. I had read a post on Tidalfish last night about using bigger plugs to catch bigger fish, so I tied on a plug that Jim from Marty's bait shop had given me. It is a long plug with two wood pieces that slide back and forth and makes the sound of blocks banging together. The plug had barely touched the water when it was inhaled by a Rock. There was no blow up..it just disappeared. After a great fight I boated a 6 pound 26 inch beauty. There is no doubt that bigger plugs catch bigger fish. As I was removing the hook, Dabs showed up. He anchored to the east of me about 20 feet from where the fish were staging. He then proceeded to catch the next 4 fish while my offering went untouched. It was only after I told him to stop "ROCK BLOCKING" me did the real action begin. We both casted to a 10 by 10 ft area off the left corner of his boat. No sooner would the plug hit the water the fish would explode. It was total mayhem with numerous double's and fish breaking all around us. The bite continued until dark when we pulled anchor and left breaking fish behind. What a night.

Oh what a day makes

The last weekend of fishing can only be described as "sucky". I fished Friday night in the river and only managed 1 keeper sized fish at the "brown house". I awoke Sat. to beautiful blue skies, summer like temps, and glass on the river. Fished from 4 Pm till dark up and down the river, including the shoal for 2 hard hours with nary a swirl. Sunday morning was even nicer. I fished my way out to the shoal once again and worked every plug in my arsenal for 3 1/2 solid hours with the same results as Sat...nada. After the Ravens game, I headed back out with the intention of working Lake Riva, but ran into my friends Mike and Bill. We decided to take a ride back out to Thomas Point to catch the last hour at my spot. Once again, fishing just plain sucked and i headed home one depressed guy. Could this be it?...could the fall run be over already? My logs told be no, but the bay was giving a very different answer.

Since today was a pseudo holiday, I departed work early and was on the boat by 4:30. Tried a few river spots with no action, so ran back out to Thomas Point. Anchored up in the exact same spot as Sat and Sun.. On literally my first cast I had a huge blow up that missed. Tossed back into the same spot and hooked up. The fish took off and the drag was screaming. After several minutes, I still had not turned the fish. I thought that either it was a 40 incher or some exotic species like a Cobia. I have never had a fish take off like that. When I got the fish to the side of the boat, I was a bit surprised by its paltry 26 inch class size. It was then I realized that I had hooked the fish in the tail. That was a first and explained why she had her way with me. Just as I released the fish my buddy Dabs showed up with a friend. They positioned their boat just west of me. It was non stop action from that point on. Boated a total of 6 fish all in the 22 inch class. Meanwhile Dabs was sitting 50 feet from me and could not buy a fish. I just goes to show how important boat position is on the shoal. The fish can school up near one rock pile and if you are not right there..forget about it. Great sunset as I motored home one happy camper.

He had to die

Did not get out to about 6 tonight. Since it has getting dark by seven, I did not want to waste much time. My first stop was the dock of a fellow Tidal Fish member and south river junkie to see if he could join me for a little topwater action. Did not see any movement at his house, so made a few casts around his pier to see if he might see me. On the third cast I had a nice blow up and fought the fish for a several minutes before losing him at the boat. It looked to be in the 22 inch class. Sorry to lose the fish, but happy to gain a "new spot". Moved on to the cove downriver of him that I refer to as the "6 Mph sign". This had been a go to spot in years past, but had not produced at all the past 2 years. Had several blow ups that missed. Stayed there far too long trying to get the fish. I finally landed a very disappointing 16. It was now getting dark, so I headed back under the Riva road bridge to try the point. Worked the Broad Creek side for a while with no action. Met up with a guy who had read my blog and we talked for a while. Moved to the river side of point and just as it was getting dark, I picked up a nice 22. Unfortunately, he swallowed the plug. I had just replaced my black Stillwater after 3 months of use. The hooks on the new plug were so sharp that an easy extraction just was not going to happen, so the fish had to die. Headed in, cleaned the fish, and plan on having rockfish for dinner.

Bone Chillin

Left the dock around 5:30 tonight to a stiff breeze and temp in the low 50's. It felt like fishing in November. I headed straight for Broad Creek to try out some new spots, but the wind was coming straight down the river, so finding stillwater was virtually impossible. Moved around the point, but it was still blowing. Did manage to pick up a 17 inch fish that fought like a champ. Moved across the river to the nest and picked up another 18. I worked the south shore towards home in search of a "new spot" and stay out of the wind. My new spot turned out to be the boat ramp for Sylvan Shores, where I had a blow up that missed. Tossed back into the same spot, but the fish did not resurface. Moved further down the shoreline to a small creek mouth that was protected on all sides. No action there, so I headed back to my new spot, and on my third cast picked up the 18 from earlier. Headed in early to thaw out. Not a great night due to the wind and my lack of proper clothes.

Football versus fishing in the rain?

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to attend the Ravens game, but initially turned it down. That was until my buddy informed me that we also had VIP passes to go down on the field prior to the game...so I jumped on it. This week I was home in the cozy confines of my man cave. The wind was howling all day and it was threatening to rain, so it did not look like fishing was a possibility. At halftime of the Redskins game the wind had laid down, so I jumped on the boat to do a little fishing. My 5th cast
at "Al's Spot" netted me a ugly looking and clearly sick 18. That is when the rain started. It was coming down fairly heavy when I arrived at the "nest". It did not take long to boat another 18. At this point I was already wet, and it was actually quite peaceful on the water, so I pressed on. My next spot was "the spot". Again, it did not take long to boat a very fat 20. I have never had a blow up in Broad Creek proper, so I decided to try a few spots before heading in. My second spot was on the north shore about 100 yards downriver from the boat ramp for Broadview Estates. Ran home, showered, and was back in the man cave, with 7 minutes to go in the game, So 4 fish and a new spot in less than a half of football. Gotta love the fall.

The Storm

I normally avoid the weekends like the plague, due to the boat traffic. Since it has been raining non stop for 2 days, I needed to do a little fishing this morning. I left the marina around 10:30 to a stiff breeze from the north. I of course stopped at "Al's Spot" to start my morning off. I really did expect much, as the water was stained a chocolate milk brown. On my third cast I had a nice blow up and it was "fish on". I could tell it was a good sized fish for the river, but could not get a look at him due to the stained water. After a good 3 minute fight, I boated a football sized 22. Hit a number of Lake Riva spots with no success, before deciding to take a run out to the shoal. Made a good thousand casts over the next hour before giving up. Decided to try a bunch of new spots on my way in. Stuck primarily to the north shore to stay out of the wind. Again, I was looking for either living shorelines or sandy beaches. I didn't matter, as I had nary a swirl the rest of the day. It was nice to be out,but a bit of a disappointment as far as fishing went. I fished for a total of about 2 1/2 hours. Oh well.

Calm before the storm

Was pleasantly surprised when the clouds and rain cleared around 6 Pm. The river was dead clam and I was all alone on the river. Started out working the river side of point and picked up a healthy 18. Moved across the river to the "nest" and immediately picked up a 20. Tried the " Oak Tree" for a good 10 minutes, but had no action. It was now 6.30 and I decided to try some new spots and see if I could at least get a blow up. Worked several spots on the south shore of the river downriver from the eastern shore of the mouth to Beards Creek. I was specifically looking for sandy beaches. About a quarter of the way to the route 2 bridge I had a blow up right up against a small boathouse. I was not expecting the explosion and pulled the plug out of the fish as he jumped. The rule of thumb with topwater is to "wait for the weight" before setting the hook. Well not to panic, tossed back into the same spot and like clockwork, the fish exploded and I had a new spot to add to my quill...a nice 20. Headed in early as it began to spit some rain.

Beautiful day in the neighborhood

Left the dock around 5:45 tonight to a light breeze, 75 degrees, and glass like conditions on the river. First stop was of course "Al'sSpot". My first cast netted me a healthy 20 that exploded from the corner closest to the pier. Moved from there to the river side of point and again did a slow drift like last night. Only managed one blue. Off to the "nest" where I had a nice explosion that missed. Took 5 cast's, but finally boated the 22 inch fish. Moved under the bridge and tried the "Oak Tree". This spot is on the western shore of the mouth of Beards Creek and has a huge Oak tree that hangs over the water. It has always produced in the past, but usually later in the fall. Took a while, but I finally picked up a smallish 16 that hit closer to the point in 1 foot of water. Next I hit the "6 mile marker". This is a small cove on the northern shore right before the route 2 bridge. I used to catch fish there all the time, but have been shut out for nearly 2 years now. Moved on the marker 16 and met up with a fellow TidalFish member. We talked for a while, but had no action. Ran across the river to the "Brown House" and hit the mother load. There were baitfish breaking everywhere and even saw a good size Rock jump several feet out of the water. Picked up 2 20's here and headed in to a beautiful sunset. A very nice 5 fish night :)

Eye of the storm

It had been raining all day, so I had not planned on fishing. After dinner, around 6 Pm, the rain had stopped and wind had died down enough to give it a try. Made a few casts at "Al's Spot" and had a nice blow up, but could not relocate the fish. Moved downriver to the river side of point. The wind and tide were moving the boat at a steady clip, so I was able to work the shoreline with the motor off. Picked up 4 fish, all around 20 inches. Made a second pass and managed to pick up one more 18. All 5 fish hit right up against the grass shoreline on the first or second pop. Moved across the river and made a few casts at the "nest", with no action. There has been a small center console working the shoreline for the past 2 nights, so I decided to shoot across the river to say hello, but he took off to avoid the pending downpour. Made one more cast into the "jetty' and picked up another 20. So ended with 6 fish and 1 missed blowup in 45 minutes. I'll take it. Ran home just as the sky looked like it was about to open up.